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Sound Transit

Coordinates: 47°35′56″N 122°19′43″W / 47.59889°N 122.32861°W / 47.59889; -122.32861
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Sound Transit

Union Station, Sound Transit's headquarters since 1999
Agency overview
FormedSeptember 17, 1993 (1993-09-17)
TypeRegional transit authority
JurisdictionSeattle metropolitan area
HeadquartersUnion Station
401 S. Jackson Street
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
47°35′56″N 122°19′43″W / 47.59889°N 122.32861°W / 47.59889; -122.32861
Motto"Ride the Wave"
Employees1,585[1]
Annual budget$3.1 billion (2024)[1]
Agency executive
  • Goran Sparrman, CEO (interim)
Key document
Websitesoundtransit.org

Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It manages the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, regional Sounder commuter rail, and Sound Transit Express bus service. The agency also coordinates with the regional ORCA fare card system used by transit operators across the metropolitan area. In 2019, Sound Transit services carried a total of 48 million passengers and averaged over 161,000 riders on weekdays.

Sound Transit was created in 1993 by King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to build a regional rapid transit system. After an unsuccessful proposal in 1995, the agency's plan for regional light rail, commuter rail, and express bus service, named "Sound Move", was approved in November 1996. ST began operating its express bus service in September 1999, taking over existing routes from local transit agencies. The region's first commuter rail line, between Tacoma and Seattle, started in December 2000; the agency's first light rail line, Tacoma Link (now the T Line), began service in August 2003. Light rail service in Seattle on Central Link (now the 1 Line) began in 2009, and is the largest part of the Sound Transit system in terms of ridership. Union Station in Seattle has served as the agency's headquarters since its renovation in 1999.

Sound Transit is independent of local transit agencies and is governed by an eighteen-member board of directors consists of elected officials from member jurisdictions and the Secretary of Transportation. It is funded by local sales taxes, property taxes, and motor vehicle excise taxes levied within its taxing district in portions of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The agency has passed three major ballot measures to fund system expansion: Sound Move (1996), Sound Transit 2 (2008) and Sound Transit 3 (2016). Planning and construction of transit projects is scheduled to continue until 2041 under the Sound Transit 3 plan, which would expand the light rail network to 116 miles (187 km) and 83 stations.

Services

[edit]
Sound Transit services
A Link light rail train on 1 Line in Seattle
A Sounder commuter train at Everett Station
A double-decker Sound Transit Express bus on Interstate 5 in north Seattle

Sound Transit operates three main transit services across the Seattle metropolitan area: the Link light rail system, which serves as the rapid transit system for the region; the Sounder commuter rail system from Everett to Lakewood, via Seattle; and the Sound Transit Express bus system across the three counties.[2] In 2019, these systems carried more than 48 million passengers, averaging 161,238 riders per day on weekdays.[3] A fourth service, Stride bus rapid transit, is planned to be introduced in the late 2020s.[2][4] Sound Transit's services use a unified livery and paint scheme that consists of blue, teal, and green waves against a white background.[5][6] Link, Sounder, and Stride all use the same naming scheme for lines and services, which switched from colors to numbers and letters in 2021.[7]

All of Sound Transit's services accept cash payment and mobile tickets as well as the regional ORCA card, a contactless proximity card with stored fares and passes.[8] As of 2024, fares on Link and Sound Transit Express use a flat rate while most Sounder passengers pay based on the traveled distance.[9][10] Discounts are offered for eligible low-income households, senior citizens, and people with disabilities; passengers under the age of 19 are not charged a fare as part of a statewide program.[11][12] Sound Transit's light rail and commuter rail stations do not have faregates or turnstiles, instead relying on proof of payment that is enforced by fare ambassadors.[13][14]

As of 2024, Sound Transit has a fleet of 538 vehicles for use on its services. The fleet is composed of 175 low-floor light rail vehicles for the 1 and 2 Lines; 8 streetcars for the T Line; 78 bilevel cars and 14 locomotives for Sounder; and 319 buses for Sound Transit Express.[15] The entire Link and Sound Transit Express fleet is considered accessible, with level boarding or ramps and lifts. Sounder trains have a high platform with a designated level boarding area for ramps.[16] All vehicles are also equipped to carry bicycles in racks; the Sound Transit also provides bicycle cages at some stations.[17][18] By 2027, the agency plans to deploy an additional 49 light rail vehicles for Link and 44 buses for the Stride bus rapid transit system, including double-decker buses.[15]

[edit]
Main articles: Link light rail and List of Link light rail stations

The Link light rail system encompasses three lines with 45.1 miles (72.6 km) of track and 43 stations. The three lines, which have no direct connection, are the 1 Line between Seattle, Tukwila, and SeaTac; the 2 Line between Bellevue and Redmond; and the T Line in central Tacoma.[19] Link trains carried 25 million passengers in 2019, averaging 82,783 on weekdays,[3] making it the 10th-busiest light rail system in the United States.[citation needed]

Link trains generally run seven days a week at frequencies of 6 to 24 minutes, with stops spaced closely together. Most stations offer connections to nearby buses or a park and ride facility.[8] The system is planned to expand to 83 stations and 116 miles (187 km) by 2041, with five lines serving all three counties.[20][21] 1 Line and 2 Line trains are operated and maintained under contract with King County Metro and use longer, four-car trainsets that have a typical capacity of 150 passengers in each car.[22][23] The T Line uses low-floor streetcars, unable to be coupled into pairs, and are the only Sound Transit service to be directly operated and maintained by the agency rather than a contractor.[22]

Sounder commuter rail

[edit]
Main article: Sounder commuter rail

Sounder is the regional commuter rail service managed by Sound Transit and has two lines that intersect at King Street Station in Downtown Seattle. Trains generally run during rush hours with limited service at other times, including weekend trains for special events. The N Line connects Seattle to Everett, stopping at two intermediate stations in Snohomish County. The S Line connects Seattle to Tacoma and Lakewood, stopping at six other stations in Pierce County and southern King County.[24] Trains are operated under contract by BNSF Railway crews on the company's leased tracks, while the vehicles are maintained by Amtrak.[25] Sounder's Bombardier BiLevel Coach railcars have a seating capacity of 950 passengers on the S Line in an eight-car configuration and 300 to 450 passengers on the N Line, which typically uses two to three cars in normal service.[2][15]

Sound Transit Express

[edit]
Main article: Sound Transit Express

Sound Transit Express is a network of 24 limited-stop express bus routes providing regional service to cities in all three counties, primarily using a network of high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes) on state-maintained freeways. Some routes operate seven days a week, while others are limited to rush hours only.[8][26] These routes normally have wide distances between stops, which are primarily hubs and transfer points in cities and suburban areas where local routes operated by other agencies connect.[27] Sound Transit funded the construction of new transit hubs, park-and-ride lots, and direct access ramps to the HOV lanes as part of the rollout and expansion of express buses.[28] The bus fleet is owned by Sound Transit and includes double-decker buses with up to 81 seats, articulated buses, high-floor motorcoaches, and standard buses with a minimum of 42 seats.[29][30] Buses are operated and maintained under contracts with local transit authorities (Community Transit, King County Metro, and Pierce Transit) who also deploy shuttle buses during disruptions to rail services.[31][32]

Stride

[edit]

A bus rapid transit system, named "Stride", was funded by the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure and is scheduled to open in the late 2020s.[33] Stride is planned to have three lines: the S1 Line on Interstate 405 between Burien and Bellevue, scheduled to open in late 2028; the S2 Line on Interstate 405 between Bellevue and Lynnwood, scheduled to open in 2029; and the S3 Line on State Route 522 between Shoreline South/148th station and Bothell, scheduled to open in 2028.[34]

Paratransit

[edit]

Sound Transit contracts with Community Transit, King County Metro, and Pierce Transit to provide paratransit service along the Link light rail network in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Costs are split equally between Sound Transit and the contracted provider within the Link corridor.[35] The agency is not required to operate paratransit service along Sounder and Sound Transit Express routes.[36]

History

[edit]
Further information: History of Link light rail

Background and early studies

[edit]

The waters of Puget Sound and the surrounding region's navigable rivers were the primary transportation corridors for the indigenous Coast Salish peoples as well as later settlers who arrived in the 19th century. A series of scheduled steamboat trips in the 1880s grew into the "mosquito fleet", the main mode of passenger and freight transportation for the growing region through the turn of the 20th century.[37] It waned in importance as railroads were constructed around Puget Sound and eventually supplemented by electric streetcar and interurban services that were introduced as early as 1884 and grew in the early 20th century to serves a growing number of passenger commuters. The Seattle Municipal Street Railway had a 231-mile (372 km) streetcar and cable railway system by 1935, while private companies ran interurban services north to Everett and south to Tacoma.[38] These rail services were all abandoned or converted into bus routes by 1941 as automobile adoption in the Seattle area contributed to a need for more developed highways and later freeways.[39][40]

The first major proposal for a rapid transit system to serve Seattle and the surrounding region was drafted by urban planner and civil engineer Virgil Bogue in 1911 as part of a comprehensive plan. Bogue's plan was rejected by a wide margin in the March 1912 municipal election; the city's three major newspapers had all opposed it.[41] The Forward Thrust program, formed in the 1960s by civic activists, proposed the development of a 47-mile (76 km) subway system that covered Seattle, Renton, and Bellevue by 1985. Two-thirds of the $770 million (equivalent to $5.15 billion in 2023 dollars)[42] construction cost would be funded by the federal government, contingent on the approval of local funding.[43] The first referendum in February 1968 failed to reach the 60 percent supermajority needed to pass; a second attempt was made in May 1970, but failed amid a spree of layoffs by Boeing that severely affected the local economy.[39][44][45] The federal earmark was instead used to build the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's subway system in Atlanta, Georgia.[45]

The Seattle Transit System, the successor to the municipal streetcars, struggled to secure funding to modernize its fleet in the 1960s but launched the region's first express bus system, named Blue Streak, in 1970 between Downtown Seattle and a park-and-ride lot in Northgate. The successful route led to plans to develop a network of express buses across the region by using the then-new freeway system and express lanes. The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro), the regional water quality agency, led planning of the network and took over operations of the Seattle Transit System and a suburban company in January 1973 following the approval of King County voters in a September 1972 special election.[46][47] Metro Transit's ridership reached 66 million passengers in 1980—exceeding its original projections—and an increase in bus trips led to congestion on downtown streets. A tunnel for buses began construction in 1987 and was opened in 1990 for a fleet of dual-mode electric and diesel buses; the tunnel was also designed for eventual conversion to accommodate a rail system.[47]

Metro and the Puget Sound Council of Governments, the inter-county metropolitan planning organization for the Seattle area, completed a study in 1986 to identify potential corridors for a modern light rail system. King County voters approved an advisory measure in November 1988 to endorse accelerated planning of a light rail system as well as a commuter rail line by 2000.[48][49] The Washington State Legislature also convened a rail development commission to study a regional transit system that later incorporated Metro's unfinished plans.[50][51] The commission endorsed the creation of a regional transit board composed of politicians from King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, which was authorized by the state legislature in 1990.[50][52] The Joint Regional Policy Committee was formed in 1991 and approved its final long-range plan for regional transit two years later. The $12 billion (equivalent to $22.9 billion in 2023 dollars)[42] plan comprised a 105-mile (169 km) light rail system from Everett to Tacoma and Redmond; commuter rail from Everett and Tacoma to Seattle; and improvements to local and express buses.[53] It would be funded by sales tax and motor vehicle excise tax revenue within a district that covered the urbanized areas east of Puget Sound between Marysville to the north and Parkland to the south.[54] From 1960 to 1990, the region's population had increased by 82 percent and was outpaced by the growth in the number of registered vehicles, which logged a total of 55.2 million miles traveled in 1991.[55]

Establishment and Sound Move

[edit]

The formation of a regional transit authority (RTA) to create a ballot measure to implement and fund the regional transit plan required the approval of the King, Pierce, and Snohomish county councils.[53] By July 1993, three county councils had voted to join the RTA; the Pierce and Snohomish county councils voted unanimously in favor of joining, while the vote for Metropolitan King County Council passed by a narrow 5–4 margin.[56][57] The board of directors for the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, the official name of the RTA, held its first meeting on September 17, 1993, at a former Washington State Department of Transportation office in Bellevue.[58][59] The new agency was provided space on the 15th floor of the Exchange Building in Downtown Seattle by King County Metro (the successor to Metro) and began preparation of its first ballot measure.[60][61]

In October 1994, the RTA Board adopted its master plan for regional transit that would be sent to county councils for ratification and placement as a ballot measure. The plan was estimated to cost $6.77 billion to construct—described as the largest public works project in Seattle's history—and include 69 miles (111 km) of light rail service that would be completed within 16 years and would connect Downtown Seattle to Lynnwood in the north, Bellevue and Redmond to the east, and Tacoma to the south.[62][63] The plan also called for a shorter timeline to launch a commuter rail system, which would existing 81 miles (130 km) of freight tracks from Lakewood to Everett, and an express bus network with eight routes.[62][63] It was approved by the three county councils by December, with the divided Snohomish County Council narrowly voting 3–2 in favor due to the lack of light rail service to Everett in the first phase of the plan.[64] A $2.5 million demonstration of commuter rail service on the Tacoma–Seattle–Everett corridor during peak hours and for Tacoma Dome events was operated by the RTA in early 1995 as part of preparations for the ballot measure.[65][66]

The RTA ballot measure would only require a simple majority to pass and was part of a special election on March 14, 1995.[63] The proposal was supported by prominent elected officials, including incumbent governor Mike Lowry, and the "pro" campaign received funding from Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, local retailers The Bon Marché and Nordstrom, and engineering firms.[63][67] The "no" campaign primarily comprised businessmen from the Eastside region led by mall developer Kemper Freeman;[67] it argued that the plan was too expensive to construct and would not address traffic congestion.[68] The ballot measure was rejected by 53.5 percent of voters across the district, with only King County having a majority in favor of the plan due to strong support within the city of Seattle.[69][70] In Everett, 83 percent of voters rejected the ballot measure, attributed to the opposition of local elected officials due to the lack of light rail service for the city in the first phase.[69][71] The defeat was also attributed to low turnout, especially among younger voters, due to the timing of the election in a non-presidential year.[58][72]

The regional transit plan had cost $50 million to develop under the RTA and its predecessors; calls to run a second ballot measure with a modified version of the plan found support from the county councils and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce.[73][74] The RTA was reorganized to reduce its spending by 60 percent and its 150-person staff was cut to 23 members; a new CEO was hired and Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel was elected as board chair to represent a "clean break" from earlier transit planning.[69] A modified plan with a reduced cost of $3.9 billion and a 10-year timeline was presented in November 1995 by a panel of local elected officials to prepare for legislative approval for a second ballot measure.[75][76] The new plan, named "Sound Move", was adopted by the RTA board in May 1996 and was placed on the November 1996 ballot;[72] its development included over 400 public meetings to receive community input.[77] Sound Move only included 25 miles (40 km) of light rail within Downtown Tacoma and from Downtown Seattle to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, but retained the commuter rail element of the previous plan and expanded its use of express buses.[72][78]

On November 5, 1996, the Sound Move plan and its funding package was approved by 56.5 percent of voters within the RTA district. It won a majority in all three counties and was approved by 70 percent of Seattle voters.[75][79] The "yes" campaign, largely supported by the same donors as well as smaller contributors, used wider advertisements and grassroots teams; the "no" campaign repeated their criticisms of the plan on fiscal grounds and raised its funds from real estate interests and lobbying groups representing the trucking, homebuilding, and road construction industries.[75][80] The local funding for the plan would be raised through a 0.4 percent sales tax and 0.3 percent annual motor vehicle excuse tax that took effect on April 1, 1997.[81][82] The RTA began expanding its staff and moved out of its shared space with Metro in 1997; its new headquarters occupied several floors at 1100 Second Avenue, a former bank building in Downtown Seattle.[61][83]

Early years

[edit]

Sound Transit was adopted as the brand name for the RTA on August 15, 1997, along with the names "Link" for the light rail system, "Sounder" for the commuter rail system, and "Regional Express" for the bus network. The "Sound Transit" name was chosen due to its use as a double entendre, referring to the Puget Sound region as well as "trustworthy" and "solid".[84] Over 100 names were suggested by consultants and members of the public to the RTA board; the other finalist for the agency's name was "Regional Transit", which went through several rounds of voting.[85][86] The agency's logo, created by a local firm and described as a "heavyset T with an S winding through it", was approved in September by the board.[87] Sound Transit approved funding for its first projects the following month by partnering with local transit agencies; Pierce Transit received funding for 15 additional daily trips on its Seattle–Tacoma express buses, while construction of Community Transit's park-and-ride at Ash Way in Lynnwood would be accelerated with new regional funds.[88][89]

The agency's first service, Sound Transit Express buses, rolled out in phases that began in September 1999 and finished in September 2002.[90][91] Sounder service on the South Line (now the S Line) began in September 2000.[92]

Sound Transit started out in scandal. The agency faced a crisis of financial mismanagement and poor planning, and federal officials ordered an audit in 2000 and pulled promised funding. After a series of executives resigned in 2001, Joni Earl took the helm and is widely credited with saving the agency. Largely, this was by being more realistic and being more honest with the public — reportedly she used the slogan "Optimism is not our friend." Largely due to her efforts, by 2003 Sound Transit received a clean financial audit, and was re-rewarded the funding lost two years earlier. Despite this, the earlier crisis required Earl to drop about one-third of the originally promised light rail line.[93]

Sound Transit 2

[edit]

2007 vote

[edit]

Sound Transit 2 (ST2) was part of a joint ballot measure with the Regional Transportation Investment District entitled Roads and Transit, which was presented to Snohomish, King, and Pierce county voters on November 6, 2007. Sound Transit 2 would have made a number of mass transit related improvements, as well as a series of highway improvements.[94] These changes included almost 50 miles (80 km) in new light rail lines, four new parking garages, two new Sounder stations, a streetcar line connecting First Hill, Capitol Hill, and the International District, a transit center in Bothell, and two expansion studies, one for studying rapid transit across the SR-520 floating bridge and the other studying the use of the Woodinville Subdivision between Renton and Woodinville.[95] The ballot measure was defeated by voters.[96]

2008 vote

[edit]

The Sound Transit Board on July 24, 2008 voted to put a reduced Sound Transit 2 plan before voters. It passed by large margins (58% to 42%) on November 4, 2008.[97][98] The financial plan for the measure shows $17.8 billion expenditure over 15 years, funded with a 5-10% rise in the regional general sales tax, which essentially doubles Sound Transit's revenue. Light rail service will be extended from the currently funded northern terminus at Husky Stadium north to Lynnwood. To the south, the tracks will continue from the current southern terminus at Sea-Tac Airport to the northern edge of Federal Way. The proposed East Link Light Rail will depart from Downtown Seattle and end in Overlake via Bellevue. A First Hill Connector (streetcar) was proposed from Capitol Hill station to the Jackson Street terminus of the former Waterfront Streetcar. In total, 36 miles (58 km) of new two-way light rail track were approved by this measure.[99]

Sounder commuter rail received longer and more frequent trains, for a 30% increase in service. Express bus service was immediately boosted (17% increase in service; 25 additional buses) and State Route 520 was set to receive a bus rapid transit line. A new commuter rail line was proposed to run from North Renton to Snohomish if additional funding beyond the Sound Transit taxes was secured, but was ultimately converted into a rail trail.[100] By 2009, the Sound Transit system was carrying 61,000 daily passengers.[101]

Sound Transit 3

[edit]
Main article: Sound Transit 3

Sound Transit 3 was a ballot measure that was approved by voters during the November 2016 elections in King, Pierce, and Snohomish in Washington. The $53.8 billion Sound Transit 3 plan will expand the existing Link light rail system to the suburbs of Tacoma, Federal Way, Everett and Issaquah, as well as the Seattle neighborhoods of Ballard and West Seattle. The local portion of the measure would be partially funded by increases in sales tax, motor vehicle excise tax, and property tax.

The resulting transit network after the completion of Sound Transit 3 will include 62 miles (100 km) of additional light rail serving 37 new stations; the entire, 116-mile (187 km) light rail system would carry an estimated 600,000 daily passengers. A Sounder commuter rail extension to DuPont and bus rapid transit lines on State Route 522 and Interstate 405 are also part of the package.[102] The package's projects would open in stages from 2024 to 2041.[103]

Organization

[edit]

Management

[edit]

The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority is a public corporation and special-purpose district that operates under the name Sound Transit.[104] It was established under the authority of the Washington State Legislature and governed by Revised Code of Washington chapters 81.104 and 81.112.[15][105] As of 2023, the agency has 1,585 full-time employees and is led by a chief executive officer (CEO) who oversees several departments.[1][15] Since 2024, the interim CEO of Sound Transit has been Goran Sparrman, the former head of the Bellevue Department of Transportation and a vice president of HNTB.[106] The previous CEO, Julie Timm, was hired in 2022 and previously the head of the Greater Richmond Transit Company in Virginia.[107] Her predecessor was Peter Rogoff, the former Federal Transit Administrator from 2009 to 2014. Rogoff was hired in 2015 and succeeded Joni Earl, a former city administrator who became Sound Transit CEO in 2001.[108]

The agency has three oversight committees that are filled by citizens from the Sound Transit district. The Citizen Oversight Panel oversees compliance to board policies and financial plans, and is composed of 15 members serving four-year terms after their appointment by the board of directors.[109] The Diversity Oversight Committee promotes employment and contracting opportunities for underprivileged groups and includes members representing community organizations and business organizations.[110] The Citizens Accessibility Advisory Committee has 15 members who represent passengers with disabilities, mobility issues, or are senior citizens. The advisory committee monitors the agency's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other accessibility requirements.[111]

Board of directors

[edit]
The Ruth Fisher Board Room in Union Station

Sound Transit is governed by a board of directors with 18 members who are appointed based on their positions in regional and local governments.[112] One seat is held by the Washington State Secretary of Transportation, while the remaining seventeen are local elected positions appointed by the county executives of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, who are also members of the board, with approval of the county councils.[113] Major decisions, including annexations, system plans, and the annual budget, require a two-thirds majority of boardmembers.[114]

The board has ten members from King County, four from Pierce County, and three from Snohomish County.[115] The seats were allocated proportional to their population within the Sound Transit district in 1994, with each seat representing approximately 145,000 people at the time.[114] A bill to require board seats to be directly elected from within 11 districts was passed by the Washington State Senate in 2017 but was not considered by the House Transportation Committee.[116]

The agency's policies are set by the board through their decisions, including maintenance of the long-range plan, budget, and project details. The full board meets at the Ruth Fisher Board Room in Union Station on the fourth Thursday of the month, which are open to the public and streamed online.[117] The board selects a chair and two vice chairs to serve two-year terms and also assign members to four committees: the Executive Committee, Rider Experience and Operations, System Expansion, and Finance and Audit.[118] In the event that the chair or vice chairs leave office or are otherwise unable to serve their full term, the vacancy can be filled by another member for the remainder of the term.[119]

Sound Transit Board members, as of 2024[115]
Member Position County
Dow Constantine (Chair) King County Executive King
Dave Somers (Vice Chair) Snohomish County Executive Snohomish
Nancy Backus Mayor, City of Auburn King/Pierce
Claudia Balducci Councilmember, King County King
Angela Birney Mayor, City of Redmond King
Bruce Dammeier Pierce County Executive Pierce
Cassie Franklin Mayor, City of Everett Snohomish
Christine Frizzell Mayor, City of Lynnwood Snohomish
Bruce Harrell Mayor, City of Seattle King
Roger Millar Washington Secretary of Transportation —
Ed Prince Councilmember, City of Renton King
Kim Roscoe Mayor, City of Fife Pierce
Dan Strauss Councilmember, City of Seattle King
Dave Upthegrove Council Chair, King County King
Peter von Reichbauer Councilmember, King County King
Kristina Walker Councilmember, City of Tacoma Pierce
Girmay Zahilay Council Vice Chair, King County King
Mark Riker Labor Liaison —

Funding

[edit]

Sound Transit's budget is primarily funded through local taxes levied within the regional transit district in the urbanized portions of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. These taxes, which comprise 63 percent of the total 2017–2046 budget, are composed of a 1.4 percent sales tax, a 0.8 percent motor vehicle excise tax, a 0.8 percent rental car tax, and a property tax of up to 25 cents per $1,000 in assessed value.[1] The remaining 37 percent includes grants and bonds from the federal government, loans, interests, and passenger fares.[1] In 2023, the agency earned $51.9 million from passenger fares—of which 62 percent was from Link light rail. The farebox recovery ratio for Link was 16 percent in 2023, followed by 10 percent for Sound Transit Express and 8 percent for Sounder.[12]

The agency has had three major ballot measures that were approved by voters to fund system expansion: Sound Move (1996), Sound Transit 2 (2008), and Sound Transit 3 (2016). Planning and construction of new transit projects is anticipated to continue until 2046 under the Sound Transit 3 plan and are forecast to cost $148 billion in year-of-expenditure dollars.[4] Approximately 51 percent of the long-range budget is allocated towards capital construction, while operations and maintenance comprise up 27 percent.[1] The 2024 budget has $3.1 billion in expenses and $2.9 billion in expected revenue; it includes $638 million for operations and $2.2 billion for capital projects.[1]

District and subareas

[edit]

The regional transit district for Sound Transit, also known as the "RTA district", encompasses major cities and urban areas in portions of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. It covers 1,089 square miles (2,820 km2)[120] and includes 53 cities with a combined population of 3.39 million residents—40 percent of the state's population.[121][122] As of 2023, the district includes approximately 89 percent of King County residents, 85 percent of Pierce County residents, and 59 percent of Snohomish County residents.[123]

The district's boundary to the west is Puget Sound from DuPont and the Thurston County line in the south to Everett and the Snohomish River to the north. The eastern boundary generally follows the edge of the contiguous suburbs in the three-county region.[124] It excludes several large suburban cities, such as Marysville in Snohomish County and Covington and Maple Valley in southern King County.[125] The district is mandated by state law to include the highest-population urban growth areas in the three counties and must be adjusted to include all of a member city, including annexed areas. New areas can be annexed to the RTA district through a ballot proposition following approval from Sound Transit and consultation with affected transit agencies and governments.[126]

For funding purposes, the Sound Transit district is divided into five subareas: Snohomish, North King, South King, East King, and Pierce.[123] Revenue from taxes are allocated towards projects that serve and benefit residents within the subarea that they were collected in, with costs shared for projects and services that serve multiple areas. Systemwide projects and programs pool their funds from all subareas.[104][127] The most-populous subarea is North King, which has an estimated 853,980 residents (as of 2023) and encompasses Seattle, Shoreline, and Lake Forest Park; the smallest is South King, which has an estimated 487,685 residents (as of 2023).[123]

Policing and security

[edit]
King County Sheriff's Office patrol car in Sound Transit Police livery

Sound Transit contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office for police services, which includes patrolling transit facilities, monitoring traffic, and responding to emergency incidents.[128] The transit police unit of the Sheriff's Office was created in 2008 to prepare for the launch of light rail service in Seattle.[129] As of 2024, the transit police has 65 officers out of 89 total positions.[130][131] These positions are overseen by a chief and include an operation captain, patrol sergeants, officers, detectives, a crime analyst, and a explosive detection specialist with a police dog.[132][133] These deputies wear Sound Transit uniforms and drive patrol cars marked with the agency's logo;[129] a bicycling unit with seven members was created in 2024.[134]

In addition to armed officers, Sound Transit has 550 uniformed security officers who are contracted from four private firms.[130][135] The unarmed security officers patrol transit facilities and respond to incidents from a central dispatch center, but are not allowed to intervene in assaults.[131][135] The security officers also conducted fare enforcement on Link light rail and Sounder commuter trains, which included a citation with a $124 fine for non-paying passengers, until the program was suspended in 2020 due to accusations of discrimination.[136] They were replaced in 2023 by fare ambassadors who conduct checks of all riders and issue warnings in lieu of citations.[137] In the first months of the new program, 48,000 warnings were issued and the fare compliance rate had risen from an estimated 55 percent in 2023 to 84 percent in May 2024.[138]

Other uniformed staff include station agents at Sounder commuter rail stations, who provide customer service and assist passengers with disabilities; staff ambassadors for rider education and reporting; and event staff who provide customer service during special events and planned service disruptions.[128]

Facilities and programs

[edit]

Sound Transit is headquartered at Union Station, a former intercity train terminal in the Chinatown–International District neighborhood of Seattle. The agency moved into the building on November 1, 1999, after it was acquired and renovated at a cost of $23.5 million.[61] The station's former waiting room is open to the public and was named the Joni Earl Great Hall in 2017 for the agency's former CEO.[139] Since 2009, Sound Transit has also occupied leased space in four buildings around Union Station, which is adjacent to King Street Station and the International District/Chinatown transit hub.[140][141]

The system serves over 90 regional transit facilities, including light rail and commuter rail stations.[142] These include stations with park and ride lots and garages that regularly fill on weekdays; a daily fee is planned to be implemented in 2025 to manage demand at busy lots.[143] Link light rail trains are maintained at three operations and maintenance facilities in Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma.[142][144] The primary maintenance facilities for Sounder commuter rail and the Sound Transit Express bus network are leased or shared with their respective operators.[142]

Sound Transit is one of seven transit agencies that accept fare payment through the ORCA card system, which allows for inter-agency transfers.[145] It launched in 2009 and is administered by Sound Transit.[146] In May 2024, the system served over 431,000 customers in the Puget Sound region.[147]

Transit-oriented development

[edit]
Aerial view of the Spring District, a large transit-oriented development that developed around a light rail station in Bellevue.

Several major transit-oriented development (TOD) projects were constructed around Sound Transit facilities in the 2010s and 2020s after zoning changes were approved by local governments.[148][149] Among the largest projects is the Spring District, a 36-acre (15 ha) mixed-use neighborhood in Bellevue on the 2 Line that began construction in 2013.[150][151] Sound Transit's first TOD project, Senior City at Federal Way Transit Center, opened in 2010 and includes 61 units of affordable housing for senior citizens. It was developed as a public–private partnership with the nonprofit Korean Women's Association on surplus land adjacent to the transit center.[152] The Seattle Housing Authority redeveloped its Rainier Vista public housing complex into a mixed-income neighborhood after the nearby Columbia City station opened in 2009.[153][154]

Beginning in 2015, new state legislation required Sound Transit to offer its surplus property from major construction projects to developers who would prioritize affordable housing. The "80–80–80 rule" in the legislation, later adopted by the agency in 2018, applied to 80 percent of surplus land around transit projects and required that developments designate 80 percent of residential units to residents who make 80 percent or less of the area median income.[155][156] As of 2024, Sound Transit's TOD program had resulted in the creation of over 2,670 affordable housing units out of 3,470 constructed at 14 stations with a total value of $1.7 billion.[155][157] Some of the developments also include community amenities, such as childcare facilities, medical clinics, and job-training centers.[155][157]

Technology

[edit]

All Sound Transit buses and trains are equipped with GPS tracking units to monitor their positions. The information is publicly available through an open data system and published under the GTFS standard used by navigation programs and apps.[158] The backend servers for the OneBusAway app, originally developed by a University of Washington student in 2008, were acquired by Sound Transit in 2013. The app continues to be maintained by volunteers.[159] Since 2024, Sound Transit has offered 3D maps of select 1 Line stations for accessible wayfinding through the GoodMaps app. The maps were developed through LiDAR scans and include real-time directions through the use of a phone camera.[160]

Artwork

[edit]

The public art program for Sound Transit, named STart, was established in 1998 to allocate one percent of the local construction budget for artwork.[161] By 2022, the agency's collection of artwork had grown to 170 permanent pieces—including murals, paintings, and large sculptures.[162] It is valued at over $54 million.[163] The program also includes temporary commissions for fences that surround construction sites.[161][163] Sound Transit also sponsors buskers to perform music at its light rail stations in Seattle and donated space at Angle Lake station for an all-ages music venue in 2023.[164][165]

Future projects

[edit]

Under construction

[edit]

The 2 Line, also known as the East Link Extension, will connect Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond using the Interstate 90 floating bridge. It would terminate at the Microsoft Redmond campus in Redmond's Overlake area. Construction began in 2016, with an initial section opening in 2024 and full completion expected in 2025.[166][167]

The Federal Way Link Extension is planned to extend the 1 Line from Angle Lake station to Redondo/Star Lake, in a plan approved by the region's voters in November 2008. Construction on the project began in 2020 and it will add 7.8-mile (12.6 km) of track with stations at Highline Community College, the Star Lake Park & Ride, and Federal Way Transit Center, primarily following Interstate 5.[168]

Funded projects

[edit]

Under Sound Transit 3, which was approved in 2016, Sound Transit services will expand with $54 billion in funding (combining local taxes and federal grants) over a 25-year period generally beginning with the completion of Sound Transit 2. The measure will add 62 miles (100 km) of light rail, with the completed 116-mile (187 km) system carrying an estimated 500,000 riders per day.[169] The plan also funds Sound Transit Express bus routes, adds three bus rapid transit lines and expands Sounder commuter rail with longer trains, potentially better frequency and two additional stations in Tillicum (near Joint Base Lewis–McChord) and DuPont.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
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  168. ^ Lindblom, Mike (March 24, 2016). "$50B Sound Transit proposal: big taxes, big spending, big plan". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 16, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
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