Seattle Transit Blog

University Way NE (The Ave") is the historic main street near the University of Washington campus in Seattle. The street is lined with dozens of shops, restaurants, and bars that cater to thousands of UW students and the nearby community. In 2021, the U District Link station opened one block west of The Ave between ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Pedestrianize The Ave"

This is part two of a three-part series investigating city-funded bus service in Seattle. Part 1 covered the Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD) from 2014 to early 2020. This article covers its successor, named the Seattle Transit Measure (STM) from 2020 to present day. By early 2020, the STBD had transformed Seattle into a truly ... Continue reading "Seattle Transit Measure: Performance Since Passed (2020 to Now)"

In 2015, Mayor Ed Murray's administration unveiled what would become the 2015 Levy to Move Seattle. It included a goal to Provide 72% of Seattle residents with 10-minute all-day transit service within a 10-minute walk of their homes" by 2025 dubbed the Very Frequent Transit Network". Using Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD) funding, access to ... Continue reading "What Happened to the Very Frequent Transit Network?"

New post on Page 2: Renton's Transit Center Moves Toward I-405. If you're a reader and interested in lending your perspective on transit and land use in the region, contact us. This is an Open Thread.

As part of its 2026 Service Plan, Sound Transit is proposing a new overnight bus service in the corridor of the Link 1 and 2 Lines. These routes would also continue to Everett, Tacoma, and Lakewood. These services will specifically operate during the night after Link stops running, and end shortly before Link begins again ... Continue reading "Current and proposed overnight service along the Link 1 Line"

Open payments or Tap to Pay" started today. Several transit agencies' bus and rail readers including Sound Transit and Metro now accept not only ORCA cards but also credit cards and digital wallets (pay by phone). Open payments raise the risk that if you have both an ORCA card and credit cards or debit cards ... Continue reading "Tap to Pay Starts"

The exciting launch of the Lynnwood Link Extension added four new stations connecting Northgate up to Lynnwood City Center. The future Pinehurst (previously NE 130th St) infill station is under construction and expected to open mid-2026. This article will discuss the station itself, bus stops, the new bus Route 77, bike lanes to the station, ... Continue reading "Lynnwood Infill Stations: Pinehurst and potentially 220th St SW"

About Here and Sightline Institute partnered to produce a video discussing how elevators in the US and Canada cost nearly three times as much to build and maintain compared to peer cities which makes it much more difficult to build small apartments. Legislators in Washington are trying again to fix it, but it's an uphill ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: North America's Elevator Problem"

Update (Feb 21, 3:30pm): Crosslake 2 Line simulated service has resumed. Following a power outage between Bel-Red station and Downtown Redmond station that started on Thursday, Sound Transit has decided to suspend simulated service on the full 2 Line until further notice. As of this morning, 2 Line trains will operate between South Bellevue station ... Continue reading "Crosslake Simulated Service Suspended Indefinitely (Update: Service has resumed)"

On Thursday, Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine announced Tap to Pay will launch across the ORCA system on February 23, 2026. Tap to Pay, also known as open payments, will allow passengers to tap a credit/debit card on the ORCA reader to pay the fare. Digital credit/debit cards are also supported using Apple Pay, Google ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: ORCA Tap to Pay Begins on Monday"

The Seattle Transit Measure (STM) is a 0.15% sales tax that raises $50 million each year to boost bus service and make transit safer, faster, and more accessible in the City of Seattle. Originally passed in 2014 as the Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD), it was renewed and renamed in 2020 as the STM. The ... Continue reading "Seattle Transit Measure: History as the STBD (2014 to 2020)"

Headlines: WA Legislative Short Session Updates: Commentary: This is an Open Thread. Civil comments may discuss any transportation or land use topic. Uncivil comments will be removed.

The full build out of Sound Transit 2 coming close after the December 6 opening of Federal Way Link Extension and the upcoming March 2026 full East Link. This article will go over the a map of transit times and have a brief recap of what ST2 will accomplish. Above is the Sound Transit Future ... Continue reading "Sound Transit 2 Travel Times and Recap"

While Mexico City's population keeps growing (currently at 23 million), it has become the city with the worst traffic and one of the most polluted cities in the world. To address these challenges, the city has invested in a mostly carbon-free multi-modal transit system consisting of the Metro subway, MetroBus BRT, trolley and regular bus ... Continue reading "Learn from Mexico City: Multi-modal network"

Amtrak recently held an exclusive first look ceremony" at their new Airo trainsets coming to certain routes nationwide over the next few years. Today's videos review the new trains, which are coming to our very own Amtrak Cascades route first. The new trains are expected to roll out later this year. The New York Times ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: Amtrak's new trains"

The first scheduled Link 2 Line train departed International District/Chinatown station (CID) this morning, marking the start of full 2 Line simulated service - a key final step before the 2 Line's full opening on March 28. For the next six weeks, passengers will be allowed on the trains between CID and Lynnwood, and between ... Continue reading "2 Line Simulated Service Begins"

An excellent new essay on HistoryLink explains the history of Community Transit (CT), the public transit authority of Snohomish County. The essay divides CT's history into seven chapters: After the jump is a recent episode of CT's ongoing series That Transit Show" highlighting CT's maintenance workers and facilities. This is an Open Thread.

Route 60 travels inbound from Westwood Village to Capitol Hill via White Center, South Park, Georgetown, Beacon Hill, the International District, and First Hill. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In November 2025, Route 60 had 5,976 average weekday boardings. Average Ridership Per Trip The plots below show the average weekday ridership by stop ... Continue reading "Ridership Patterns for King County Metro Route 60"

Massive gridlock and transit reroutes today as the Seahawks celebrate their second Super Bowl win; here's how to take transit to the victory parade. If you're local and want to go, strongly consider riding a bike instead. Sound Transit's monthly maintenance program ended 1 Line service between Mount Baker and TIBS early last night (Feb. ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: Seahawks Victory Parade"

Earlier today, Sound Transit announced the full 2 Line will begin simulated service on Saturday, February 14. During this final testing stage, passengers will be allowed on 2 Line trains between Downtown Redmond and South Bellevue stations, and between International District/Chinatown (CID) to Lynnwood City Center stations. Simulated service will run between February 14 and ... Continue reading "Full 2 Line Simulated Service Begins Saturday"

Metro is studying improvements for Route 60. https://kingcountymetro.blog/2026/01/16/metro-studying-transit-improvements-on-route-60/ The goal of the improvements is to reduce bus travel times by 10-15% during peak commute times. Most of the improvements involve bus stop rebalancing along with some short bus lanes at congested intersections. Take the survey (ends February 20) here: https://kcit.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6mmKfN7IdybRE7Y The survey will also about ... Continue reading "Route 60 Improvements"

On Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl by defeating the New England Patriots 29-13. To celebrate their victory, there will be a parade this Wednesday, February 11, with official celebrations starting at Lumen field at 10am. Regular transit riders should plan ahead as many bus routes will be rerouted to avoid the parade. ... Continue reading "Take transit to the Seahawks' victory parade"

This week, sharp-eyed Link riders (including STB's Michael Smith and Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck) noticed new signposts installed on Link stations platforms across Seattle. The signposts are located along the textured safety tiles at the edge of station platforms near the first between-car barrier, and apparently-finished signposts feature an orange flag with a ... Continue reading "Signs for two-car Link trains return to Seattle"

The history of Gasworks Park. (Fourth Place) Even if you've heard some of the history you probably don't know all of it. From downtown Portland to Mt Hood by MAX and bus routes. (Climate and Transit) I made a similar trip to Grouse Mountain in British Columbia in the 90s. From downtown Vancouver I took ... Continue reading "Sunday Movies: Gasworks Park & Mt Hood"

On March 28 the full 2 Line will open with Crosslake service. The next nationwide No Kings march is on the same day. Having both at the same time raises logistical issues like overcrowded trains in the Crosslake segment and downtown street closures. It's worth thinking through the implications of this early. Hopefully Sound Transit ... Continue reading "2 Line and No Kings"

In January, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced the RapidRide J project reached a significant milestone: completion of the Eastlake water main replacement. It may seem odd for a transit project to be celebrating utility work, but this is a great example of how city departments can work together to improve the built environment. ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: RapidRide J Project Update"

Two teenagers were shot and killed at bus stop on Rainier Ave near South Shore PreK-8 on Friday (KUOW). Both were students at Rainier Beach High School. Students and community members including Mayor Wilson and new SPS Superintendent Ben Shuldiner gathered at the now-closed bus stop on Monday afternoon (The Seattle Times, $). On February ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: A Better Billion"

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is maturing from what I reported two years ago. While Waymo, Zoox (Amazon), and Tesla compete to replace taxis in the U.S., China (Baidu, Pony.ai, WeRide) is already a bit further along. The rollout has shown that AV technology requires expensive sensors but proved itself unless there is a major disruption. ... Continue reading "Autonomous Buses"

A long-awaited ORCA feature is finally available to (some) transit riders: Open Payments. Riders of the RapidRide G line are now able to use common contactless payment methods such as tap-enabled credit cards and digital wallets on smartphones to pay fare at ORCA readers installed along the line. The feature has been in the works ... Continue reading "Tap-to-pay soft launches on RapidRide G"

Tacoma's abandoned railroad tunnel. (Pretty Gritty Tours) 1980 Seattle bus and walking tour. A short KCTS documentary. (Tom Speer) A realtor looks at Seattle in ten years. (Living in Seattle with Sean McConnell) Best taken with a grain of salt, and he's trying to drum up buyers, but here's what people are saying. Just don't ... Continue reading "Sunday Movies: Tacoma tunnel, Seattle 1980 & 2035"

Yesterday, King County Metro launched its next generation of battery-electric buses (BEB) with a new livery and upgraded operator safety partitions. The new buses from Gillig will begin service on February 2, 2026 with periodic service on routes 105, 128, 161, 165, 184, and the F Line. The rollout of these buses marks a key ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: New Battery Buses"

Earlier this week, Sound Transit shared an updated proposal for its ST Express restructure that will be implemented later this year. In response to the initial ST Express restructure proposal, Sound Transit received nearly 4,500 survey responses and in-person feedback at three open house events. Using that input, the agency has proposed minor adjustments for ... Continue reading "Sound Transit's 2026 Service Plan (Phase 4)"

There Are No Safe Streets under Fascist Occupation (streets.mn) Transportation: Land Use and Policy: This is an Open Thread, but comments should focus on topics clearly related to transit and land use issues and be mindful of our Comment Policy.

On December 6, 2025, Sound Transit's Link extension to Federal Way (FWLE) welcomed its first passengers. This 1 Line extension added three new stations along eight miles of new track south of Angle Lake. The three new stations - Kent Des Moines, Star Lake, and Federal Way Downtown - are located in suburban communities between ... Continue reading "Early Look at Federal Way Link Extension Ridership"

Praise for Link from a British perspective. (CityMoose) Toronto's Finch West light rail, which opened in December, is slower than Link's surface segments. (Not Just Bikes) This is the gray line in the top left of Toronto's subway map. It's not the Ontario Line we featured in the automate Ballard article two weeks ago, which ... Continue reading "Sunday Movies: Link & Finch West"

This morning, Sound Transit announced the East Link Extension segment between South Bellevue station and International District/Chinatown station will open on March 28, 2026. When it opens, the 2 Line will be extended from South Bellevue station to Lynnwood City Center station, via Seattle. This extension will open two more Link stations: Mercer Island and ... Continue reading "Full East Link Extension Will Open March 28"

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the First Hill Line streetcar in Seattle. The 2.5 mile, 10 station line connects Pioneer Square, the International District, Yesler Terrace, First Hill and Capitol Hill. Since 2016, the line has carried over 10 million passengers. The First Hill Line launched in 2016 after years of delay. Construction of ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: First Hill Streetcar Turns 10"

Reminder: From 10pm on Friday, Jan. 23, through Saturday, Jan. 24, the DSTT will be closed between Capitol Hill and SODO stations for signal upgrades. Shuttle buses will run every 10-15 minutes. Normal service will resume on Sunday, Jan 25, to serve the NFC Championship game. The Los Angeles Rams will play the Seahawks at ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: like it's 1999"

On New Year's Eve, SDOT posted a short video highlighting several projects it completed in 2025, distilling a longer summary shared in a blog post earlier in December. The blog post gives roughly equal space to each of its major initiatives, highlighting SDOT's Hot Bike Summer" of street improvements, various bridge maintenance projects, ongoing transit ... Continue reading "SDOT's Year in Review reveals room for improvement"

As ST3 construction cost has skyrocketed, Sound Transit is considering truncating the Ballard line at Smith Cove for now. Ballard riders would need to continue on the bus as very few people live around that station. When Paris faced similar topography challenges to serve the end of line 8 by bus, they built an aerial ... Continue reading "Learn from Paris: Gondola line over Ship Canal"

Evan Edinger tries the buses in suburban southern New Jersey. That video got a lot of comments saying why public transit can't work in the US. So Evan made another video refuting these claims. It's a comedy. The second video also refers to his walking to school video, which we covered in September This is ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: South Jersey & Anti-Transit Comedy"

Yesterday, Sound Transit's Rider Experience and Operations Committee shared an update on the agency's 2026 Service Plan. Along with aggregated community feedback on the previously shared ST Express service changes, the Sound Transit announced a pilot night-owl route between Sea-Tac Airport and downtown Seattle. Last year, Sound Transit shared a proposal for three night-owl routes ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Sound Transit to Pilot Night Owl Bus to Sea-Tac Airport"

This morning, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced two executive orders delivering on campaign promises: one will accelerate production of emergency shelter and affordable housing, and the other will quickly implement transit improvements starting on Denny Way. Executive Order 2026-01 directs SDOT to design and install at least one dedicated bus lane on Denny Way, with ... Continue reading "Mayor Wilson's First Orders: Denny Way Bus Lanes and Housing"

Originally Ballard was going to be served by a bridge over the Ship Canal along 14th or 15th Ave NW with a station along on that street. Either way such station would be far from the old town or the current center of Ballard along Market Street. While 3 stations were proposed for West Seattle, ... Continue reading "Ballard Center Station"

Update: The entire T Line will be replaced by buses from Tuesday January 20 at 6:12pm through Friday January 23 evening to replace broken rails. Saturday January 24 may also be affected if necessary. The shuttle buses will have the same schedule as Link and will be free. Update 2: Metro is looking for part-time ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: induced demand"

On Monday, Sound Transit announced seats on all Link trains will be upgraded to use vinyl inserts instead of the current cloth covers. This change comes following feedback the agency received during a pilot of these seats in 2024. The vinyl inserts are similar to the vinyl seats that King County Metro first started using ... Continue reading "Vinyl Seats are Coming to All Link Trains"

When Toronto faced escalating cost on their relief line, instead of extending their existing subway network, they decided to build a separate Ontario line and use lighter and shorter automated trains rather than their prior subway trains. Lighter trains mean faster acceleration, allowing steeper climbs including from within a tunnel to shallow stations and even ... Continue reading "Learn from Toronto: Automate Ballard Line"

Adam (aka AdamDoesNotExist) is at it again, traveling from Washington DC to Boston via only local buses, regional trains, and ferries. Previously we covered his San Francisco to Seattle trip. DC to Boston takes 3 days via local transit, vs 6 hours via Amtrak Acela. Part 1: Washington DC to New York City: Part 2: ... Continue reading "DC to Boston by Local Transit"

On Friday, King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember Claudia Balducci shared a series of updates regarding the cross-lake connection of the Link 2 Line via BlueSky. In a series of posts, Claudia Balducci shared she previewed the unopened section of the 2 Line with project partners from WSDOT, King County Metro, Sound Transit, and ... Continue reading "2 Line Update: simulated service beginning February"

This week Sound Transit announced another batch of work for which it will be strategically closing" sections of the 1 Linefor upgrades and complex maintenance. In summary: Friday, January 9 to Sunday, January 11 (Now): Buses will replace trains between Capitol Hill and SODO each night from 10pm Friday to noon Saturday and 10pm Saturday ... Continue reading "1 Line Update: more strategic closures"