What large metro rail projects need to succeed. (RMTransit)

Automation and the future of subways. (RMTransit)

Stockholm electric hyrofoil ferry. (Candela Boats, the manufacturer)

This is an open thread.

10 Replies to “Sunday Movies: Strategic Examples”

  1. I finally had a chance to ride the Vashon Island water taxi on Friday (one of the very few days I’m off work that the ferry actually runs). The good news: It was dramatically faster than the usual route of taking the C line to car ferry. The bad news: the boat locates its diesel exhaust vent right next to the passenger boarding door, so it is impossible to get on or off the boat without breathing a good dose of diesel fumes while you wait on line. The stench also goes through the door onto parts of the inside of the boat as well.

    An electric boat would have been much nicer, or at least, a shore power solution that would allow the boat to shut its engine off while loading and unloading passengers. Unfortunately, neither is probably economical for a route that only runs a few times per day.

    1. A hybrid would make sense as well and just run on electricity close to shore. I have no idea how common they are.

  2. The route 10 schedule says it terminates in the Interlaken Park neighborhood, that 15th & Galer is in there. I’ve always thought of that area as Capitol Hill, and Interlaken Park as where the 12 terminates. Does this make sense, or is it perhaps a mistake stemming from the 10 and 12 now overlapping for half their routes?

  3. FTA delayed the record of decision to past the election date

    > The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has delayed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the West Seattle Link Extension from November 29, 2024 to February 28, 2025. The ROD is a key document in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and signifies the conclusion of the environmental review phase.

    Normally a three month delay isn’t a large deal but since it’s done post the election I’m not sure what will happen given the change in administration and FTA head.

    https://www.westsideseattle.com/robinson-papers/2024/11/30/record-decision-west-seattle-link-extension-delayed

    I will note I’m trying to figure out where this website got their information from whether sound transit meeting or FTA published document but I don’t see why someone would bother lying about this.

    2. An ROD is just confirming that the Final EIS contains no omissions or mistakes. It’s not a guarantee of a good rating nor is it a commitment to give New Starts money.

      It’s very possible that a Federal agency is not fully on board with what’s in the EIS. For example, a newly-introduced cable-stayed tower bridge was announced only with the release of the Final EIS, and that has direct impacts to protected air space (FAA) and has other impacts like visual ones that were not addressed in the earlier Draft EIS and probably other sections of the Final EIS.

      I can’t weigh in on how the new administration will react. They could ramp up questions if they want to delay the ROD.

      Even so, the cost and benefit data look really bad. ST did nothing strategic (like running three lines through the DSTT) to increase ridership. The forecasted boardings are much lower than when ST started the first EIS. Regardless of the deadline, WS Link will face a pretty tough road ahead for Federal funds. .

    3. The new date is a month after inauguration. The new appointees may not be in place yet, and it’s hard to see how they could change policies so quickly, especially since they’ll have a thousand other things to deal with that might be higher priority.

      1. This does not trouble me at all. $7 BILLION for three Link stations and a forced transfer in Sodo is a laughable use of scarce transit dollars. The Urbanist has it right: this project needs re-thinking.

  4. The Seattle Monorail has announced it is moving forward with the fare increase from $3.50 to $4, and from $1.75 to $2 for all reduced fares, including youth.

    Meanwhile, the Regional Day Pass is headed toward becoming $6 and covering the first $3 in fare for each service honoring PugetPass. So, the monorail will become a $2 round-trip up-charge for nearly everyone, including seniors, riders with disabilities, and low-income riders. For many youth, it will be $4, in contrast to the fare freedom on all other public transit services in the state, including Amtrak.

    The monorail has gloated repeatedly that it already makes a profit. It wants to make even more profit, as 2/3 of that profit goes to the Seattle Center.

    Fine. Put profit over ridership. I’m done with doing business at the Seattle Center and riding the price-gouging monorail. Bah Humbug!

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