Month: November 2018

Yes, we’re bringing this up again.

This is an open thread.

The Times‘ David Gutman got a rare glimpse at Uber and Lyft’s trip data for Seattle.

The data show that ridesharing is most popular in the neighborhoods ringing Lake Union (Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford), many of which also have higher rates of car ownership.

Is it surprising that the inner-ring residential neighborhoods would score high for rideshare? Though close to downtown, taking transit to and from downtown jobs can be quite slow compared to, say, an express bus from Northgate or Bellevue. Capitol Hill has Link, sure, but that’s not super useful if you’re headed to, say, South Lake Union.  A three-mile trip from deep in the CD to a far corner of SLU  could involve two buses and easily take an hour (and be time competitive with walking, if there’s even a hint of traffic).   Or, if you’re trying to board a bus in Fremont or Ballard headed downtown, it might be so crowded by the time it gets to your stop that it just passes you by.

In that context, using Uber or Lyft for your daily commute is appealing, if one has the privilege to do so.  Depending on the commute, and using the shared ride feature, the monthly cost could be in the ballpark of a downtown parking spot.  It takes half as long as the bus, and you get to check email from the back seat. A smart choice for the rider, perhaps, but what is the impact to the city as a whole?

Continue reading “Uber and lyft data make the case for decongestion pricing”

• TOD planned for Bellevue’s Red Lion hotel area (East Main Station)
• SDOT says federal funding is a risk for Madison BRT
• Councilmember (and ST Board Member) Rob Johnson won’t run for re-election next year
• SLU Streetcar getting some dedicated ROW on Terry
• Funding to study an I-5 lid coming from the convention center project
• It’s been over a year since we’ve gotten a streetcar ridership report
• Once-embattled ST CEO Rogoff gets a vote of confidence from the board
• Scooter fees to pay for bike infrastructure in Indianapolis
• BNSF thinks its time to replace the rail bridge over Salmon Bay
• Why the rent is so damn high
• Portland approves new MAX line
• Mercer Island rideshare experiment ends, awaiting final report
• Master Builders Association goes all in on density, infill

This is an open thread

Photo by Atomic Taco in the STB Flickr Pool

This post comments on vote totals as of 11 AM on November 7.

I-1631 failed. That’s a blow in the political fight against climate change. It doesn’t have to be a fatal one.

I-1631 gained a larger Yes margin than I-732, as of this morning. That’s remarkable, considering the amount of resources oil companies burned to defeat I-1631: the Yes campaign was outspent by about 2:1, as of today. I-732 did not face a coordinated No campaign. Given the stiffer opposition, any gains have to be considered a positive.

The gain is encouraging because I-1631 was a new concept: it engaged directly with the pocketbook and social justice issues that result from economic transition away from the fossil fuel economy. Explaining those issues, especially the pocketbook issues, will take time. “Green collar economics” isn’t new, but it also hasn’t caught fire. Making it a popular, winning issue will take further time, activism, and influence. Making a negative, status-quo case based on rising gas prices and bureaucratic overreach is much easier.

So it’s heartening that in the movement-building context, I-1631 presents some political gains. I-1631 engaged and activated a liberal base coalition that climate and environmental groups have struggled to work with in the past, such as activists of color and organized labor.

But a loss is a loss. I-1631 was, from the start, a tough fit for Washington, considering the state’s hostility to taxation. As of 11 AM on November 7, I-1634, the food and beverage tax ban, is passing at a similar margin to I-1631’s failure. It’s part of a long history: a recent high-earners income tax was DOA at the ballot box. State schools remain underfunded. Tim Eyman has had a long career. Washington does not like taxes (though not for no reason.) That’s old news for anyone who watches state politics.

So’s this: Washington was unable to make significant a progressive change because its liberal and progressive elected leadership lacks the necessary whatever—courage, wherewithal, organization—to take it to the house. In this case, the stymied change is the failure of Governor Jay Inslee and the Democratic legislature to make any progress on a climate change bill, despite multiple attempts.

You could write the same thing about public schools, gun control, an income tax, criminal justice reform, legalizing cannabis, or public transportation. Those are all issues that should be addressed by the legislature, but at best wind up at the ballot box.

Governor Inslee has long made the environment and climate change his signature issue, and his inability to shepherd a climate change bill through the legislature is an indictment of his leadership and effectiveness. He’s had more than one term—and a session with his party in control of both chambers—to take climate action, but didn’t.

Democrats seem likely to expand their majorities in the legislature. Maybe they will use them to take a bold step against climate change. If history is any guide, they won’t.

Los Angeles struggles with turning around bus ridership while trying to expand its rail network countywide under Measure M.

This is an open thread.

Sound Transit’s recently-released Draft 2019 Service Implementation Plan is a data-dense tome covering the next round of ST Express route restructures, ridership and performance data, Title VI analyses, and more. This year’s edition offers a vision of how ST Express service might look in 2025 (pages 85-110), after five more Link extensions and the opening of Sound Transit’s first two Bus Rapid Transit routes, but laid out opening by opening. Transit network efficiency geeks, salivate thereon. It’s time to play Sim-ST!

Once Northgate Link opens (2021, page 93):

• Some of the Snohomish-County-to-Seattle routes (510, 511, 512, and 513) could be truncated at Northgate Station.
• Route 522 is planned to be truncated at Northgate or Roosevelt Station.
• Route 542 is planned to be truncated at the U-District instead of continuing on to Green Lake Park & Ride.
• Routes 555 and 556 could be restructured between the U-District and Northgate Stations. Since route 555 does not serve the U-District, part of that restructure would presumably be to just have route 556. No specific restructure between the U-District and Northgate is proposed. So, truncation seems to be the default proposal.
• Route 586 is planned to be eliminated. Past SIPs have mentioned a possible route 591 from Tacoma to north downtown, but this SIP merely says service hours will be reinvested in the I-5 South corridor.

Once East Link opens (2023):

• Route 540 is planned to remain the same as today. The SIP does not mention the route 544 proposal that would eliminate route 540 in favor of investing its service hours in a restructured route 255 that would serve UW Station.
• Route 541 is planned to be eliminated, presuming it hasn’t already been in favor of route 544.
• Route 542 is planned to continue as shortened after the Northgate Link restructure, and run all day and all week.
• Route 545 could become a frequent peak-only route between Bear Creak Park & Ride, Redmond Transit Center, and South Lake Union, not serving Redmond Technology Center Station or Capitol Hill.
• Route 550 is planned to be eliminated.
• Routes 555 and 556 could be eliminated, consolidating north-Bellevue-to-UW service to King County Metro route 271 and Bellevue-Issaquah service to route 554.

Once Downtown Redmond Link opens (2024):

The bus routes are not expected to change, but they will continue to service Redmond TC, which will be several blocks from the new Downtown Redmond Station, and are not expected to serve the station.

Once Lynnwood Link opens (2024):

• Route 510 would get a huge bump in service hours, and provide frequent all-day connection between Downtown Everett, South Everett Park & Ride, Ash Way Park & Ride and Lynnwood City Center Station.
• Route 511 would become a peak frequent bi-directional service between Seaway Transit Center, Eastmont P&R, Ash Way P&R, and Lynnwood City Center Station.
• Routes 512 and 513 would be eliminated.

Once Federal Way Link opens (2024):

• Route 574 could be extended to Burien TC and Westwood Village.
• Route 577 would be eliminated.
• Routes 578, 590, 592, and 594 could be truncated at Federal Way P&R Station.
• Route 595 would remain as it is today, running express between Tacoma Community College TC and downtown Seattle.

Once SR 522 / NE 145th BRT opens (2024):

Route 522 would remain as a peak connection between Roosevelt or Northgate Station and SR 522 destinations through UW Bothell.

The segment between UW Bothell and Woodinville P&R might remain in the BRT route depending on a ridership study to be conducted after Northgate Link opens.

Once I-405 BRT opens (2024):

• Route 532 would continue providing peak service between Everett and Bellevue, and add the stop on campus at UW Bothell.
• Routes 535 and 560 are planned to be eliminated.
• Routes 566 and 567 would continue much as they are today.
• Route 574 could be extended to serve Burien TC and Westwood Village.

Frank Chiachiere assisted with this post.

Sound Transit has released its Draft 2019 Service Implementation Plan, along with a one-page summary that looks a lot more succinct and useful than the traditional executive summaries. The actual proposals for service changes are just for March 2019. Highlights and lowlights include:

Route 513 will cease serving Evergreen Way, and instead serve the new Seaway Transit Center, near Paine Field.

Route 542 will expand service to evenings and weekends, while routes 545 and 555 will no longer serve Montlake, due to Montlake Freeway Station closing.

Route 550 will move to 2nd and 4th Avenues downtown, and take several minutes longer to cross downtown.

Route 555 will cease serving its long tail between downtown Bellevue and Issaquah. Route 556 will continue to serve this tail in the other direction. The hours saved would be invested into improved reliability for route 554.

Reverse-peak-direction service on route 580 will be eliminated, and various other runs will just go between South Hill and Puyallup Station. Saved hours will be invested in other Pierce County ST Express routes. See page 22 of the Draft SIP for the full list of cuts.

Minor changes, listed on page 24, include:

• replacing the northbound freeway station stop at 145th with a stop on 5th Ave NE, for route 512. The freeway station is being closed for Link station construction. Non-specified reliability improvements may be rolled out to mitigate the extra travel time.
• a possible additional stop on route 541 at the southeast corner of the Microsoft campus, to mitigate lack of access to Overlake Transit Center resulting from Link station construction.
• the discontinuation of the midday run of route 596 from Bonney Lake P&R to Sumner Station, due to having just 2-4 riders.

The Draft SIP is coy on whether the travel time on Link Light Rail will decrease after the buses leave the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel for good, or how long it will take to get more peak 3-car trains. The SIP merely states that “reliability” will improve, and offers a transfer to light rail as a way to get across downtown faster (which seems like a dubious plan if average wait time is 3-5 minutes, and getting between the bus stop and train takes multiple minutes, along with the time to exit the destination station, unless they really are planning to reduce cross-downtown travel time, and buses are reduced to a crawl). Siemens light rail vehicles start getting delivered sometime in 2019, and then will need a prep period before any can go into service.

More changes for September 2019 will be proposed in early 2019, with public outreach planned for after Metro makes its decisions on its northeastside restructures.

Public comments on the March 2019 service change proposals are being accepted through November 15.

The SIP also offers a treasure trove of ridership and performance data, as well as scenarios for how ST Express service might look in 2025, which will be covered in a future post.