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Welcome to the fall edition of Sound Transit’s Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) newsletter where we feature the latest service-related information — as well as a few project highlights — for you to share with your employees or professional network.
In response to increases in ridership, Sound Transit is planning to add service across its system for its fall service change, which takes place Sept. 19-21. Link light rail trains will run every eight minutes during peak hours on weekdays. Trains will run every 15 minutes on weekends and off-peak on weekdays, and every 30 minutes on evenings. Sound Transit will make schedule adjustments to a number of ST Express routes to better meet rider demand. In addition, Sounder South will add two roundtrips to its weekday schedule.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we saw a dramatic decrease in the number of people using Sound Transit services each day. In response to this lower ridership and operator shortages, we implemented emergency service changes in the spring of 2020. As the economy slowly ramps back up, passengers are returning to transit, and we are adding service in response.
Now we’re planning for what our service should look like for 2021. We’re looking carefully at where people most need our services, which passengers depend most on our services and where demand might increase. At the same time, we are looking ahead to our next Link light rail extension opening in fall 2021, and considering how to reroute some of our services to connect with our three new stations in north Seattle (U District, Roosevelt and Northgate).
These are tough decisions, and we need your input. Join us to share your thoughts at a virtual public hearing or by taking our online survey. The public hearing will be held on Thursday, September 24 at 11 a.m.
Your health and safety continues to be our priority. As our region starts to get moving again, we are doing everything we can to help keep you safe, including:
- Cleaning Link and Sounder trains daily.
- Disinfecting high-touch areas like ticket machines and handrails.
- Encouraging operators, security staff and riders to wear masks.
To help keep yourself and others safe while riding, please cover your face, maintain the proper social distance whenever possible and consider using touch-free options to pay for your trip.
Sound Transit is committed to providing the best possible rider experience. Central to this mission is listening to our passengers. To make this easier, Sound Transit launched Sounding Board, a passenger experience improvement community, for sharing thoughts on how to make riding Sound Transit more dependable, available, safe and clean, and how to get passengers the information they need, when they need it.
Sounding Board consists of approximately 400 community members representing Sound Transit’s diverse ridership who have agreed to participate in research activities that focus on understanding passenger experience and gaining feedback on ways to improve that experience. Each month Sounding Board members participate in one or two online activities that focus on understanding rider experiences and preferences on specific aspects of service. Members earn up to 5 points for each activity they complete; points can be redeemed for a VISA gift card. Join us by completing a short survey on your typical use of Sound Transit, your attitudes toward current levels of service, and your vision for the future.
This year will be memorable for many reasons. As our region works to rebound, Sound Transit continues to provide essential transit service — as we’ve done for decades. In fact, 2020 marks the 20th anniversary since passengers first climbed aboard Sounder trains.
On Sept. 18, 2000, Sounder made its inaugural run from Tacoma to Seattle. Since then, it has provided a reliable and traffic-free commute for South Sound residents. While we can’t celebrate in ways we normally would, we still want to thank our riders for making the first two decades of Sounder a success.
To mark the occasion, we’re giving away commemorative ORCA cards this month. Share your story for a chance to win one! Whether you’re a longtime rider or have only ridden once, send a couple sentences about your memories on Sounder (along with a picture if you have one) to theplatform@soundtransit.org by Sept. 14.
As reported in our last issue, Sound Transit is facing greatly reduced revenues due to the COVID-19 crisis. Our Board of Directors is working to determine which transit expansion projects will need adjusted timelines. After public outreach early next year, we expect these decisions in summer 2021. If your organization would like a presentation on this or other Sound Transit topics, please contact us.
On July 16, Sound Transit celebrated the start of construction on the 7.8 mile Federal Way Link Extension. Opening in 2024, the extension includes three new stations serving Kent/Des Moines, South 272nd and the Federal Way Transit Center. This project will connect neighborhoods, giving commuters an option for fast, frequent and reliable service between South King County and Sea-Tac Airport, downtown Seattle, the University of Washington, Northgate, Lynnwood and Bellevue. While a traditional in-person groundbreaking event could not take place under COVID-19 health guidelines, we celebrated virtually with a groundbreaking video featuring leaders on local, state and national levels as well as community members, business owners and artists. This video is also available in Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean. It also includes audio descriptions for those who need it.
Via to Transit is back in southeast Seattle and Tukwila! The pilot, on-demand shuttle service connecting riders to transit hubs returned in late June, and serves Rainier Beach, Othello and Tukwila International Boulevard Link light rail stations. Learn more about Via here.
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