Seattle Transit Blog

At a presentation (PDF) to the Transit Advisory Board, Seattle DOT identified a list of Route 44 improvements that would be carried into 30% design. It’s encouraging to see that most of the big stuff, like the bus (BAT) lanes and signal priority, advanced. The initial ideas were just “concepts” so while we shouldn’t expect … Continue reading "Route 44 improvements are refined at 30% design"

It’s a game that crosses Snake and Crazy Taxi but with buses.

Monday, March 2, is the deadline for bills to get out of fiscal and transportation committees in Olympia. A slew of bills important to fighting the climate catastrophe, as well as clearing cheaters out of transit lanes, are up against this wall. Both the House and Senate version of the bill to allow automated camera … Continue reading "Major climate bills face Monday committee deadline"

Monica Nickelsburg, Geekwire: AAA is expanding its GIG Car Share service beyond the San Francisco Bay Area to Seattle. GIG will begin rolling out cars in Seattle this April and its full fleet of 250 Toyota Priuses will be deployed in the city by May. Small Toyota Prius C cars seem like a much more sensible choice … Continue reading "AAA is bringing car sharing back to Seattle"

by Kelsey Mesher A countywide 2020 transportation measure would help address affordability, growth and mobility needs — and maintain Seattle’s current level of service. With one of the largest and most progressive electorates expected to turn out this year, 2020 presents an opportunity to address our region’s largest challenges, including transportation. On Wednesday, February 26, … Continue reading "Now is the time to regionalize transit funding"

Metro Connects is King County Metro’s long range plan. Developed in 2016, it lays out a 25 year vision for the evolution of the Metro network. The plan envisioned a 70% increase in Metro bus service hours by 2040 over 2015 levels. In recent months, Metro has been updating their analysis of how much the … Continue reading "Metro sees higher costs, greater funding needs, in long range plan"

As described above, IT ridership up 20% a month after abolishing fares. Transit commuting is often about making educated guesses about the best way to get there. Finding more space at an SLU bus stop. The principle of “why can’t we have that cool thing?”, in both parable and real-life example. Here in Seattle, discussion … Continue reading "News roundup: zero fare"

At a press conference his morning, NHL Seattle, Seattle Monorail Services, and several public- and private-sector partners will announce a major package of upgrades to the Seattle monorail, along with a program to provide subsidized public transit access to NHL events. These improvements will dramatically improve the peak capacity of the monorail system, and improve … Continue reading "Major Monorail upgrades to open alongside new Arena"

Last week, vandals dealt Link riders, already idling thanks to Connect2020 service reductions, a further blow by vandalizing the Beacon Hill tunnel. From Monday through Thursday Wednesday, trains had to single track between Mt. Baker and Sodo, where they could split into Northbound and Southbound platforms before going right back to single-tracking all the way … Continue reading "Vandalism in Beacon Hill tunnel"

This is an open thread.

Beginning on Monday, Kitsap Transit will be expanding its Bremerton–Seattle fast ferry service to 24 daily sailings on weekdays. The arrival of a new vessel on the route during peak trips will allow for a frequency boost to 30-45 minutes and non-reserved sailings. The Rich Passage 1, which launched the fast ferry service in 2017, … Continue reading "Kitsap Transit expands Bremerton-Seattle fast ferry service"

Metro has a new online open house up for Ranier Avenue RapidRide, now known as RapidRide R. The standard RapidRide treatment of off-board payment, new bus shelters and stop consolidation are being proposed. Additionally, the new route would extend the trolley wire to terminate the line at Rainier Beach Link Station, an improvement we suggested … Continue reading "Metro seeks feedback for RapidRide R, to replace Route 7"

TRU has a survey about transit benefits. Supremes uphold the valuation method that ST uses for MVET. Free passes for very low income people gets out of King County committee. Final plans for streets in “North Downtown.” The session is winding down, but MVET cuts and enforcement cameras ($) are still alive. Pierce Transit has … Continue reading "News roundup: not be a mess"

Back during my first round of gripes about rider-unfriendly choices for the Connect2020 construction delays, I suggested that Sound Transit might have run trains more frequently outside the downtown transit tunnel. At the time, ST said that this would likely result in significant train bunching. After further discussions, they appear to have backed off this … Continue reading "How Connect2020 trains might have been more frequent"

Community Transit’s Swift Blue Line, the most popular bus route in Snohomish County, is being extended south from Aurora Village to meet Link light rail at Shoreline North/NE 185th Station in 2024. The agency is proposing three routing options for the extension, as well as potential changes to service that would take effect at the … Continue reading "Community Transit studies connections from Swift to Link at 185th Street Station"

Link’s 2009 opening inaugurated the proof-of-payment system and introduced the Puget Sound to the concept of the Fare Enforcement Officer. Over the last decade, as POP and FEOs have expanded to RapidRide and Link’s ridership has exploded, FEOs have come under much scrutiny. Following King County Metro’s 2018 examination of fare policy, Sound Transit has … Continue reading "Sound Transit presents initial fare enforcement report"

This is an open thread.

More Connect 2020 gripes University St naming (5:33) Fare enforcement (8:55) MVET bill (29:20) SDOT capital projects (34:50) North link restructure (46:58) Note: when we recorded this last week, I-976 had just been upheld by a local court; the upper court has since temporarily sided with Sound Transit. Download link

Sound Transit’s System Expansion Committee unanimously approved a motion on Thursday to advance work on a Link station at NE 130th. If adopted by the full Board later this month, as seems likely, Sound Transit will proceed with design work and the first of the construction required to avoid serious disruptions to riders if the … Continue reading "NE 130th station advances"

A 2-hour lecture on how Link is crossing Lake Washington. More Kitsap fast ferry trips. ($) Sightline breaks down all the housing bills this session. Record water taxi ridership. Once again, PSRC handing out federal transportation dollars. Judge dismisses some legal arguments ($) against I-976; other arguments, appeals still pending. The latest carsharing entry is … Continue reading "News roundup: in the right building"

A few months ago, Sound Transit backtracked on their decision to name the different Link lines after colors (e.g. Red Line, Blue Line, etc.). This was a wise move for several reasons, among them the history of red-lining in housing, the difficulty of explaining what “red” is to non-English speakers, and potential difficulties for colorblind … Continue reading "What do we name the different Link lines?"

On February 22, twelve routes from West Seattle and Burien will begin using the new Columbia Street transit “pathway” to reach Downtown Seattle. These routes (RapidRide C Line, 21X, 37, 55, 56, 57, 113, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125) carry a combined 26,000 daily riders and continue south via Alaskan Way to State Route 99. … Continue reading "Columbia Street busway opens Feb. 22 with stops for ferry riders"

Update: Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon updated the status of three of these bills in the Comments. A key bill to reset the state’s anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions reductions schedule to a more ambitious pace recommended by the State Department of Ecology, House Bill 2311, by Rep. Vandana Slatter (D – Bellevue) is running up against a … Continue reading "Climate bills in Olympia: what’s moving, what’s delayed"

The original bullet train line opened in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympics with a top speed of 210 km/h. For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a new train will be introduced that reached 360 km/h during testing on that same line. This is an open thread.

Commenter Matthew, in response to my questions about the value of design review: What value are we getting out of the process? I would argue a few that should be important to the Seattle Transit Blog readers. I am an architect and a significant portion of my time has been permitting projects in Seattle. The … Continue reading "Comment of the week: design review"

The Sound Transit Board will reopen the decision, approved by the Board just two weeks ago, to rename the University Street Station in downtown Seattle as Union Street/Symphony station. The news came at the conclusion of Thursday’s Executive Committee meeting when Claudia Balducci announced that she would bring a motion for reconsideration to the next … Continue reading "Balducci: rethink University St Station renaming"

Ballard-Interbay transit study. Low-carbon fuels standard passes the House again, but with one vote less than last time (!). Construction photos from Connect2020. Intercity Transit, now fare-free, sees ridership jump 13% early on. Drivers high on marijuana yet another reason to stay off the roads. Ambitious California housing bill dies ($). The Seattle Times has … Continue reading "News roundup: soggy"

The Senate Transportation Committee held a hearing yesterday on several bills relating to Sound Transit. The most significant is SB 6606, a bill from Senator Marko Liias to reset MVET valuations. That bill saw a substitute amendment that would somewhat offset the revenue reduction to Sound Transit. The offset would not be enough to satisfy … Continue reading "Legislature has hearing on Sound Transit bills"

Heidi Groover and Daniel Beekman with a good scoop in The Seattle Times: But the draft assessment focused on SDOT’s management makes the broader claim that the department is not yet prepared to manage a major FTA-funded construction project. PMA Consultants concluded that SDOT “does not yet have the management capacity and capability to implement an FTA-funded … Continue reading "More scrutiny for SDOT and Madison BRT"

Should Link accept paper transfers? The idea surfaced recently in Sound Transit’s ongoing examination of fare enforcement. Making it easier for riders to pay fares is one part of the response to concerns about the impacts of fare enforcement. Currently, Sound Transit can accept transfers from other agencies if riders are using an ORCA card, … Continue reading "Paper transfers on Link"

This is an open thread.

In the past few years, we’ve seen a rise in “preemption” laws, whereby conservative states try to clip the wings of their liberal cities. Examples in the Trump era include banning cities from increasing their minimum wage or acting as immigrant “sanctuary cities.” Of the national preemption laws tracked by the progressive Partnership for Working … Continue reading "The fight over bus lane enforcement is about cultural norms"

With the debate about full electrification timetables out of the way, Metro is moving ahead with its plans for ordering 120 battery buses this year: In 2017, Constantine and Metro General Manager Rob Gannon called on the industry to invest more in battery-electric options, including the creation of coaches that could travel farther and handle … Continue reading "Metro picks New Flyer for big electric bus purchase"

Senate Bill 6606, introduced last week by Senator Marko Liias, is the latest effort in the Legislature to resolve the three years old controversy over the MVET valuation schedule. The bill would potentially reduce Sound Transit tax revenues by just over $1 billion over the next 20 years. The MVET valuation schedule has been a … Continue reading "Liias bill would reset MVET valuations"

Alex Pedersen sits down with Seattle Bike Blog. Derailment Amtrak engineer now suing them ($). A report on RapidRide J (Eastlake) with bike lanes. Meetings underway! A new county mobility framework sounds like a snooze but could result in big changes down the road. The USS renaming kerfuffle is not very important, but also was … Continue reading "News roundup: not very important"

Shoulda hired these guys A few weeks into Connect2020, riders are enduring the result of some failures of foresight. Planning any train trip requires a 15-minute buffer that makes it nearly unusable for short-haul trips, where the train’s speed advantages matter less. Long-term failures The Central Link line is neither futureproof nor robust. The intention … Continue reading "Disappointments with the Connect2020 plan"

A year ago, we reported on future ridership maps that showed a 2040 ST3 system with ridership concentrated in and near Seattle. We subsequently got a closer look at the station (and segment) level detail behind those maps. The tables below are the high-end estimates for boardings 2040, organized by rail segment. These estimates are … Continue reading "Sound Transit’s station ridership in 2040"

Beginning Wednesday, most private vehicles will be prohibited on San Francisco’s Market Street from Van Ness Ave to the Embarcadero. It is expected to improve transit performance along the corridor and reduce pedestrian-vehicle conflicts at some of the city’s most hazardous intersections. This is an open thread.

Katherine Khashimova Long reports that badly needed housing projects are taking an average of 60% longer to permit than in 2014 ($), adding as much as seven months of pure bureaucracy. The word “emergency” is used a lot in public discourse. Different parts of the political spectrum say we have them for the global climate, … Continue reading "Seattle permitting is glacial"

2019 Washington State Ferries ridership down 3%. SDOT claims federal investigation will have no impact on RapidRide G. But originally supposed to open last year, now it’s supposed to be 2023. Rep. Nicole Macri (D – Capitol Hill) files legislation that would positively transform the region. It’s official: Union Street Symphony Station. USDOT sends $790m … Continue reading "News roundup: have no impact"

In 2021, Sound Transit’s Northgate Link Extension will add three new stations to the light rail line formerly known as Central Link: University District, Roosevelt, and Northgate. As with previous Link extensions, Metro plans to restructure bus service to improve connections to the new stations and reduce duplication with new light rail service. Given the … Continue reading "Metro proposes new network for North Link"

A striker amendment to be offered this afternoon sets a 2035 date for full electrification of the Metro bus fleet, but also responds to Metro’s concerns about the feasibility of this timeline. The revisions to the language means 2035 is set as a goal rather than a requirement in the ordinance. Metro will develop an … Continue reading "Battery bus amendment sets 2035 goal, not requirement"

Sound Transit is planning to rename the University Street Station to “Union Street Symphony” ahead of the opening of the Northgate Link extension. ST has correctly determined that having a station named “University Street” and another named “University District” (in addition to a third station named “University of Washington”) will cause confusion to riders. While … Continue reading "Station renames"

King County Council is considering an ordinance that would accelerate the planned transition to a fully electric bus fleet from 2040 to 2035. Staff have warned too a rapid transition would come at a steep cost, with large near term budget investments leading to service reductions. The cost worries take two forms. The upfront investments, … Continue reading "County considers fully electric bus fleet by 2035 despite warnings of service cuts"

The recurring message for Connect 2020 riders is that alternatives are your friend during the ten-week period. While many downtown-bound Sounder commuters have traditionally headed straight to the International District Link station (IDS) to reach their final destination, a smaller portion connects to buses at either the near-side or far-side stop at 4th and Jackson. … Continue reading "Connect 2020 is a reminder to improve 4th & Jackson"

Two friends took a trip on the longest journey on a single bus in America, Greyhound from NYC to LA, and documented the whole experience.

Connect 2020 airing of the grievances 130th St infill station (18:20) Protected bus lanes (32:23) Low-income fares (35:27) Bike and scooter share (50:19) Download link

Now that Redmond Link has officially broken ground, significant construction will be beginning in the Spring along the 3.4 mile extension from Redmond Technology Station to Downtown Redmond. Two new stations will be added in Downtown Redmond and just across the freeway at Southeast Redmond. The station designs are making their way through design review. … Continue reading "A look at the Redmond Link stations"

Ever since voters first had a look in 2016, the exact plan for South Sounder expansion in ST3 has been vague. Key elements are subject to negotiation with BNSF, who owns the track between Seattle and Tacoma. However, staff briefed the Sound Transit System Expansion Committee last Thursday on the recommendations they’ve been able to … Continue reading "The ST3 Sounder plan is still not very clear"

Legal motions in the I-976 lawsuit. People don’t like the new Link announcement voice, designed to get your attention during Connect2020. All that home construction we’ve seen in Washington? It’s not nearly enough. “Symphony” narrowly wins the “rename University Street Station” survey. Dow Constantine appoints 4 ST Boardmembers; only change is Renton Councilmember Ed Prince … Continue reading "News roundup: designed to get your attention"