On October 2, 2021, Sound Transit, which operates the Link light rail system in the Central Puget Sound, started service to three new stations serving Seattle’s Roosevelt, Northgate, and University districts. Simultaneously, King County Metro (Metro) and Snohomish County’s Community Transit (CT) restructured many of the routes that had provided express service to downtown Seattle and the University District with the goals of maximizing access to the new stations while also reducing duplicate bus service and operational costs. The provision of high quality access to Link light rail should increase overall transit ridership because of the greater reliability of the Link service and, in most instances, faster travel times. However, the adopted strategy does mean that many riders who had one-seat rides to their downtown Seattle and University District destination must now transfer from bus to rail. All three agencies are interested in how this change in the nature of transit service will change ridership. Understanding the changes in travel behavior resulting from these service changes will help the agencies to better model the impacts of future light rail station openings.
Principal Investigator: Mark E. Hallenbeck, Washington State Transportation Center, UW
Sponsor: Sound Transit
Scheduled completion: January 2022