Husky, Mariner fans power new 101K single-day light rail ridership record

Link averaged nearly 70,000 riders each weekday during August

A convergence of prime-time Huskies and Mariners games combined with a busy afternoon rush-hour last Friday, Sept. 30, helped Sound Transit set a new single-day light rail ridership record with approximately 101,000 boardings.

"For thousands of M's and Dawg fans, getting to the game by Link light rail was just the first of many highlights of the evening," said Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Dow Constantine. "The happy, cheering crowds on board that record-breaking evening are further proof that our region embraces faster, more reliable ways to cut through traffic on game days, work days, any days."

New ridership numbers to be discussed at today's Sound Transit Operations and Administration Committee meeting show that Link weekday ridership during August averaged 69,100 - an increase of about 70 percent over the same month last year.

Sound Transit's entire system of bus, light rail and commuter rail saw just over 4 million total boardings for the month, a first for Sound Transit. Overall weekday ridership in August averaged about 154,000 boardings, up 27 percent from last year.

The estimated 101,000 boardings on Sept. 30 surpassed by 23 percent the previous record of 85,000 set on Aug. 25, 2016. UW Station had about 18,000 boardings last Friday.