In December, we took a look at a few incorrect signs in the Puget Sound transit network. Many of these signs have since been fixed, but the region’s quickly growing transit system has resulted in a few more incorrect signs. Mistakes in wayfinding signs are bound to happen with any complex system. The four agencies responsible for travel in Seattle (Sound Transit, King County Metro, SDOT, WSDOT) work closely together, but gaps in communication are inevitable. We are also not blaming the talented designers at these organizations. In calling out these mistakes, all we ask is for the responsible agency correct the issue as soon as possible. Seattle Transit Blog wants transit to be as easy and user-friendly as possible, and factual inaccuracies on official signage go against that goal. While everyday transit riders deserve correct information, the expected surge in visitors to Seattle this summer is all the more reason to ensure all maps and signs are accurate and up-to-date.
Sound Transit
Last month’s much anticipated Crosslake Connection opening introduced two new stations, Judkins Park and Mercer Island. At Judkins Park station, the Area Map and Bike Map are both missing a few key details. On the Area Map, the new bus stops next to the station entrances on Rainier Ave for the 7, 9, and 106 are not labeled. Instead, the now-closed bus stops south of I-90 are labeled. Likewise, the new bus stops on 23rd Ave for routes 8 and 48 are missing.
On the Bike Map, parts of a few new infrastructure projects are not labeled. SDOT completed the Beacon Hill Safety Project in 2025. Among other improvements, protected bike lanes were added to sections of 15th ave S and Beacon Ave S. The Bike Map has the Beacon Ave section labeled, but is missing the 15th Ave section. The Bike Map is also missing the bike lanes on Dearborn St and on MLK Way between McClellan St and Rainier Ave. Both maps have also excluded the new bike path under I-90 along Rainier, near the station entrance.
Across Lake Washington, signs at Mercer Island station may confuse visitors and residents alike. Sound Transit’s Area Map for the station lists the bus stops for nearby routes. Curiously, Route 249 is listed at the stops just north of the station. In reality, Route 249 runs between South Bellevue station and Spring District station, not to Mercer Island station. It is also worth noting that the Area Map labels Exit A on 77th Ave SE and Exit B on 80th Ave SE. King County Metro also has a few signs at Mercer Island station to show the nearby bus routes. This sign lists the correct routes, but incorrectly labels Exit A on 80th Ave SE and Exit B on 77th Ave SE. Someone has ‘fixed’ Metro’s signs with hand-written letters on the correct exits.
In the December article, we called out the Landmarks in Seattle via Link sign that was displayed on the platform at SeaTac/Airport station. Sound Transit has since removed the sign from the platform and instead hung it in the hallway between the airport terminal and the Link station. The sign is also displayed at Link stations downtown. The main issue with this sign is the destinations listed under Symphony station. Each location is located closer to the Pioneer Square station (and is listed under Pioneer Square station on the sign). The sign is also missing the Federal Way and Eastlake Link extensions.
King County Metro
King County Metro’s Downtown system map has had inaccuracies for the past few years. The March 2026 version of this map has fixed many of recurring issues. The map itself is correct, but the Destinations Served by Frequent Routes section still has a few confusing or unclear sections.
- Beacon Hill lists routes 36 and 60 from “Southbound”, instead of a street like the routes for other destinations.
- Capitol Hill does not list Route 3.
- Northgate lists the 1 Line and 2 Line from “Northbound”, instead of “All Stations”.
- Othello lists routes 36 and 106 from “Southbound”.
- South Lake Union does not list the South Lake Union streetcar.
City of Seattle
Earlier this week, Mayor Wilson announced a significant expansion of the annual Bicycle Weekends event on Lake Washington Blvd. Along with this exciting announcement, the press release included the same incorrect map that has been used in years past. Most notably, the map is completely missing Route 14, which runs on 31st Ave S and S McClellan St in Mount Baker. The tail of Route 27 on Lakeside Ave S is also absent. These routes are the best transit option for people looking to visit the north end of the Bicycle Weekends path. The southern part of the Route 50 route is also missing, between Seward Park and Othello. Near Seward park, Route 50 operates a one-way couplet on Seward park Ave and Wilson Ave. For some reason, the section on Wilson Ave is labeled as a light rail route.
Back in 2020, SDOT rolled out its Seamless Seattle Pedestrian Wayfinding Program. This program had a goal of improving and unifying wayfinding signs in downtown Seattle. The wayfinding signs produced from this program were clear, correct, and helpful. Unfortunately, these now-outdated signs are still displayed at some Link stations. Someone reading the sign may start looking for where to board routes 26X, 41, 120, 255, or 512 and be stuck waiting for a long time. All of those routes have since been cancelled, replaced, or re-routed to not serve downtown Seattle.
This is an open thread.
Would rather see them replaced with QR codes and if you don’t have a phone then just a pamphlet for the area located where the sign used to be. The idea of spending money on these massive signs that will be out of date if anything changes is ridiculous given technology and budget shortfalls.
No, no, and absolutely not. QR codes are so obnoxious. I don’t want to have to look at my phone to confirm information. Plus, not everyone has a smart phone. And not every web app is compatible with every phone – my phone doesn’t load most Esri hosted apps (which these would probably be).
Plus the issue here is bad design and a lack of proofreading. Those are issues which are independent of how information is displayed. Some of the Metro map stuff has been an issue for years. What we need is public agencies that provide high-quality routing and other information.
For what it’s worth, TriMet is really good at this, and they always have been. It’s an organizational priority issue, not a technical one.
“Would rather see them replaced with QR codes”
WHAT!? ARE YOU CRAZY!? If I can’t tell when Alderwood Mall will close with the QR code this is going to be a disaster. Why does everyone want to do this? Replace crucial information with QR codes… Just to save a little space? No that’s downright awful, if I had it my way that’s not the way to go because many people don’t have phones and let alone don’t know how to scan QR codes.
Paul, no just no.
Install very cheap digital signs / kiosks / tablets at each station. While at it, put cheap time signs at bus stops too. The problem is people don’t know how to design cheap electronics, so they buy a whole high resolution screen with a full operating system installed just to display a sign. There are cheaper options.
The digital static signs would show arrivals and scheduling that multiple people can read simultaneously. Users can use kiosks to find additional information, purchase tickets, etc.
Ask a contractor to build this for you? Tens of millions down the drain. But any seasoned engineer could build this for very cheap, using the right tools. … But no one with those skills would choose to work for Sound Transit. Maybe ST should look for engineer interns and partnerships from universities. Some of those students are bright and can do it.
He mentioned pamphlets in case you don’t have a phone. Way cheaper. It’s a good idea. Put recycling bins at each station.
Any information subject to change should be a QR code. Plus some info on those signs are nice to have even after you board the train or bus. A sign can only be viewed at the station itself.
QR codes at light rail stations? No. But at most bus stops? Yes. They’re a good idea at a bus stops for schedules, next arrival and general information. Information can be updated in real-time instead of waiting for paper to be printed, staff & vehicle to drive out to a location and install it every time there’s a schedule change.
I do however support physical maps and every light rail station, transit center and other major/popular transit location. But they’re not necessary at every bus stop, which is the majority of bus stops. Which is why QR codes would be much better.
Why aren’t they necessary at bus stops? Are bus riders not deserving of readily available and obvious information? A map may be overkill depending on the situation, but having printed schedules displayed on bus stop poles is a nice thing to have and is already being done.
Really any bus stop that serves multiple routes from one location should have some printed and displayed information explaining where the different buses go. Newer riders are less likely to be familiar or certain which bus to ride, and instilling confidence would be a good thing to do.
It will probably get sued for not ADA compliant especially for places where those information were there before.
The Bicycle Weekends map also highlights Route 9 which, of course, doesn’t run on weekends.
I was going to call that out, but this year Bike Weekends will run from Friday evening until Monday morning.
According to the official release from the Mayor, LWB be closed only on Friday, July 3rd and the 9 won’t be running on that day due to the holiday.
https://wilson.seattle.gov/2026/04/13/mayor-wilson-announces-summer-schedule-for-bicycle-weekends-on-lake-washington-boulevard/
Including the 9 on the map is–at least–misleading.
According to Ryan Packer, on the non-holiday weekends they’re going to start the closures on Friday at 7 PM.
They should have showed the 2 Line!
Incorrect signage is one of those things that communicates a lack of care, but is easy to fix. How often has a driver had to deal with a road sign pointing them in completely the wrong direction? I can’t even think of an example. Meanwhile, the pedestrian signage is laughable, Sound Transit publishes wayfinding with glaring issues, and Metro only now has (mostly) correct information on their downtown maps (and hey to be fair, is the SLU Streetcar even really frequent?)
I make maps as part of my day job, and I just can’t really imagine how stuff like a light rail line on Wilson Ave gets in. And likewise with the connections at Link stops. I guess I’m more plugged in on what’s happening transit-wise (and I really care about buses specifically), but it just seems weird to me that someone could even make a map with so much slightly wrong info. Incidentally, you can sort of tell they are using out of date route/stop info and just retrofitting. I’m sure that’s why the 8 is labeled on a stop but not listed as a route, and why the 249 is labeled at a stop but not as a route. They’ve got old GTFS data and are just manually editing what they catch. But I don’t know, seems like something an agency like Sound Transit should be able to handle more proactively.
Road signs are far simpler and less subject to change. Ridiculous comparison.
Basic Link station signage, yes, are comparable. Things like what are shown in the article – no.
Road signs are simpler in design, but there are also way more of them and a much greater variety. They may change less often, but they do change. Would SDOT fail to update road signs along Madison after a major project like the G Line? No. But they did fail to add the G Line to their pedestrian/transit wayfinding signs downtown. Sure, some of this is because road signs are part of the capital project itself, but there’s no specific reason this can’t be true of pedestrian oriented signage and wayfinding.
If I’m driving from here to Portland, I can basically drive my car in any direction on any major street and be pointed towards Portland. I do not need to open a map at all, I just have to follow signs to any freeway, and then I’ll be pointed in the right direction. I probably just need to know vaguely where the freeway entrances are, and that Portland is south of Seattle. Is the same true of navigating the transit system? It could be, if signage was up to date and well thought out.
Road signs can be misleading too, particularly at complicated freeway interchanges, where being in the wrong lane can shunt you off on a long detour.
The West Seattle bridge, approaching I-5, is one such example. I have many times ended up on Columbian Way when the intent was to get on northbound I-5.
I’ve casually mentioned before that ST has not worked with WSDOT to add signage for the 7 relatively new Link parking garages at interchanges. It could be as simple as adding a light rail icon onto a sign (MUTCD sign I-12 — https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/fig2h_01_longdesc.htm) or it could be a single large sign listing all the Link garage parking exits for each corridor.
And if those garages had open space counters the info could maybe be added to those signs.
249 was never there in Mercer Island before, now, and foreseeable future.
I think someone just got through too many stations for this project and confused themselves when making that specific Mercer Island label.
It is understandable human mistake but it should have been caught in the QC process.
SDOT has known for several years that their bus route tables on the DSTT platforms have been out of date.
The Judkins and Mercer Island errors by ST are quite sad; with the plinth delay, they have extra time for review. ST made mistakes in Lynnwood Link wayfinding; they were fixed.
Wayfinding errors can mislead.
Not a signage thing, but since you mention DSTT, Metro buses audio still call Link’s Westlake Station “Westlake Tunnel Station”.
Michael, is this an open thread? Doesn’t it have to be one since it’s a Friday roundtable?
Yes it is.
All Friday Roundtables, Sunday Movies, and Wednesday Roundups are open threads even if we sometimes forget to put the note in. Part of the reason for the Friday column is to avoid going so many days/articles without an open thread. Because now that many people are reading on mobile, it gets cumbersome to navigate and reply if the comment count goes over 100 or so, and people don’t want to start new topics in an old article or way at the bottom in case other people have stopped reading it. Or you wait several days for the next open thread and by then you’ve forgotten what you were going to say.
Mobile navigation is indeed cumbersome.
1. Latest comments doesn’t seem to be available in the drop down on the home page.
2. Long comment sections could be improved by adding ability to collapse and auto collapsing reply chains that the user has already seen. I see the website already tracks which messages have been seen.
I have web development experience if interested reach me at the email I use here
Ian, good notes. I’ve added “Latest Comments” to the main menu bar (and also punted the link to podcast episodes to the “learn more” sidebar, since there hasn’t been a new episode in nearly 5 years and there are no plans for additional episodes any time soon).
Regarding collapsing comments, I don’t think WordPress supports dynamic features like that. Are you aware of a plugin or other means of adding the ability to collapse comments in WordPress?
Speaking of maps, ST needs to install a “directional station list” at the entrances of each platform (DC Metro does this). This ensures customers are entering the correct platform because “Lynnwood” and “Federal Way” doesn’t mean anything to seldom or new riders. This is strongly evident on game days or for tourists at Westlake station who can’t tell which platform enter. Yes, a map is available but they’re posted only at the ticket machines ..which can be blocked by crowds buying tickets.
An example of this can be seen in the first picture of Bethesda station in suburban DC: https://www.bethesdatransit.org/bethesda/metrorail-metrobus
This can also be solved with better wayfinding signs overall that include “Airport” and “stadiums”. Also, maps need to be larger and more of them placed throughout the station, like on the platform themselves rather than just on the mezzanine levels.
ST has directional maps on most (all?) platforms, where the large printed maps show the stations accessible from trains leaving that side of the platform, and the opposite-direction stations are grayed out. I think the DC Metro example you linked is much clearer though: it’s larger, simpler, and makes it very clear which platform it is referring to, whereas the ST maps don’t make it obvious that they are different on opposite sides of the platform.
Is there anything that can be done to get public restrooms installed at major transit hubs, or is that just impossible because undesirables would abuse them to do drugs?
If we want transit to be more friendly, particularly trips involving transfers, people should be able to pee at the connection point without having to walk a long way to an open business and/or buy a bottle of water they don’t even need, for access to the toilet. Worse, when doing the trip late at night, when the wait times for buses are longest, businesses are closed, so there isn’t anywhere to go.
Yes, I realize that restrooms cost money. Yet, somehow, at other transportation facilities, like airports and ferry terminals, they are always there. What’s the difference?
BART has restrooms at almost every station: https://www.bart.gov/guide/restrooms (though not listed as missing on that page, there wasn’t one at the SFO stop last time I flew out of SFO). If BART can manage to keep public restrooms open, Sound Transit surely can as well.
BART has onsite station agents at all times.
https://www.bart.gov/guide/restrooms
Restrooms are usually located beyond the fare gates and have a 10-minute time limit.
> 10-minute time limit
people with gastrointestinal distress in shambles
My understanding is that it’s mostly an issue of cost, since public restrooms are fairly high maintenance. SDOT is installing temporary public restrooms in Pioneer Square, and Metro has some installed as well. PubliCola reports that the toilets each cost about $100,000 a year to maintain.
https://publicola.com/2026/03/25/seattle-gives-high-tech-toilets-another-go-starting-in-pioneer-square/
The Urbanist had similar story about high cost of transit station restroom in 2024: https://www.theurbanist.org/king-county-to-close-transit-center-restrooms/
I’ve pondered whether it could be a private sector partnership. Things like having a coffee house and the owners get a break on rent by providing upkeep for public restrooms. I wouldn’t be averse to having police precincts, post offices or libraries at stations as a way to then provide public restrooms, frankly — as staff could continuously monitor the restrooms.
Unmonitored restrooms sound great — but upkeep is often the big struggle. From people doing drugs in them to adult diaper users clogging toilets to deliberately unsanitary users making a mess of things, upkeep to me is fundamental to their success. Things can go bad very quickly.
In Boise, if a bar/restaurant has a liquor license, their bathroom has to be open to the public. Not super relevant to a transit center, but I thought that was a good example of public/private parternship.
I wouldn’t use the phrase “public private partnership” for regulation compelling businesses to keep restrooms open. It’s just common sense. We all have to use the bathroom, and everyone suffers the more that is restricted.
And I would rather hire sanitation workers to keep restrooms clean than have no restrooms and human waste in the streets.
I would be ok if the costs were offset by user fees. Restrooms could even be integrated into the Orca system. For example, if the restroom were treated like a bus with $5 fare, a person off the street would pay $5, but a person using it as part of a real transit trip would only pay $2 above the normal transit fare. I think this would be reasonable.
A user fee would also limit usage to people who really need to go, which increases the odds of people with a bursting bladder and tight bus connection finding it available when they need it.
User fees for restrooms would be stupid. It’s a fundamental human process, and we all deserve access to clean and available restrooms in public as a matter of fact. We should simply have progressive tax policy and use that money to pay for basic services, like public restrooms in public buildings. And we should also require all businesses to allow all restrooms to be open to the public at all times.
It’s still better than the status quo of having no public restrooms at all.
I believe paid public restrooms are not legal in WA state. I’m also supportive of paid public restrooms but it’s probably a nonstarter politically. In an ideal world they would be paid for via tax revenue, but the present reality is we barely have any public restrooms because we don’t have any reliable, ongoing sources of funding.
They’d be vandalized day one anyways.
When I visited in 2016, all of the public restrooms in Potsdam, Germany were €1 but also well maintained. Some even had attendants.
It seemed like a significant portion of the population just used the bushes anyway.
Of course, it speaks volumes about the difference in culture that one can leave a bucket of €1 coins people have tossed in, in a public restroom and not have the majority of them vanish.
Yeah some public restroom in EU even has subway style fare gates.
I noticed a car idling on Rainier Ave in front of Judkins Park Station yesterday in the bus lane. They appeared to be waiting for someone.
With several new Link station openings in the past two years, I’m curious: Have other people seen “risky” passenger pickup or dropoff activity at any of the new stations?
I’m curious about things like people hopping out or into cars at intersections or pulling over where they’re not supposed to.
It often happens at some bus stops, like Pine & Bellevue.
They should build curbs for car drop offs at Link stations like Bellevue TC. S Bellevue has a decent drop-off area with light parking. Usually always a spot available.
Some car drop offs are never enough. Things are going pretty out of hand every afternoon at 108th Ave NE between NE 4th/6th.
There are mix of pick-up, drop-offs, and some food delivery mostly generated by gig workers on these days. They not only park on the curbside but also the two-way left-turn lane.
This often blocks 550’s wide turn out of transit center and drivers have to horn their way out. I really want to submit a complain to the city but not sure where that should go.
Enforce maximum wait time at a drop-off curb, no parking allowed. If people only use it to pick up or drop off transit riders, that wouldn’t happen
Anyways with S Bellevue Stn open to Seattle, more people should go there to drop off instead of Bellevue TC. From the North, Yarrow Point is a better dropoff point.
In the next several months, I suspect that some pickup activity to migrate nearby to East Main and Wilburton in the next several months. Some waiting may happen in nearby private parking lots and driveways. Regardless, it’s going to happen and cities are going to have to deal with it.
In concept, stations with garages can convert spaces in them to short-occupancy spaces (say 10 or 15 minutes max) to accommodate the phenomenon. The challenge then becomes designing the access to be good enough to discourage things like riders getting dropped off or picked up offsite because site circulation is time-consuming.
For non-garage stations things get trickier. Most Seattle and Bellevue stations (some Redmond stations too) don’t have parking areas regulated by ST. In these cases, each city has to consider how they regulate and patrol nearby curb space.
Because drop off and pickup has surged since the advent of smart phones (texting for rides; ride apps like Uber and Lyft), lots of station site plans from ST2 (most planned by 2015) have given it nominal attention. As a result, the cities will have to respond to any congestion that this creates.
I’m not surprised that Downtown Bellevue has more pickup congestion in the afternoons. They should have seen it coming. 108th is also a bit away from Link platforms so I wouldn’t be surprised if the issue increasingly spills over onto other streets and maybe nearby parking areas near the station.
In hot spots, have cop cars and security regularly scout the area and give warnings. Scare them away. Ticket for repeat offenders.
But part of the solution is added at least a few parking spots for 5 min dropoff/pickup, or at least a dedicated curb.
“In hot spots, have cop cars and security regularly scout the area and give warnings. Scare them away. Ticket for repeat offenders.”
If there’s a traffic hazard, it’s good to warn people to not wait at certain curbs. However, they will likely not quit picking up Link riders. They’ll just seek another spot to wait.
The Denny Way bus lane executive order has a deadline of today, April 17 for the plan to be shared: https://wilson.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2026/01/Executive-Order-202601-Denny-Way-Transit-Infrastructure.pdf
Has anyone seen any news on it?
I hypothesize that if we tinkered with the eastbound stops, we could extend the existing eastbound bus lane from Fairview to Westlake, and possibly further west than that. Like currently, the bus lane would be to the left of the freeway queue lane
No news through normal channels. I suspect SDOT is behind schedule, otherwise the Mayor would have announced something similar to how the Mayor’s office has announced plans for accelerated shelter implementation.
https://bsky.app/profile/typewriteralley.bsky.social/post/3mjqf3mrjsc26
Ryan Packer: “Denny Way bus lane announcement coming NEXT WEDNESDAY”
Ah, SDOT must have delivered right at the deadline. Very exciting!
I stopped to look at the signage in Westlake Station this afternoon to see if the signage was as confusing as this post would make it seem. As I was perusing the signs and just as a 1 Line train pulled out of the station, a traveler asked me if she was at the right place to catch a train to the airport. “Yes” I said and explained that the trains marked “Federal Way” would get her to the airport. “There will be another one in 10 minutes.”
Then, a traveler from the UK who was looking at another map asked about getting to Renton from the tunnel. I surmised she may have been using ancient information from the days when the 101 and 106 used the tunnel. On the wall map she was studying, Renton is shown to be served only by the 560 and 566. Because her destination was very near the Renton Transit Center, I suggested she catch the 101 on Second Avenue.
Therefore, I conclude that the signage at the stations is inadequate and confusing for out-of-town travelers. I don’t know the solution, other than to have fare ambassadors posted at the main stations to help people and collect data on what problems people are facing when trying to navigate using the wall maps. I’m sure that “is this where I catch the train to the airport?” would be the most frequently asked question, but there likely are several questions that could be answered with simple signage.
Westlake did have a nice in person information window, probably when Metro ran the tunnel. That would be nice to see back.
The signage sounds like it reflects a bit of turfdom between Metro and ST. That’s part of the issue — but not all of it.
There are multiple ways to get from Downtown Seattle to Renton. In addition to these, there is also RapidRide F, Routes 106 and 107 and soon 2 Line to Strude 1! Lots depends on location of the Renton destination and the time of day. Even with better info, it is still would be confusing. Fixed signage could never be thorough enough to advise a traveler on the many transit trip options.
That said, the lack of having trained station agents begins to have consequences. Lost travelers (and desperate restroom searchers) pay the price.
One long-term solution that I could suggest is the creation of transit travel centers at key stations. They could have live info and monitored restrooms. They could be placed at several key locations but not at every Link stations. In the mean time, video technology is good enough to create a video information kiosk where not only questions can be answered but remote Schedules and directions could be enabled.
There’s three, count ’em, three sports events today.
2:00pm – Torrent Hockey at Climate Pledge Arena
4:15pm – Mariners at T-Mobile Park
6:30pm – Sounders at Lumen Field
I havent seen it mentioned yet but theres a new much better announcement voice at the station platforms. I think its AI but still leagues better than the old robotic one.
I’ll have to check out if it’s learned to say Wilburton correctly.
More stories from East Link. Friday I was able to get off early and ride Link home from Judkins Park around noon. I was surprised that a three car train showed up and even more surprised that it was pretty full. Not SRO by any means but maybe half the seats taken which required some people to sit with strangers… or stand which seems to be the prevailing choice. Damned good ridership and a hell of a lot better than I expected. Curious if we are somewhere around ST projections but probably won’t know that for a couple or more months.
Going in in the AM I was early (~7AM at Bel-Red). The train was mostly empty until we got to Swamp & Ride. I was amazed at how many people piled on. I expected another horde at MI but not so much. I posit some people have decided that taking a chance on MI P&R being full isn’t worth it or they’ve discovered that going home in the PM it’s better to be at S. Bellevue than MI. At least you have options!
Also in the AM it seemed like more people are using the west entrance at Judkins Park. One lady I noticed got off and used the west entrance and then went up the trail toward MLK. This was strange; maybe she didn’t know there was another exit at that end? I helped someone on Wednesday that didn’t speak american as a first language. It was a bit hard to understand what he wanted to do was (I hope) catch a SB bus on Rainier. My guess would be Kenyan or some other north African country.
Also on Friday, both AM & PM, the campers are back under the bridge where the I-90 exit goes over the trail. Camping started to pick up last week and was cleared Wednesday afternoon. But like weeds in the springtime they keep coming back. I don’t have a solution or want to lay blame. It is what it is and will hurt ridership. It also leads to a huge amount of trash left in the park and along Rainier.
Question for riders north of DT. Are trains more or less crowded since the interline? I know many more people are using Link to access new stations on the 2 Line. I also think it’s generally accepted that better frequency draws more ridership. Has the increased number of trains reduce crowding? If not then a hell of a lot more people are using the choo choo train.
“Question for riders north of DT. Are trains more or less crowded since the interline?”
Before: 1 Line was often standing room only with sometimes only a few spaces standing left between Westlake and U-District at noon, midafternoon, and PM peak.
After: Both 1 and 2 Lines are often standing room only with sometimes only a few standing spaces left between Westlake and U-District at noon, midafternoon, and PM peak.
I don’t know how far south/east the crowd extends since I’m not on the train there.
“I expected another horde at MI but not so much.”
Maybe after 212/554 are gone and eastside routes terminating at MI start this fall, it will become more popular.
The current interim period makes little change to Mercer Island’s commuting demand on transit. 550 has been around for a long time and serves very similar destinations, so it doesn’t really change commute from MI by transit dramatically, not in a way like 2 Line does to Judkins Park.
One-seat ride from MI to Redmond might be faster, but not much faster to make a big mode shift.
I think the 2 Line boardings from MI is still mostly filled by people who has been taking 550 at Mercer Island P&R before.