Labor Day Weekend, State Fair Service

16 Replies to “Labor Day Weekend, State Fair Service”

1. Comment #1 End of Rant.

2. Huskies leading in a blowout (so far). If that holds it probably means a spread out departure of the fans. Any word on how heavy Link ridership was before the game?

   1. I got on Link at CHS toward downtown at the end of the 3rd quarter. I saw a lot of purple and gold heading away from Husky Stadium.

3. Also the Evergreen State Fair (Monroe) is still running this weekend. (Who’s bright idea was it to move the start of the Washington State Fair before the Evergreen State Fair is over… Traditional days for the Everegreen State Fair are through Labor Day Weekend) :(

   1. The bright idea came from the people who run the Washington State Fair who decided that by starting on Labor Day Weekend they can generate more revenue. It is called a business decision.

4. Sounder would (or I guess, *could*) get lots of people from Seattle to the State Fair, but the weekday schedule is completely unusable for the purpose, and there is no service on Sundays or two of the Fair’s four Saturdays. It’s mind-boggling that so much infrastructure is in place (train stations, trains, ticketing, special fairgrounds gate, etc) and yet the potential is seemingly 98% wasted.

   I, for one, love state fairs but absolutely loathe the long walks and high parking prices associated with driving to them.

   1. Ideally, the fair itself would be subsidizing the cost of the train service, rather than expecting ST to cough up all the money out of its own budget. If every person attending the fair were forced to pay for a train ticket with the fair ticket, whether actually riding the train or not, you would have a lot of people riding the train and a lot more revenue to help pay for it. Maybe you could even have fair trains running from Tacoma and Lakewood, not just Seattle.

   2. I assume the ST express bus that goes there is pretty crowded during fair month?

      1. The ST Express bus ends about 6 blocks away from the fair, and you have to hike there on your own or take the hourly local bus. PT runs fair express service that does pretty well, but from what I saw yesterday it was still a pretty light weekend for the fair.

      2. The number of people who can hit on the bus (about 50 per half hour) is very tiny compared to the number of people that attend the fair. The only reason anyone can even get on that bus at all is because everybody else is driving.

      3. *fit* (not hit)

      4. It’s not that much further than the Sounder train gets people.

         So, people are using the 578 to get to the fair, but it’s just overcrowded during fair season?

   3. Glenn,

      The Sounder train offers a free shuttle bus from the Puyallup station to the Fair’s gate for those two special Saturday runs.

5. Anyone know if having an ORCA passport with unlimited regional rides works on this special train service? It says regular fares apply but this seems like special premium service.

   1. You can pay regular fare on the trains. If you have a pass that covers the full value of all rides, that is the way to go. Buy fair admission tickets separately. Standard reduced fares (RRFP, youth, LIFT) apply. (As a side note, this is the first year with a LIFT fare on Sounder to the Fair! The youth/LIFT discount is much more shallow than the RRFP discount, but it’s a start.)

      Those who have an ORCA-based pass that doesn’t cover the full cost of Sounder trips have the difference taken out of their e-purse. Just be sure you have enough e-purse loaded.

      Snohomish County riders can get a price break, separate from the bundle. Everett to Puyallup one way will cost $5, or $10 round trip. Mukilteo to Puyallup is $4.50, or $9 round trip. Edmonds to Seattle is $4, or $8 round trip. This deal is available at Ticket Vending Machines in the Snohomish County Sounder stations.

      If you are taking connecting transit to get to the train, and don’t yet have an ORCA card, now is a good time to get one, and take advantage of transfer value within two-hour windows. King County Metro paper transfers do not count for anything on Sound Transit services. You can order regular and youth cards online and have them mailed to you.

      Children 0-5 ride free when accompanied by an adult (four children per adult).

      Admission to the Fair is also free for children 0-5. Seniors 62+ and youth 6-18 get a price break on admission.

      You’ll have to do your own math on what the best deal is for you.

      1. What happens if you buy a day ticket for that day?

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