Seattle Transit Blog

Los Angeles struggles with turning around bus ridership while trying to expand its rail network countywide under Measure M. This is an open thread.

Sound Transit’s recently-released Draft 2019 Service Implementation Plan is a data-dense tome covering the next round of ST Express route restructures, ridership and performance data, Title VI analyses, and more. This year’s edition offers a vision of how ST Express service might look in 2025 (pages 85-110), after five more Link extensions and the opening […]

Sound Transit has released its Draft 2019 Service Implementation Plan, along with a one-page summary that looks a lot more succinct and useful than the traditional executive summaries. The actual proposals for service changes are just for March 2019. Highlights and lowlights include: Route 513 will cease serving Evergreen Way, and instead serve the new […]

In case you haven’t opened your mailbox this week, next Tuesday is election day. Ballot drop boxes close at 8 pm sharp Tuesday. Mailing your ballot is free, but it must be post-marked by Tuesday, so mail it by the day before, take it to a post office Tuesday before they close, find the nearest […]

I recently sat down with Everett Transit director Tom Hingson to talk about the agency’s place in the regional transit system and whether it should merge with its larger neighbor Community Transit, the latter of which is a topic that frequently comes up in comment threads on our articles about Everett. Everett Transit proudly traces its […]

Metro and Sound Transit have a new proposal to restructure bus service on the “North Eastside” in order to take advantage of new opportunities arising from University Link and improvements in the SR 520 corridor. Metro abandoned a previous effort to make similar changes right after U-Link opened due to a perceived absence of public […]

Ballard station options Chinatown station options (15:05) Keeping the 3/4 on James (24:03) Eastgate microtransit (35:05) The promise and peril of ideathons (44:12) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_68.mp3

The Sound Transit board kicked off the agency’s 2019 budget process yesterday with a presentation from Sound Transit’s CFO, Tracy Butler. The big takeaway: in keeping with recent trends, projected costs will be larger than expected—but so will revenues. The board also voted to start contract extension negotiations with CEO Peter Rogoff, after some critical […]

Eligible for Sign On Bonus and management incentive! The role manages the valet, parking system and other roadway and pathway hardscape assets for all Seattle Children’s worksites with a focus on the hospital campus. The Parking Manager will design and deliver best-in-class, customer-centric valet services to patients, families and visitors who are seeking treatment or […]

If you haven’t registered to vote in the State of Washington, you still have time to participate in this state’s November 6 election by registering in person at your county’s election office, by close of business next Monday, October 29. King County has two sites taking in-person registrations during business hours: The Election Annex in […]

90s neighborhood plans are not sacred. The Senator from Maltby is showing the idle Seattle delegation how to build a city. As someone grappling with a parent’s retirement arrangements, I’m especially conscious of the human suffering that restrictions on ADUs cause. Blame the people filing nuisance lawsuits to prevent competition for their free parking on […]

Oil companies, including BP and Koch Industries, have continued to pour money into the campaign against I-1631. As of October 22, oil and fossil fuel companies had contributed more than $25 million to the industry PAC opposing I-1631, the initiative that would create a carbon tax and spend the receipts on renewable energy and climate change […]

A coalition of transit advocates and organizations in the city is coming together around a combined set of priorities to make the most of the city’s limited right-of-way. STB is excited to join Move all Seattle Sustainably in advocating for safer, more multimodal streets. This includes more dedicated transit lanes, better pedestrian experiences, and safer […]

I can’t wait till @SeaTimesOpinion rejects the 2018 climate initiative for not being the 2016 climate initiative they opposed at the time. It will be the latest in a long line of bad-faith arguments from the most intellectually dishonest group in Seattle. — Martin Duke (@MartinDuke2) July 11, 2018 It was predictable that the Seattle […]

Eastgate Park and Ride service area King County news release King County Metro customers will soon be able to use new mobile apps to hail an on-demand shuttle to and from transit hubs throughout the region, starting at the county’s largest park-and-ride. Starting on Oct. 23, commuters will be able to use the first app […]

After soliciting feedback last summer about a potential move to Yesler Way, Metro has decided to keep Routes 3 and 4 on James Street between 3rd and 9th Avenues: We considered this change as a way for the routes to avoid traffic congestion near the James Street I-5 ramps, improving their speed and reliability. About […]

U District activists trying to shape neighborhood ($), appear to be constructive. ST needs someone from South King or Pierce County for its Citizen Oversight Panel. Yet another Times reporter “addicted” to transit ($). Maybe they will someday bubble up to the ed board. Pierce Transit avoids disruption after natural gas supplies falter. A deep dive on […]

Where shall we put Ballard’s lone light rail station? As Peter reported, Sound Transit is now in the process of reviewing the many potential alignments for Ballard/Interbay as we approach “Level 3” analysis. Last week’s Elected Leadership Group meeting (video link) was at times a reminder that needs of the riders who will eventually use […]

Last month, the first pair of 18 new Swift bus rapid transit buses entered service on the Blue Line, as part of the line’s return to 10-minute weekday frequencies. The buses were ordered for the Green Line, which will debut next year, and have a few differences from the decade-old coaches that run on the […]

This season’s Trailhead Direct service is wrapping up on October 28th, as the weather worsens and parking demand at trailheads drops. This year’s innovation was to directly serve particularly carless neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, rather than forcing a transfer (or drive) to Issaquah. Feel free to comment on your experiences with Trailhead Direct below, but […]

It shouldn’t come as a shock that STB would endorse a ballot measure that would add more bus service, including longer hours, more frequency, more and faster connections, and more right-of-way priority treatments, in an urban region that makes good use of it. Bruce Englehardt described in full what the measure would likely fund. It […]

Working completely as designed. Thank you @wsdot_520 @DGoldboig, this likely saved everyone on my standing-room-only @SoundTransit 541 bus 4-5 minutes. My @kcmetrobus operator asked me to get you guys to do same for Montlake Fwy stop. Looks like plenty of room for 3 lanes. pic.twitter.com/ZANhp0d5Ba — Glen Buhlmann (@GlenBikes) October 9, 2018

The city’s released its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for accessory dwelling units (ADUs)/backyard cottages last week. Other sites in the urbanist blogosphere analyzed the entire document. This post focuses on the EIS’s study of parking impacts in particular, since worries about street parking availability are a common anti-density talking point. So: would the ADU […]

Voters in the Intercity Transit district, which roughly covers the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Yelm, will soon decide on Proposition 1, a ballot measure that would increase sales taxes by 0.4 percent in order to fund transit services. Intercity Transit currently levies a 0.8 percent sales tax, which makes up 79 percent of […]

The wonderfully named STAB (Seattle Transit Advisory Board) needs new members. More apartments = stabilized rents ($). People “rebutting” this by pointing out the lack of units at the low end of the market should ask themselves if stabilizing market-rate rents matters or not. Though market-rate construction doesn’t solve all problems, it is a necessary […]

If you’re reading STB, you likely need no reminder that climate change is an emergency that requires urgent action. So we’ll dispense with the general case to take on some of the arguments, often in bad faith, deployed against this ballot measure. First, familiarize yourself with the specifics of the measure. The carbon fee will […]

In a meeting last Friday, Seattle and King County elected officials rejected the most expensive West Seattle Link alignment, endorsed a tunnel under the Lake Washington Ship Canal from Interbay to Ballard, and urged Sound Transit to significantly revamp plans for the Chinatown/International District (CID) station. The rejection of CID plans, so far the most […]

Our three endorsements in the primary election remain: Sen. Marko Liias, running for re-election (State Senate, District 21) Jesse Salomon (State Senate, District 32) Joe Nguyen (State Senate, District 34) Six Representatives, five Democratic and one Republican, stood up for Sound Transit against the MVET rollback efforts this year: Jacqueline Maycumber (District 7, Position 1) Beth […]

Today is the deadline to register online to vote in the November election. If you’ve moved here, changed address, or otherwise haven’t registered to vote, the time is now. Please go to MyVote.wa.gov, which is a portal for whatever registration transactions you need. Only Thurston County is offering a strictly transit-related measure on the ballot. […]

Car-sharing attempt in France in 1971. "Lime for cars". Subscription model (to get a key) + pay per ride (with plastic tokens, like coins in phonebooths). While riding, radio signals were sent to the company. (video in French) Entrepreneurial spirit in pre-iPhone era 🤩 pic.twitter.com/lM1notF4xZ — Romain Serman (@romainserman) September 15, 2018

Two months ago I wrote about the Downtown Seattle Association’s experiment with a free waterfront shuttle. The pilot’s original term ended on October 1st, and the numbers are in. September 14th was the highest ridership day, at 1,674. The average weekday attracted 953 boardings, or 95 per hour. Weekends actually saw more usage, at 1,044 […]

It was disappointing to learn that 3 of the 7 RapidRide corridors planned for the Move Seattle levy have been postponed indefinitely. Fortunately, the most effective way to improve transit is also the least expensive: red paint. The Mayor’s budget promised 100,000 new bus service hours. It’ll be a shame if those hours are spent […]

Paine Field commercial flights begin next year ($). Seattle government ditching some cars. As we reported previously, CT fares went up a quarter this week. Link tracks cracked ($); maintenance work this weekend. Everett Transit fares rising steeply through 2020. Buses on I-5 shoulder coming soon. Once a bikeshare leader, SDOT now squashing scooters ($) […]

Last week I pointed to some data from Gene Balk that transit ridership was higher for lower income brackets than higher incomes, consistent with conventional wisdom but disproving the argument that transit improvements are an elite project. But Monday’s column ($) draws the opposite conclusion: Among Seattle-area residents with a salary of $75,000 or more, […]

Peter joins Frank to talk about Paris The Mayor’s budget (7:00) RapidRide (19:15) ST3 Level 2 (32:38) http://traffic.libsyn.com/seattletransitblog/STB_podcast_67.mp3

In a letter addressed to elected officials, Port of Seattle Executive Director Stephen Metruck and Northwest Seaport Alliance CEO John Wolfe announced that the Port opposes both a movable Ship Canal bridge, and an Occidental Avenue alignment for the West Seattle extension. Ship Canal and Duwamish crossings “Moveable bridges across the ship canal should be […]

Metro’s head of service development, Bill Bryant, told STB about Metro’s provisional plans for West Seattle bus operations when the viaduct closes later this year, during the 3-6 week period when the SR 99 tunnel has not yet opened. These changes are not permanent. Metro will revise service again when SR 99 is back in operation […]

Yes, Tokyo, home to the world’s most extensive urban rail network, has one station named “Tokyo”.

If you’ve driven to the San Juans, especially in summer, you know the horror: scheduling a ferry slot months in advance, struggling with an overloaded website when the slots are released, allotting plenty of extra time in case you hit traffic, and showing up no later than 45 minutes before sailing. And then you fork […]

Two pieces of good news for bus commuters on SR-520: one next month and another in 2023. Next month, WSDOT will install a temporary bus-only queue jump in the Montlake off-ramp. This comes a few months after several advocates met with the agency to discuss potential improvements. The queue jump will take advantage of excess […]

What YIMBYs should learn from New York’s ethnic neighborhoods Lyft, Metro, and Zipcar want you to ditch your car Lime scooters are up and running in Tacoma LOL: This Teacher Was Taking Three Buses To Work, So Her Students Surprised Her With Better Public Transit Infrastructure Denver launches its version of ORCA LIFT This Q&A […]

Several of Metro’s busiest routes are scheduled to be upgraded to RapidRide before 2024, while several others will get speed and reliability improvements but without the RapidRide branding, according to the agency’s latest Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). While RapidRide is a program of King County Metro, Seattle’s 2015 Move Seattle Levy promised “seven new RapidRide+ […]

Yesterday Mayor Durkan announced her 2019-2020 budget proposal, to be presented to the City Council, which will have an opportunity to weigh in. In the context of an overall effort to control spending city-wide, the SDOT budget increases by $128m over 2018 levels. Here are some transit highlights: The Streetcar lives! The budget includes $9m […]

Gene Balk has a typically informative column ($) about who is taking to transit to work these days. University professors, housekeepers, and computer programmers have the highest transit share of any professions in Seattle. He astutely points out how much this has to do with where jobs are located. Seattle is incredibly fortunate that Amazon […]

Everett Transit, on the verge of a major network restructure, brought its first electric battery bus into service earlier this week. The bus, a 42-foot Proterra Catalyst E2, is identical to the newer generation of electric battery buses operated by Metro in Bellevue and has been one of the most popular electric models for the […]