Sound Transit, the regional transit provider for Central Puget Sound, was created by the state legislature to build a mass transit system connecting major regional job and housing centers in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Voters approved the plan in 1996 that provides the foundation of that regional system – regional express buses, commuter rail and light rail. Service has expanded through the years, and today Sound Transit provides nearly 14 million rides annually.
ST Express buses connect Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and Tacoma with the region’s largest urban centers. New transit centers, park-and-ride lots and HOV access projects improve transit service for all bus riders and provide some relief for the daily commute. More are on the way.
Sounder commuter trains run 74 miles every weekday between Everett and Tacoma. On the north line, three round-trips connect Everett and Edmonds with Seattle, with a station at Mukilteo scheduled to open in 2008. In the south end, six round-trips run between Tacoma Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent, Tukwila and downtown Seattle; a future extension south to Lakewood is currently under development.
Link light rail service began operating in downtown Tacoma in 2003 and was a major factor in the community’s renaissance. To the north, construction on the nearly 16-mile Link light rail line between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac International Airport is nearly complete, vehicle testing is underway, and the line will open for service to the public in 2009. An extension north to the University of Washington is slated to break ground in 2008 and open for service in 2016.
With the foundation of the regional transit system in place, work continues to plan for the future. Take an already congested highway system, add another 1.2 million people to the regional population in the next 25 years, and you get a “rush hour” that could last all day in many places. People want alternatives to sitting in traffic.
Since regional voters turned down a large Roads & Transit ballot issue in November 2007, Sound Transit’s Board of Directors has been working to determine which new transit services are the region’s highest priorities, and when to submit a new regional transit expansion plan for voter consideration.
