Seattle Transit Blog

At 9:59am last Friday, I boarded Everett Transit Route 29 at Everett Transit Mall Station. While the six other passengers on the bus were traveling to work, home, or somewhere else, for me this trip was the first segment of my region-wide ORCA speedrun. Transit speedrunning is the process of visiting every station in a ... Continue reading "The Ultimate ORCA Speedrun"

Several comments have raised concerns that the August 29th service change shortened Link's service day, so that it now ends earlier and starts later. This interacts with the launch of ST Express Night Ride" routes between midnight and 4am. These theoretically can replace Link trips. But the ST Express routes bypass several high-ridership Seattle Link ... Continue reading "Link Ends Earlier, Starts Later"

Three urbanist lessons from The Netherlands. (Alex Davis, 4 years ago) Musical interlude: Can't Stay with You Baby (I've gotta to find a car to drive me downtown) (Jimi Tenor). Ghost Town (The Specials, 1981). This is an open thread.

Several transit agencies have their twice-yearly service change today or this week. South King County and Pierce County have the most extensive changes to coordinate bus service with Federal Way Link. East King County implements the almost-last phase of its East Link bus restructure. North King County and Snohomish County have some route restructures too. ... Continue reading "Fall 2026 Service Change Begins"

Transit agencies around Puget Sound are updating their networks this weekend. This service change is more significant than most with restructures in south King County and Pierce County, east King County, and north King County and Snohomish County. In addition to the local transit agencies, Sound Transit is revising its ST Express routes to reflect ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Final Trips"

Thank you to everyone to joined Seattle Transit Trivia on Monday. After a competitive game, top scores are: If you are one of top scorers, please check your email for information about the prizes. This post will share the correct answers for all 39 questions. If you missed the game on Monday but want to ... Continue reading "Seattle Transit Trivia Answers"

Headlines from the past week. This is an Open Thread.

The final phase of the Lynnwood Link restructure will take place in north King County on August 29. These changes are in response to the improved frequency of the 1 Line and 2 Line between Seattle and Lynnwood and the upcoming opening of Pinehurst station. In Snohomish County, Community Transit is opening the Cathcart Park ... Continue reading "Fall 2026 Service Change: Snohomish County and North King County"

Update: Thank you for playing Seattle Transit Trivia! We will share the answers and announce the winners in an article later this week. Welcome to Round 3 of Seattle Transit Trivia! Answer each question below with a comment on this post. There are still a few questions from Round 1 and Round 2 that have ... Continue reading "Seattle Transit Trivia: Round 3"

Welcome to Round 2 of Seattle Transit Trivia! Answer each question below with a comment on this post. Each question is worth 2 points. Good luck! As a reminder: Each question below indicates the type of answer expected. Note the following guidelines for each answer type:

Welcome to Round 1 of Seattle Transit Trivia! Answer each question below with a comment on this post. Each question is worth 1 point. Good luck! As a reminder: Each question below indicates the type of answer expected. Note the following guidelines for each answer type:

Montreal's Wellington Street is pedestrianized in the summer. (Oh The Urbanity!) The 405 and 167 freeway rebuild. (Build Core) Managed toll lanes, Stride upgrades. Horse-drawn buses are the ancestor of modern buses. (J Draper) As a reminder, STB is hosting Seattle Transit Trivia today (Monday). Round 1 starts at 10am. Full details are available here. ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: Montreal Pedestrian Street & 405 Rebuild"

Outside Cleveland High School on Friday, Mayor Wilson unveiled her Vision Zero Executive Order. This long-awaited executive order re-prioritizes Vision Zero for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and for other city agencies. In 2015, Seattle committed to reaching zero serious injuries or fatalities on the city's roadways by 2030. In the decade since, 280 ... Continue reading "Wilson expedites safety projects and prioritizes Vision Zero across departments"

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is rolling out the red carpet for King County Metro Route 8. At an event on Thursday, Mayor Wilson helped mark a section of the new bus lane on Denny Way between Minor Ave and Yale Ave. Over the weekend, crews will install the eastbound business access and transit (BAT) lane ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Fixing the L8"

Starting August 29, King County Metro and Sound Transit will be revising routes on the Eastside. These changes are primarily due to the full 2 Line opening in March 2026. Overall, this restructure is focused on reducing redundant service with the 2 Line while improving frequency and reliability. The Fall 2026 restructure also includes routes ... Continue reading "Fall 2026 Service Change: East King County"

Transportation: More headlines after the break. Land Use & Housing: This is an Open Thread.

Earlier today, Brent White wrote the 500,000th comment on a Seattle Transit Blog article. Seattle Transit Blog wouldn't be the same without you: our readers and commenters. Thank you for reading and discussing the latest transit news, route proposals, and ridership data with us since 2007. To celebrate this milestone and the incredible community that ... Continue reading "Join us for Seattle Transit Trivia on August 24!"

Starting August 29, King County Metro, Sound Transit, and Pierce Transit will be making changes to bus routes in south King County and Pierce County. Most of these changes are in response to the Federal Link Link Extension that opened in December 2025. Service changes in east and north King County will be discussed in ... Continue reading "Fall 2026 Service Change: Pierce County and South King County"

Seattle is the opposite of every other US city. (Safety First) Is urbanism inherently left wing? (Oh the Urbanity!) (Warning: The end contains a Canadian rant on US policies.) The Alto high-speed rail mentioned in the video will connect Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Peterborough, and Trois-Rivieres at 200 mph. It's currently in planning. Toronto-Montreal ... Continue reading "Sunday Movie: Seattle Difference & Density Politics"

At the Sound Transit Board System Expansion Committee meeting on Thursday, the agency shared a series of updates on the upcoming West Seattle Link Extension. The grand opening for the 3.9 mile extension from SODO to Alaska Junction has slipped from 2032 to 2035. This delay is due to longer than expected construction time for ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: West Seattle Link Update"

Correction, 8/12 11:30am: We retract the previous statement about a train derailing and have updated the paragraph below with a comment from Sound Transit. We regret this error. After someone crashed their car into a barrier and pushed it onto the tracks along MLK Way on Monday evening, a southbound train attempted to use the ... Continue reading "Midweek Roundup: ban rental junk fees"

King County Metro has shared an updated high-level design of the RapidRide R Line and is asking the community for feedback. The R Line will travel between Rainier Beach station and downtown Seattle on Rainier Ave when it opens in 2032. First envisioned in the 2015 Levy to Move Seattle, work on this route was ... Continue reading "RapidRide R Line Project Update"

Why the DC Streetcar failed. (Climate and Transit) Why small studio apartments are proliferating. Seattle is mentioned twice. (Stewart Hicks) Musical interlude: Crazy Downtown by Allan Sherman, 1965. This is an open thread.

The eastern half of Bellevue Transit Center is closed for Stride S1 and S2 construction, so several bus stops are relocated to adjacent streets. The current phase will last until October. Then the western half of the transit center will close until January. Currently three temporary bus stops have been established on adjacent streets: Sound ... Continue reading "Bellevue Transit Center Bus Relocations"

Over the past three months, thousands of Seattleites have enjoyed a car-free section of Lake Washington Boulevard (LWB) each weekend. The inadequately titled Bicycle Weekends" program closes 3 miles of lakefront roadway to cars so everyone can walk, bike, roll, and play along the water. Mayor Wilson expanded the program this year to include every ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Celebrate Lake Washington Boulevard"

Preliminary first-count results released yesterday. Coverage by KUOW, by The Urbanist, by The Stranger, by The Seattle Times ($), and by the Northwest Progressive Institute. King County's results are here (PDF); statewide results are accessible here. First-drop preliminary results represent about half of ballots cast; later counts typically trend very progressive in the Puget Sound ... Continue reading "August 2026 Primary Election"

First-drop election results after the headlines. Service changes are coming at the end of August! Summary articles are in the works. Headlines: EDIT, 11:30am: Election Results have been moved to a new post. This is an Open Thread. Election results should be discussed in comments on that post.

Sound Transit's expanded night-owl bus service is starting on August 29 with service between Redmond-Seattle and Lakewood-Seattle. In 2025, the agency originally proposed three night-owl routes that would provide service to most Link stations while trains are not running. While two of these routes will start this month, the north route to Everett has been ... Continue reading "Sound Transit expands night-owl service to Lakewood, Redmond - not Everett"

Update: Normal service on the 1 Line and 2 Line resumed shortly after 2pm on Sunday. Late last night, an empty Link train derailed while turning around using the pocket track at International District/Chinatown station. The train was on its way to Stadium station to help ease the crowds of Ed Sheeran fans waiting for ... Continue reading "Derailed train shuts down Link service downtown"

In 2019 Amsterdam committed to removing 10,000 street parking spaces in 5 years to make a more liveable city, repurposing the space for sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit. Local residents were enthusiastic after they were removed. Now Amsterdam is removing 10,000 more spaces by 2030. (Not Just Bikes) This is an open thread.

Seafair is happening Friday-Sunday at Genesee Park. Metro has a transit access page and area map. Route 50 goes to Genesee Park from Columbia City, Othello, and SODO Link stations. Columbia City station also has a shuttle bus between 9am and 6pm on festival days. The page has a list of Link P&Rs and how ... Continue reading "Seafair Weekend & Ballard Link Update"

This is an Open Thread.

Since smashing ridership records following its blockbuster round-the-clock service during the FIFA World Cup, Link light rail has been plagued by a myriad of disparate service disruptions. Just a few days after the USA vs. Belgium match, an open hatch door took down the catenary wire near UW Station, leading to service being suspended in ... Continue reading "Sound Transit addresses recent post-World Cup service disruptions"

Manila's jeepneys and emerging metro rail network. (Evan Edinger) Evan Edinger and Not Just Bikes tour London's bike path network. They compare it to a decade ago and to The Netherlands. Musical interlude: Via con Me (It's Wonderful). 1950s Rome with scooters and streetcars. This is an open thread.

This is an Open Thread.

After nearly two months of various council deliberations and public commentary, the Seattle Transit Measure is officially heading to voters in this year's November General Election. This measure proposes to renew funding for boosted transit service in Seattle, first enacted in 2014 (and reduced in 2020) for 10 years. Mayor Wilson's proposal in June faced ... Continue reading "Seattle Transit Measure renewal headed to voters in November"

Why have two downtown lots have remained empty for over a decade? The story of the Seattle Times lot and the Pioneer Square Station lot. (Build Core) Housing price dynamics in the US, UK, and New Zealand. (Patrick Boyle) This is an open thread.

Link will have a few maintenance reductions in late July and early August. On Sunday July 26 all day, the Crosslake part of the 2 Line will be replaced by shuttle buses between South Bellevue and International District. The shuttle will run approximately every 10-15 minutes. The 1 Line will run every 8 minutes from ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Link Reductions July-August"

A Seattle city committee voted on a slate of amendments to the Seattle Transit Measure (STM) levy renewal Mayor Wilson proposed. The meeting video has the proceedings. It's three and a half hours long, and parts of it were confusing to me. I watched the debates and votes on 6 of the 22 amendments. This ... Continue reading "Seattle Transit Amendments Results"

PubliCola interviewed Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson: Part 1 and Part 2. Cascade PBS sat down with Tacoma Mayor Anders Ibsen, also at 6 months into his first term. Transit & Streets: Land Use & Housing: Other: This is an Open Thread.

By OLIVER CHEN Living in Seattle, I've come to appreciate the humble bus. I find riding the bus much more pleasant than driving through the city (and certainly much better than circling for parking!). Sitting alongside my fellow Seattleites makes me feel like a participant in the ebb and flow of the city rather than ... Continue reading "Mapping King County Metro Ridership"

Deadly stroad crosswalks are unique to the US. (Safe By Design) How LA Metro accidentally made itself fare-free. (Alex Davis) Musical interlude: Walking in LA. I can take a Bus Downtown (You Can Walk Downtown). This is an open thread.

This Monday, July 13, Seattle City Council is holding public hearings on the Seattle Transit Measure, Mayor Katie Wilson's proposed renewal of funding for more frequent, reliable bus service across Seattle. Councilmembers are considering a long list of potential amendments to the proposed measure. Some proposed amendments would cut funding, shorten the measure, and slow ... Continue reading "Action Alert: Stand Up for Seattle Transit"

Sound Transit has unveiled their initial proposal for the 2027 service plan. These changes are relatively minor compared to the Fall 2026 service changes that will take effect in August. This proposal includes changes for routes 510, 512, 532, 535, 545, 560, and Link. Routes 510 and 512 In Everett, early-morning Route 510 trips and ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: Sound Transit's 2027 Service Plan Proposal"

At 6:47 this morning, Sound Transit issued an ominous alert stating 1 Line and 2 Line trains are experiencing delays until further notice due to power issue near University of Washington Station". Less than 10 minutes later, Link service between Northgate, Stadium, and Judkins Park Station was suspended due to the power issue, with shuttle ... Continue reading "Link disrupted due to power issues near UW Station"

Over the past four weeks, Seattle hosted six World Cup matches featuring teams from eight different countries. Fans from around the world traveled to Seattle to cheer on their team and enjoy the Pacific Northwest. Seattle stepped up to the challenge of hosting 750,000 visitors by implementing temporary changes to make their experiences as wonderful ... Continue reading "Seattle won the World Cup, what did we learn?"

Transit & Streets Land Use & Housing This is an Open Thread.

Look out Seattle! World Cup fever has reached its peak. The final World Cup game in Seattle is today at 5pm at Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field). The US Men's team will be playing against Belgium in the Round of 16. The stadium itself will be busy, along with various watch parties around the city. Expect ... Continue reading "How to get around Seattle today"

A Golden Gardens Direct ride from the beach to central Ballard, partly with a view of the bike trail and its linear woods. (Scooby Doo and the Goblin King) This is the real-time trip block by block, so if you find it too slow you can go into Settings -> Playback Speed and speed it ... Continue reading "Sunday Movies: Golden Gardens & Duvall"

Holiday service announcements: Metro holiday service with Sound Transit, streetcars, and the King County water taxis. Sound Transit, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Everett Transit, Kitsap Transit, Monorail, Washington State Ferries announcements. Trailhead Direct (choose route from Routes menu; holiday section is in top right). Below is a breakdown by day. If something is critical to ... Continue reading "Friday Roundtable: July 4 Weekend Service"