Month: December 2020

Amidst discussions about the design and compromises of the Link Light Rail system, one aspect that gets relatively little attention is how exactly fares are calculated based on the distance traveled. While important, it is also never an urgent priority and can always be changed down the road (unlike things like the route and station access which are, almost literally, set in stone).

Currently, with the exception of youth/ORCA LIFT fares ($1.50) and senior/disabled fares ($1.00), the cost of a trip on Link is based on a linear formula: $2.25 plus 5¢ per mile, rounded to the nearest 25¢. So a 5 mile trip on Link will cost $2.50, a 10 mile trip $2.75, etc. This formula has been unchanged since Link began service, with the exception of a 25-cent fare increase in 2015 accompanying the introduction of ORCA LIFT fares. Over Link’s history thus far, this formula has generally suited the variety of trips generally taken on Link. Short trips within the city are affordable and on par with bus fares (though recently bus fare increases have outpaced Link). Longer trips have a higher fare better matching a premium service, maxing out at a reasonable $3.25 (coincidentally, the same as ST Express).

However, as light rail expands, the fare for the longest trips will continue to increase at the same 5¢ per mile unless the formula is changed. Federal Way to any DSTT station will cost $3.50, and to UW will cost $3.75. Tacoma to downtown Seattle will cost $4, and $4.25 to UW. From Everett, trips downtown will cost $3.75 to $4. As expected, trips to SeaTac airport will be cheap from the south (maxing out at $3.25 from Tacoma), higher from the east (at $3.75 from downtown Redmond), and pricey from the north ($4.50 from Everett). This will create conditions that may be seen as problematic:

Continue reading “Reforming Link fares for a larger network”

• SDOT updates us on RapidRide J (Eastlake)
• Highlights of the King County and Seattle transportation budgets
• GIG Carshare expanding its operating area
• Even electric vehicles kill salmon
• West Seattle gets an update on ST3
• People love to propose fast ferries ($) but I just don’t know
• Durkan floats allowing peds and bikes on the Duwamish Link bridge
• More chatter about art at Federal Way Station
• LFP Council debates whether to require community benefits when Sound Transit builds it a parking garage. The legislature really ought to do something about city permitting power
• Legislature considering a big infrastructure bill
• Toll revenue down ($)
• Help catch the bus assault suspect in Pierce County
• How trains shaped Everett ($)
• Automated trains are one of those obviously good ideas that get no traction in the real world

This is an open thread.

Jenny Durkan:

New vaccines put hope on the horizon, but we are in for tough months ahead and an even tougher recovery. 

As mayor approaching the last year of my term, that meant a choice. I can spend the next year campaigning to keep this job or I can focus all my energy on doing the job — a job that will face all the similar difficulties of 2020. 

There was only one right choice for our city: doing the job. Next year will be consequential to our recovery and the trajectory of our city.

Durkan’s term will be no doubt remembered for this summer’s protests — her announcement comes the same day that a federal Judge held the Seattle PD in contempt for its use of tear gas — as well as the fights with City Council over Amazon and the head tax.

From a transit perspective, Durkan secured the renewal of the STBD made a good hire for SDOT. We also saw some wins, like ORCA Opportunity and the Center City Connector (though it was short lived – the CCC is now on pause again)

But the mayor also had a knack for bold chin-stroking pronouncements, like congestion pricing and the 15-minute city, that made for good headlines but were never truly operationalized (though there’s still a year to make good on them!).

The 2021 race should be interesting, to say the least. It seems likely that more than one Seattle City Council member will try for the big chair, along with the usual cast of first-time contenders and maybe even some old names getting back in the ring.

Last month Mayor Durkan decided to repair the West Seattle Bridge instead of replacing it. This is faster and cheaper, but means the next big bridge project in this corridor (except Link construction) will be decades sooner.

I don’t know if the war-on-cars people ever converged to a position on this subject, but this is the right call, for three reasons:

1. It’s a bad time for new capital commitments. We all have opinions on the post-pandemic future of commuting, but any honest person doesn’t know for sure what traffic patterns will be in 2025. It makes sense to wrap up projects that are almost done (like Sound Transit 2), or putter along in the planning phase of far-out stuff (like ST3), but it’s a uniquely bad time to start motion on a giant transportation project. In other words, it’s premature to take a big step back by canceling something, but also unnecessarily risky to add big new commitments.

Continue reading “Repair is the right choice”

In what is becoming a remarkable year of operational failures, beginning Monday Link peak frequency will drop to 12 minute intervals (from 8 minutes) because they’re running out of operators due to Covid-19. Things will remain the same at off-peak times.

Link operators are provided by Metro. While Link is obviously more critical than most (if not all) bus routes, Metro’s Jeff Switzer explains that “Transit operators in bus operations aren’t directly interchangeable with Link light rail operators, so it’s not as simple as taking a bus driver off the street and putting them in a light rail vehicle.”

Tacoma Link, directly operated by Sound Transit, will run a Sunday schedule both today and December 12th, for similar reasons.

The various online schedule and real-time tools are likely to be inaccurate during this period.

There is no word on when the previous week’s level of service will be restored, which in itself is reduced from what we enjoyed in the before times.

• Meeting today at 10am on Sounder concession fares.
• Congrats to Terry White, now the permanent Metro General Manager.
• ST has a new tool to see when Link is crowded.
• Snohomish thinking about housing around Link.
• Amtrak now thinks they’ll reopen the Point Defiance Bypass next summer.
• A snapshot of Link construction.
• West Seattle Bridge camera enforcement not happening yet.
• Link now operates with 100% carbon-free power.
• Mukilteo Ferry Terminal now 2 feet higher ($) because of sea level rise.
• C-Tran about to begin construction on a second Vine BRT Line.
• Flixbus to Ellensburg returns in January.

This is an open thread.

Yesterday Metro announced that they are waiving the $5 ORCA fee through February 28th, 2021. The stated reason is to encourage contactless payment during the pandemic.

To avoid hoarding, adults are limited to three cards and youth to one. However, adults can get the cards at ticket vending machines, so I’m not sure how this limit is enforced. From the announcement:

“You can get your free ORCA card by:

• Calling ORCA Customer Service: 888-988-6722 (ORCA cards typically take 5-7 business days to arrive by mail) – adult cards only
• Visiting a store that sells ORCA cards – adult cards only
• Using ORCA ticket vending machines – adult cards only
• Completing and mailing in this ORCA Card order form – adult or youth cards
• Visiting an ORCA Customer Service Office (NOTE: You may experience extended wait times in person while measures are in place to limit the spread of COVID-19) – adult or youth cards

Please note that this offer is NOT available for cards purchased on ORCAcard.com. Due to technical limitations, cards on the website will continue to be $5.“

Agencies have been extremely reluctant to reduce or eliminate the fee, but instead have had free ORCA events every few years. If you’ve been holding out, it’s a good opportunity to finally get a card.