Photo by caseyrs77

Sound Transit’s 1st Quarter System Ridership Report is out. Highlights:

• Central Link weekday boardings up 24% year-on-year, though well below budget estimates.
• Sounder ridership flat, except for a big drop on the north route (i.e. mudslides)
• Tacoma Link and paratransit both up about 10%.
• ST Express up about 6%, though individual routes diverge wildly. The 555, 556, and 560 had big drops in ridership.
• Link cost per boarding, in the low season, back above that for ST Express.

Route 240 Proposal (Metro)

As part of the Eastside service restructure centered around RapidRide B, Metro proposed altering the 240 to provide the only direct connectivity between Renton and the Eastgate Park and Ride, and by extension Bellevue College.

As we reported in February, City of Bellevue staff argued against this alignment, mainly because it would increase travel times to Downtown Bellevue, the main transit market in the area, and a high-quality transfer to the 245 would serve Eastgate adequately. That argument apparently swayed Metro, which changed the recommendation.

Yesterday the King County Council overruled Metro and re-instituted the change, which will take effect in October with the other changes:

Council Vice Chair Jane Hague sponsored the amendment, which will provide greater bus service to Bellevue College. Hague offered the amendment last week after students raised concerns during public testimony that the current proposed route were inconvenient for bus riders and would encourage students to drive – only adding to the region’s gridlock.

“I want to commend the Bellevue College students that testified before the Council,” said Hague. “They really did a good job and this change would not have happened without their activism.”

Just another example of how showing up and testifying in support of feasible changes can be quite effective.