Midweek Roundup: Retro Metro
Seattle’s transportation agenda accelerated this week with the two‑phase opening of a new waterfront greenway and the expansion of Bicycle Weekends to every non‑Seafair weekend from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Amtrak’s SODO trainyard expansion is halfway complete and on track for a 2027 launch, while new Airo trains will join Amtrak Cascades later this year. Diesel prices surged to a regional record $7.10 per gallon, and Sound Transit expects to release the draft EIS for the Everett Link Extension this fall. The piece also marks the 35th anniversary of the university U‑Pass, highlighting long‑standing transit subsidies for students.
Sunday Movie: Mexico City BRT
The piece argues that lower labor costs and limited access to capital can make bus rapid transit (BRT) more cost‑effective than rail in many Latin American cities. It cites Bogotá’s inability to finance a metro despite sufficient ridership, illustrating how...
1 & 2 Line Experiences
Two weeks after Seattle’s full 2 Line opened, riders report higher‑than‑expected boardings and crowded platforms, especially at Westlake, Capitol Hill, and Eastside stations. Trains are often at capacity, with many operating as two‑car sets instead of the planned four, leading to...
Friday Roundtable: Intercity Bus Routes
The University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign’s Urban Traffic & Economics Lab released a GTFS dataset and interactive map covering routes from 72 North‑American intercity bus operators. The map reveals a surprisingly extensive network, especially in the Northeast, Midwest and central Florida,...
Midweek Roundup: Bus McBusBus
Sound Transit’s monthly extended overnight maintenance will replace Link service between Bel‑Red and Downtown Redmond with shuttles from 10 p.m. April 14‑17, while the RapidRide G corridor finally received steel‑plate repairs after a 19‑month, $650,000 effort. A summer pilot will add Sunday sailings...
Alert: T Line Maintenance This Week
The Link T Line in Tacoma will be closed from the evening of Monday, April 6 through Friday, April 10 for rail maintenance. During the closure, Sound Transit will operate free shuttle buses linking every T Line station, with stops at hubs such as...
Link Service Impacts From Pinehurst Construction Resume
Sound Transit will adjust evening Link service on the 1 and 2 Lines starting tonight to accommodate construction at the new Pinehurst Station. From 8 p.m., 1 Line trains will share a track between Northgate and Shoreline South while 2 Line...
TCC Light Rail Town Halls
Transportation Choices Coalition (TCC) is organizing a series of public town halls to discuss Sound Transit’s escalating costs for its ST3 light‑rail expansion. The events, scheduled in Bellevue, Everett, Tacoma and a pending Seattle session, will feature board members and...
Movie: Pacific County
Pacific County’s rural transit agency, Pacific Transit (PacT), underwent two rapid schedule restructures that left riders stranded and triggered a 40% decline in ridership. The changes eliminated north‑south connections, cut weekend service, and created mismatched transfer windows, prompting public backlash....
Sunday Movies: London vs Berlin Transit, and North American Cities by Ridership
The thread compares London’s Underground with Berlin’s U‑Bahn, highlighting differences in capacity, frequency and punctuality. It also lists the 15 North American cities with the highest transit ridership, showing a concentration in major U.S., Canadian and Mexican metros. Participants raise...
Seattle Transit Ridership Dashboard
Seattle Transit Blog launched a public Ridership Dashboard that aggregates passenger counts for every King County Metro and Sound Transit Express route, starting with 2024 data. The platform lets users select agency, route, and time period, displaying static charts with...
Midweek Roundup: From Farms to Ferries
The midweek roundup highlights Seattle’s transportation challenges and new projects. Power reliability continues to plague the Eastside 2 Line while Sound Transit has broken ground on the Stride S3 bus‑rapid‑transit corridor. State legislators are moving $2 billion in bonds for highway...
Sunday Movie: The Hill of Hysteria & Cargo Bikes
Two videos linked to the recent "Pedestrianize the Ave" discussion illustrate common resistance to street redesigns and the rise of cargo‑bike deliveries. The first video, titled "Hill of Hysteria," shows how opposition to congestion pricing and pedestrianization spikes before implementation...
Upcoming Link Maintenance: March 2026
Sound Transit’s March 2026 Link maintenance will reduce service frequency and introduce extensive single‑tracking. Starting 11 pm Friday, 1 Line trains run every 20 minutes, and Pinehurst station construction forces 1 Line single‑track between Northgate and Shoreline South and 2 Line terminations at Northgate on...
Friday Roundtable: Pedestrianize The Ave
The Seattle Transit Blog proposes fully pedestrianizing University Way NE (“The Ave”) between NE 41st and NE 50th Streets. It outlines moving Metro routes 45/75 and 79 one block east to 15th Ave, preserving a 12‑ft emergency lane, and reconfiguring cross‑streets, ADA parking,...