Seattle Transit Blog

Automated bus lane enforcement may have died in the state legislature, but that’s no reason the city can’t get creative when it comes to enforcing bus lanes. While true grade separation is the holy grail of reliable transit, an at-grade bus lanes can be protected much like a bike lane. Chicago’s regional planning … Continue reading "Protecting bus lanes"

At Thursday’s System Expansion Committee meeting, staff shared options for opening the NE 130th Link station ahead of the currently scheduled 2031 date. An early opening will be less expensive in capital dollars and avoid rider disruptions later. But the earlier expenditure has some modest impacts for Sound Transit’s indebtedness at an arguably sensitive time … Continue reading "Sound Transit previews NE 130th options"

Transit design goal: have a design that has endured for a century, becoming synonymous with the city it represents. This is an open thread.

With Link headways now around 15 minutes all day, real time data would allow Link’s quality of service to at least match that of a frequent bus route. Unfortunately, that’s not to be. ST’s David Jackson, answering when we could expect an accurate GTFS feed: Because of the lead time required for the GTFS data … Continue reading "No realtime data for Connect 2020"

Metro is considering a program of income-based fares that would fully subsidize fares for riders with very low incomes. A public launch is targeted for July 2020. The program would expand on the current ORCA Lift which offers 50% discounts across local agencies to those with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Currently, … Continue reading "Metro to expand low income fare subsidy"

Metro hiring for tons of different jobs. State hero Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon trying to remove regulatory barriers to housing construction. Link headways slide from 12 minutes to “13-15“. When do we get to start using the Columbia St pathway? Just keep the center platform at Pioneer Square. It saves money, time, and is better for … Continue reading "News roundup: not nearly enough"

Voters approved an ST3 plan that included a NE 130th Street “infill” station opening in 2031. Of course, the segment it is “infilling” has barely started construction and won’t open until 2024. In principle, completing all the work in one go would simplify the project and give riders 7 more years of high-quality service. On … Continue reading "NE 130th Station discussion tomorrow"

If you’ve gotten used to just waltzing up to the train station and waiting for the next train, the 12-minute headways during Connect 2020 may be something of a shock. Fortunately Sound Transit has published a Connect 2020 timetable, so you can plan ahead. You can view the PDF or just go to your favorite … Continue reading "Use the Link timetables during Connect 2020"

For the next ten weeks, Link riders will have to contend with infrequent trains, a forced transfer in Pioneer Square, and weekend closures to prepare for Northgate and East Link Expansions. These delays and closures could have been avoided by building for future expansion originally rather than planning and authorizing the system piecemeal. This time, … Continue reading "Seattle Subway: the danger of tunnel vision"

Connect 2020‘s first full closure of the downtown transit tunnel is behind us. Now, we settle in for 10 weeks of tighter, more crushloaded trains during peak periods, longer waiting time especially during peak, a mid-line forced transfer across a temporary center platform at Pioneer Square Station, and a ban on bikes on the train … Continue reading "Cyclists to bear brunt of light rail operational changes, starting this morning"

This is an open thread.

The ten-week period of construction work to install East Link track and switches in International-District/Chinatown Station, a project Sound Transit has dubbed “Connect 2020“, has arrived. Operational nuisances begin today and tomorrow with a full closure of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Just like happened a couple weekends last fall, shuttles will run every 7 … Continue reading "Link FREE this weekend for tunnel closure"

WSDOT looking at adding Spokane ($) to the HSR plan. USDOT is auditing SDOT’s usage of federal funds in several projects. It is a criminal inquiry. Bothell man arrested for joyriding in a stolen Sound Transit golf cart. Overlake TC bus stops have moved. Everett Transit facing a future of declining revenue, will consider merging … Continue reading "News roundup: not afraid"

With a decade full of dramatic changes to Seattle and the region as a whole behind us, it’s time to look ahead to what the 2020s has in store. Between completing the bulk of light rail expansion under ST2, starting work on ST3 projects, and figuring out the new region that springs forth from the … Continue reading "Looking forward to 2020 and beyond"

Happy New Year! Today, Thurston County Intercity Transit is embarking on a five-year pilot program to run without fares. That means both their fixed-route buses and paratransit (which, by federal law, cannot charge more than twice the fixed-route fare) will be free. This experiment is not a dive off the ideological deep end, but, rather, … Continue reading "Intercity Transit rolls out fare freedom, and schools King County on performance metrics"

On the eve of the new year, it’s time to review the old. In 2019, we dove deeper into ST3 planning. Transit advocates mused on ST4. As the year drew to a close, we also contended with a possible reduction in funding for already approved projects and current bus service in Seattle. In descending order, … Continue reading "Most read & commented STB posts of 2019"

Geekwire reports that the carshare company will shut down across North America in February. Cars will start disappearing well before then. This step is not surprising. Lime recently shut down their similar Limepod service. ShareNow itself is a merger from weakness of two previous competitors. Recent tinkering with the fee structure was a likely signal … Continue reading "ShareNow ceasing operations, Limebike pauses"

This is an open thread.

King County Metro and Seattle Streetcars will be allowing riders to ride for free from 7 pm on New Year’s Eve, 2019, to 4 am on New Year’s Day, 2020. This is just for King County Metro (including Via to Transit, Community Van, Community Ride, and Access) and the streetcars, not other agencies, nor for … Continue reading "Free Metro rides New Years Eve / Holiday service changes / long-term Link pain"

Metro has revealed their preferred alignment for RapidRide K in Kirkland. The service will operate between Downtown and Totem Lake via NE 85th and 124th Ave NE on Rose Hill. In South Kirkland, it will follow 6th St and 108th Ave. The decision has implications for several other routes which will be moved or shortened. … Continue reading "Metro selects a preferred alignment for RapidRide K"

Since it dropped right before Thanksgiving, I worry not everyone saw Alon Levy’s excellent piece in Streetsblog on fares and fare enforcement. The proximate reason for the piece is New York’s plan to spend a bunch of money on fare enforcement that’s disproportionate to the actual loss of revenue involved. As per usual, the piece … Continue reading "Fares, Faregates and Fare Enforcement"

Peter Rogoff gets an “excellent” (not “outstanding”) job evaluation ($). ECB checks in on Alex Pedersen’s first few weeks in office. Not great! Republicans want to gut the general fund to subsidize highways deferred by I-976. University Place Mayor Kent Keel is the new ST Board Chair. Dow Constantine vice-chair. Sound Transit open to cutting … Continue reading "News roundup: Merry Christmas"

by ALEX KVEN Some fixes to transit delays are expensive, or require taking on entrenched interests, but others do not. Here are two easy wins in the southern part of I-405. On SR-167 northbound, the HOV/toll lane on the left-hand side turns into a regular lane shortly after S. 180th street. This is quite early … Continue reading "Two easy ways to speed up I-405 buses"

OneBusAway is an integrated, open-source suite of software components that provides real-time and schedule information for public transit, supported by a nonprofit organization that is responsive to the needs of transit agencies and the riders. It is also an important alternative to the surveillance capitalism business model for providing such information. In this post, I will argue … Continue reading "Surveillance Capitalism, Transit Information, and OneBusAway"

This is an open thread.

SDOT’s spot improvements program strikes again. This time, it’s a re-channelization of one block of 3rd Avenue at the downtown-Belltown border to allow southbound buses to more easily enter the 3rd Avenue transitway. SDOT says the change “will benefit approximately 168,000 daily bus riders on 36 key routes.” The current configuration has two southbound GP … Continue reading "Bus lane / queue jump coming to 3rd and Virginia"

Why is ridership growth slowing? Route 44 I-976 on hold (new results maps) Ride2 cancelled Which avenue is your bus? Download link

A crowd in Renton gets to question some transit leaders. I wish we had a better canned answer for what cities can do to get better transit service given the service guidelines. More details on reduced Link service this winter. Someone had to say it: the deep-bore tunnel tolls aren’t high enough. Sounder vs. car … Continue reading "News roundup: someone had to say it"

On Monday, Sound Transit announced that the full funding grant agreement (FFGA) for the Federal Way Link Extension project had been sent for Congressional approval, one of the final steps before the grant is awarded. With $790 million in a direct grant and $629 million available through a low-interest TIFIA loan, the final pieces needed … Continue reading "Federal funds on their way for Federal Way Link"

If you’re reading this, there’s some year in which you became very interested in Puget Sound area transit services. For me, that year was 2006, and I found Jim Kershner’s Transit: The Story of Public Transportation in the Puget Sound Region to be a concise, readable, and richly illustrated overview of all that has gone … Continue reading "Book review: Transit"

Last year, a larger percentage of Seattle residents than ever reported using transit to commute to work. Seattle has made remarkable progress this decade in substituting away from drive-alone commuting. Booming employment growth in downtown Seattle and South Lake Union made it easier for workers to access jobs via transit. Large investments in bus and … Continue reading "Seattle transit ridership pauses after years of rapid growth"

Greta’s speech was part of an hour of speeches all worth listening to, if not as incisive as Greta’s timeline explainer. This is an open thread.

It’s been a few months since our last check-in with Northgate Link, and things have changed dramatically around the three stations. Holiday shoppers no longer throng Northgate Mall, which is now split in two and without several of its longtime tenants. Roosevelt has gained the first of two cross-streets and welcomed a few new apartment … Continue reading "Finishing touches for Northgate Link as work continues below"

Supremes uphold the stay on I-976; tax cut is off indefinitely. Cuts coming anyway. A report from the Delridge Station open house. Bus lane enforcement cameras are getting it done in NYC. Seattle rolls out rules for the e-scooter pilot. Metro has a survey on more water taxi routes. Roosevelt over 95% complete. Lynnwood approves … Continue reading "News roundup: a bad year"

Sydney Brownstone in the Seattle Times: This year, Seattle will invest the most it ever has in affordable housing, a total of $110 million, Mayor Jenny Durkan said Monday. All of that funding will go toward the construction and redevelopment of new units, the most ever generated through Seattle investments in a single year – 1,944 … Continue reading "Seattle steps up its affordable housing efforts"

Last week, we reported on the under-performing Ride2 services in West Seattle and Eastgate which have experienced low ridership and outsized costs per rider. Yesterday, Metro announced they were ending both pilots effective December 20. (The news was first reported by West Seattle Blog). The Ride2 services were created as one year pilots, and the … Continue reading "Ride2 in West Seattle & Eastgate will end service"

The latest round of Federal Way Link public meetings came with a website. There isn’t anything of interest in terms of station area design that Bruce didn’t cover in detail over two years ago. Nevertheless, there’s new information about the artists that have been selected for each station. I’m of no use for art criticism, … Continue reading "Federal Way Link survey is out"

Any regular transit rider coming home from Bellevue, in a bus, in an HOV lane on I-405 southbound, knows well the feeling of moving 0-5 mph. Granted, it’s not always like this. There are certainly some days where it zips by traffic at nearly 60, while some other days it takes over 20 minutes just … Continue reading "The cost of HOV-2 on I-405"

This is an open thread.

One of the best improvements in the recent Metro service change was the one that cost essentially nothing: re-timing route 60 and 107 schedules on evenings and weekends to create combined 15-minute headway on the 15th Ave S corridor between Beacon Hill Station and Georgetown. There is more scheduling cleverness still to be milked out … Continue reading "Improving 60/107 frequency to match Link, virtually for free"

Last election cycle, virtually every city council candidate knew enough about Seattle transit to say they supported “better east-west connections.” You don’t have to ride the bus very much to know that getting across town can be a slog. Promising to fix it turns out to be a popular idea. At a series of open … Continue reading "SDOT and Metro have some big ideas for Route 44"

If half of Limebikes are unrentable at any given time, that seems like a problem. ST kicking bikes out of the train between University St and Chinatown during the “Connect 2020” period of great crowding; also, 5 cents/hour bike lockers. In the wake of the Amtrak derailment report, ST sacks its chief safety officer ($). … Continue reading "News roundup: shear wave velocity"

Seattle voters couldn’t be more clear: They demand better transit and they are willing to fund it. Tim Eyman’s I-976 was demolished in Seattle, losing by over 3-1. This follows huge victories in Seattle for transit in 2014 (Seattle TBD), 2015 (Move Seattle), and 2016 (ST3.) Despite repeated and very clear messages from Seattle voters, … Continue reading "Seattle legislators: fund transit now"

King County has piloted several on-demand services that connect people with transit hubs. The services address first/last mile access issues up to three miles around transit centers. Recent data indicates that Via continues to perform well in the Rainier Valley with growing ridership and progressively declining average costs. Meanwhile, the Ride2 services in West Seattle … Continue reading "Via shuttles performing well; Ride2 not so much"

The city of Kirkland recently launched a Safe and Active Transportation survey. The survey is the first chance for public engagement as the city works to rewrite its Active Transportation Plan, which lays out Kirkland’s strategy for moving cyclists and pedestrians through the city. The last time the city updated its Active Transportation Plan (ATP) … Continue reading "Kirkland needs to hear from you about its Active Transportation Plan"

King County has been working with the Equity Cabinet on a new mobility framework contributing to communities, the economy, and the environment. This is an open thread.

At first glance, there is little rhyme or reason to which buses use which avenues in Downtown Seattle. In fact, there is some structure to these allocations, although there are a bunch of exceptions. Assigning rules does point to some situations where a swap or two could allow heavy bus users to commit it to … Continue reading "Which avenue?"

I recently followed the recommendation of a bunch of folks on Twitter and picked up Lizabeth Cohen’s Saving America’s Cities: Ed Logue and the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age. It’s fairly weeds-y, and I’ll admit that I skimmed a few sections here and there. But overall I was glad to read … Continue reading "Book Review: Saving America’s Cities"

All Tacoma public high school students getting free ORCA cards. ST schedules for today and tomorrow. Big development ($) slated for Lynnwood TC. Tim Eyman running for governor. More bike lockers, fewer bike racks at UW Station. West Seattle forum provides some Link planning feedback. Metro drivers pushing for more safety measures. New Seattle Uber/Lyft … Continue reading "News roundup: Happy Thanksgiving"

Implementation of I-976 has been put on hold temporarily pending the outcome of the coalition lawsuit in King County Superior Court. In a decision delivered this morning, Judge Marshall Ferguson also indicated that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of the case. The ruling details testimony about the damage that would ensue … Continue reading "I-976 on hold, likely to be overturned"