Borrowing a phrase from Kirk Hovenkotter (Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition), today’s Roundtable is about tourist use of Seattle’s mass transit system.

On Monday, Seattle held its first FIFA Men’s World Cup match at “Seattle Stadium” (Lumen Field). Sound Transit, King County Metro, Community Transit, and Pierce Transit each boosted transit service to get tourists and match attendees in, out, and around Seattle as smoothly as possible with the massive influx of international football fans. Sound Transit was the first to announce almost record-setting ridership, estimating that June 15, 2026, was the third-highest ridership day in Link light rail history with 210,000 combined boardings on the Link 1 and 2 Lines, representing an over 37% boost from Link’s quickly-growing rider count.

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: the world is riding Seattle transit” | 0 comments

Reminders: Seattle is hosting 5 more FIFA World Cup games over coming weeks. Keep an eye on your transit agency’s service alerts and be aware there may be crowds at unusual times. Bikes and scooters are banned from Link trains on game days.

This Friday, June 19, is Juneteenth, and Seattle hosting a match between the USA and Australia at noon. Despite the federal holiday, most transit services will operate on normal weekday schedules. Sound Transit offers ways to celebrate freedom, resilience, and the beautiful game.

Transit & Streets:

• Seattle World Cup’s biggest win: Pioneer Square pedestrian zone (KUOW).
• Meet the artist behind the limited-edition World Cup ORCA transit card (The Seattle Times, $)
• Sound Transit launches several upgrades as ‘Summer of Soccer’ begins (The Platform)
• Zahilay Rolls Out Updated Transit Plan, as Budget Woes Cloud Metro’s Future (The Urbanist). Also on Metro Matters.
• Op-Ed: Help Seattle Get the Frequent Transit Network We Deserve (The Urbanist; MASS Coalition op-ed cosigned by STB).
• Amtrak Cascades Speeds Up Trips from Vancouver, BC with Preclearance (The Urbanist).
• Sound Transit Says Reports of Ballard Link’s Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated (The Urbanist).
• King County Transportation District approves new sales tax in close vote (The Kent Reporter, soft $).
• Sound Transit is setting up a pop-up merch shop at International District Station Plaza during World Cup game days (The Platform).
• Tell SDOT what you think about the Pike Place Market vehicle barriers (SDOT Blog). Survey open until June 30.

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup: ‘Summer of Soccer’” | 47 comments

Reece Martin (RMTransit) resurfaces with a discussion with Dr Jonathan English on how process issues affect the quality of transit projects. They call it “engineering issues” vs “phone call issues”. Engineering issues are straightforward technical problems, like building Link on a floating bridge or a tunnel in dubious soil. Phone call issues are those where a phone call could fix the problem or reduce costs: a call between politicans or agencies or with environmental-impact stakeholders. It might be more than one call or another communication method or a series of meetings meetings, but a phone call is a nice symbolic image.

They look at the goods and bads of Toronto’s transit: the recent east-west subway/light rail lines — Eglington Crosstown (#5), Finch West (#6), Sheppard East (#4) — platform screen doors or short fences, streetcars, too-close stop spacing, or insufficient street priority or signal priority. They look at why these happen, and how a “phone call” could have made these better. They also posit that social media played a key role in getting politicians to commit to fixing the notorious Finch West line slowness. And also that proposing to fix a problem throughout the city can overcome opposition more than proposing one of the same fixes at a time in a few individual locations.

Continue reading “Bonus Movie: Process” | 19 comments

Three videos by J-Man Explores.

Riding all the Community Transit Swift lines in one day, with the history of each transit corridor. Swift is the limited-stop BRT in Snohomish County, 13-30 miles north of Seattle, serving Lynnwood and Everett and surrounding cities. Transfers from Link light rail are at Shoreline North/185th station and Lynnwood City Center station.

Seattle to Olympia and back with no backtracking. Southbound is via the Bainbridge ferry and rural bus routes in the west sound. Northbound is the usual way via I-5 express routes. (Olympia is 60 miles south of Seattle, the state capital and a small city. Tacoma is in between.)

Circumnavigating the Admirality Inlet. Where is Admirality Inlet? It’s on the west side of Whidbey Island between roughly Freeland and the Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry, and the corresponding east side of the Olympic Penninsula. In a 5-hour layover in Port Townsend he explores the town, an extra Jefferson Transit route and wooded trails, and meets deer.

The J-Man Explores channel also has many shorts ranking various transit routes.

We have a Transit to World Cup Events guide, and a Seattle for Visitors transit guide.

This is an open thread.

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On Friday afternoon, Community Transit Route 424 made its final trip from Seattle to the City of Snohomish. This marks the end of Community Transit’s Commuter bus service to Seattle. When Community Transit was created in 1976, the agency operated just seven local bus routes. Within the first year, the system grew to 15 local routes and 16 commuter routes to Seattle. The commuter routes were contracted to King County Metro until 1989. Since then, commuter buses have carried millions of passengers between Snohomish County and downtown Seattle, the University of Washington, and Northgate.

Community Transit was the second transit agency in the United States to use double decker buses. The agency ran a one-year pilot project in 2007, after which it ordered 23 double decker buses. These were branded as “Double Talls” and entered service in 2011. Double decker buses allowed CT to increase the capacity of its busiest commuter routes, while minimizing the layover space needed during the day in Seattle.

Martin Munguia, a senior communications manager at Community Transit, told Seattle Transit Blog that on some days, a single Double Tall with 77 seats would carry over 100 passengers. With shifts from peak rush hour service to all day service, the extra capacity per bus is no longer needed. Community Transit plans to retire its entire double decker fleet over the next decade as the coaches age. “Double decker enthusiasts need not worry,” Munguia said, “because Sound Transit is purchasing battery electric double deckers for its upcoming Stride BRT routes.”

Continue reading “Community Transit ran its last bus to Seattle” | 77 comments

Visiting Bainbridge Island will be a bit easier on Saturdays this summer thanks to a new free shuttle operated by Kitsap Transit. The route will operate on Saturdays between June 13 and September 12 (except July 4) from 11am to 7pm.

Route 385 will be timed with the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry and run in a small loop around downtown Bainbridge using Winslow Way, Madison Ave, High School Road, and Ferncliff Ave. On Winslow Way and Madison Ave, the shuttle will use existing stops. On High School Rd and Ferncliff Ave, passengers can flag down the bus at any safe location. The full schedule is available here.

On the other end of the ferry route, King County Metro is operating a free shuttle in Seattle all summer.

This is an open thread.

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The 2026 Men’s World Cup kicks off today with a match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City. Seattle is hosting six games over the next five weeks. To ensure everyone can easily get where they need to go, transit agencies across Puget Sound are running extra services on match days.

Seattle

Each match will be held at Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field). The Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 Local Organizing Committee is also hosting several fan celebration events during each match at several locations around Seattle.

Seattle Stadium

Sound Transit’s Link light rail system will be the best option for many people traveling to the stadium. To avoid crowding on the trains near the stadium, Sound Transit is asking passengers to a specific station near the stadium depending on the travel direction. Passengers traveling from the north, should exit 1 Line and 2 Line trains at Pioneer Square station. From the east, depart 2 Line trains at International District/Chinatown station. From the south, use Stadium station. Use the same station to board the train on the return trip.

From downtown Seattle, Metro is running a free Match Day Shuttle along 3rd Ave. Countless Metro buses stop near the stadium as well. The First Hill Streetcar will run, but will terminate at 5th Ave & Jackson St because the area around Seattle Stadium will be pedestrianized.

For fans traveling from further away, Sound Transit’s Sounder train offers convenient access to the station. The N Line travels between Seattle and Everett and the S Line travels between Seattle and Tacoma/Lakewood.

Continue reading “Transit to World Cup Events” | 19 comments

Reminder: The FIFA World Cup starts tomorrow and the first match in Seattle is Monday, June 15, at noon. Plan for busy buses, trains, roadways, and lots of tourists. SDOT has travel tips. Metro has an SEA26 transit guide. Community Transit offers ways to Ride to Summer Fun. Pierce Transit is running a “Fan Zone Express” shuttle to Puyallup Tribe events.

Local Transit:

• The Gig Harbor Waterfront Connector will run from June 12 to August 23 (Pierce Transit)
• Bus Network Boost from Wilson’s Seattle Transit Measure Comes Into Focus (The Urbanist)
• Op-Ed: It’s Time to Reform Sound Transit (The Urbanist)
• SDOT offering free e-cargo bike permits for Seattle businesses through 2026 to reduce truck traffic (SDOT Blog)
• WA ferries ups service for World Cup in Seattle (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• King County Metro’s public bathroom pilot has started at the Aurora Village and Burien Transit Centers (Mass Transit Magazine). Also on Metro Matters.
• Sound Transit study suggests fare gates at 14 busy stations by 2030 (The Seattle Times, $); additional coverage by The Urbanist.
• Community Transit wants your input on its 6-year Transit Development Plan by July 2.
• King County Metro’s Behavioral Health Support Program supports riders in crisis and helps create a safer transit environment (Metro Matters).
• Join Sound Transit’s Community Oversight Panel (The Platform)
• Sound Transit Loses Megaproject Head in Wake of Major ST3 Update (The Urbanist)

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup: Why, Robot” | 74 comments