Month: June 2026

Reece Martin (RMTransit) resurfaces with a discussion with Dr Jonathan English on how process issues affect the quality of transit projects. They call it “engineering issues” vs “phone call issues”. Engineering issues are straightforward technical problems, like building Link on a floating bridge or a tunnel in dubious soil. Phone call issues are those where a phone call could fix the problem or reduce costs: a call between politicans or agencies or with environmental-impact stakeholders. It might be more than one call or another communication method or a series of meetings meetings, but a phone call is a nice symbolic image.

They look at the goods and bads of Toronto’s transit: the recent east-west subway/light rail lines — Eglington Crosstown (#5), Finch West (#6), Sheppard East (#4) — platform screen doors or short fences, streetcars, too-close stop spacing, or insufficient street priority or signal priority. They look at why these happen, and how a “phone call” could have made these better. They also posit that social media played a key role in getting politicians to commit to fixing the notorious Finch West line slowness. And also that proposing to fix a problem throughout the city can overcome opposition more than proposing one of the same fixes at a time in a few individual locations.

Continue reading “Bonus Movie: Process”

Three videos by J-Man Explores.

Riding all the Community Transit Swift lines in one day, with the history of each transit corridor. Swift is the limited-stop BRT in Snohomish County, 13-30 miles north of Seattle, serving Lynnwood and Everett and surrounding cities. Transfers from Link light rail are at Shoreline North/185th station and Lynnwood City Center station.

Seattle to Olympia and back with no backtracking. Southbound is via the Bainbridge ferry and rural bus routes in the west sound. Northbound is the usual way via I-5 express routes. (Olympia is 60 miles south of Seattle, the state capital and a small city. Tacoma is in between.)

Circumnavigating the Admirality Inlet. Where is Admirality Inlet? It’s on the west side of Whidbey Island between roughly Freeland and the Port Townsend-Coupeville ferry, and the corresponding east side of the Olympic Penninsula. In a 5-hour layover in Port Townsend he explores the town, an extra Jefferson Transit route and wooded trails, and meets deer.

The J-Man Explores channel also has many shorts ranking various transit routes.

We have a Transit to World Cup Events guide, and a Seattle for Visitors transit guide.

This is an open thread.

On Friday afternoon, Community Transit Route 424 made its final trip from Seattle to the City of Snohomish. This marks the end of Community Transit’s Commuter bus service to Seattle. When Community Transit was created in 1976, the agency operated just seven local bus routes. Within the first year, the system grew to 15 local routes and 16 commuter routes to Seattle. The commuter routes were contracted to King County Metro until 1989. Since then, commuter buses have carried millions of passengers between Snohomish County and downtown Seattle, the University of Washington, and Northgate.

Community Transit was the second transit agency in the United States to use double decker buses. The agency ran a one-year pilot project in 2007, after which it ordered 23 double decker buses. These were branded as “Double Talls” and entered service in 2011. Double decker buses allowed CT to increase the capacity of its busiest commuter routes, while minimizing the layover space needed during the day in Seattle.

Martin Munguia, a senior communications manager at Community Transit, told Seattle Transit Blog that on some days, a single Double Tall with 77 seats would carry over 100 passengers. With shifts from peak rush hour service to all day service, the extra capacity per bus is no longer needed. Community Transit plans to retire its entire double decker fleet over the next decade as the coaches age. “Double decker enthusiasts need not worry,” Munguia said, “because Sound Transit is purchasing battery electric double deckers for its upcoming Stride BRT routes.”

Continue reading “Community Transit ran its last bus to Seattle”

Visiting Bainbridge Island will be a bit easier on Saturdays this summer thanks to a new free shuttle operated by Kitsap Transit. The route will operate on Saturdays between June 13 and September 12 (except July 4) from 11am to 7pm.

Route 385 will be timed with the Bainbridge-Seattle ferry and run in a small loop around downtown Bainbridge using Winslow Way, Madison Ave, High School Road, and Ferncliff Ave. On Winslow Way and Madison Ave, the shuttle will use existing stops. On High School Rd and Ferncliff Ave, passengers can flag down the bus at any safe location. The full schedule is available here.

On the other end of the ferry route, King County Metro is operating a free shuttle in Seattle all summer.

This is an open thread.

The 2026 Men’s World Cup kicks off today with a match between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City. Seattle is hosting six games over the next five weeks. To ensure everyone can easily get where they need to go, transit agencies across Puget Sound are running extra services on match days.

Seattle

Each match will be held at Seattle Stadium (Lumen Field). The Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 Local Organizing Committee is also hosting several fan celebration events during each match at several locations around Seattle.

Seattle Stadium

Sound Transit’s Link light rail system will be the best option for many people traveling to the stadium. To avoid crowding on the trains near the stadium, Sound Transit is asking passengers to a specific station near the stadium depending on the travel direction. Passengers traveling from the north, should exit 1 Line and 2 Line trains at Pioneer Square station. From the east, depart 2 Line trains at International District/Chinatown station. From the south, use Stadium station. Use the same station to board the train on the return trip.

From downtown Seattle, Metro is running a free Match Day Shuttle along 3rd Ave. Countless Metro buses stop near the stadium as well. The First Hill Streetcar will run, but will terminate at 5th Ave & Jackson St because the area around Seattle Stadium will be pedestrianized.

For fans traveling from further away, Sound Transit’s Sounder train offers convenient access to the station. The N Line travels between Seattle and Everett and the S Line travels between Seattle and Tacoma/Lakewood.

Continue reading “Transit to World Cup Events”

Reminder: The FIFA World Cup starts tomorrow and the first match in Seattle is Monday, June 15, at noon. Plan for busy buses, trains, roadways, and lots of tourists. SDOT has travel tips. Metro has an SEA26 transit guide. Community Transit offers ways to Ride to Summer Fun. Pierce Transit is running a “Fan Zone Express” shuttle to Puyallup Tribe events.

Local Transit:

• The Gig Harbor Waterfront Connector will run from June 12 to August 23 (Pierce Transit)
• Bus Network Boost from Wilson’s Seattle Transit Measure Comes Into Focus (The Urbanist)
• Op-Ed: It’s Time to Reform Sound Transit (The Urbanist)
• SDOT offering free e-cargo bike permits for Seattle businesses through 2026 to reduce truck traffic (SDOT Blog)
• WA ferries ups service for World Cup in Seattle (The Seattle Times, $; free via SPL)
• King County Metro’s public bathroom pilot has started at the Aurora Village and Burien Transit Centers (Mass Transit Magazine). Also on Metro Matters.
• Sound Transit study suggests fare gates at 14 busy stations by 2030 (The Seattle Times, $); additional coverage by The Urbanist.
• Community Transit wants your input on its 6-year Transit Development Plan by July 2.
• King County Metro’s Behavioral Health Support Program supports riders in crisis and helps create a safer transit environment (Metro Matters).
• Join Sound Transit’s Community Oversight Panel (The Platform)
• Sound Transit Loses Megaproject Head in Wake of Major ST3 Update (The Urbanist)

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup: Why, Robot”

On June 3, 2026, the Move All Seattle Sustainably (MASS) Coalition delivered a letter to the Seattle City Council supporting Mayor Wilson’s proposal for the 2026 Seattle Transit Measure. Seattle Transit Blog, a proud member of the MASS Coalition, is reprinting the letter to broaden the Coalition’s message for better transit service. The original letter is available here.

To the Seattle City Council,

The Move All Seattle Sustainably (MASS) Coalition is an alliance of 14 organizations working toward a safer, more accessible, and climate-aligned transportation system in Seattle. We support Mayor Wilson’s proposed Seattle Transit Measure (STM) and want to share what we believe must be at the heart of it. This measure represents a unique collaboration between the City of Seattle and King County Metro, with a continued commitment to funding additional service for Seattleites beyond what the county can provide on its own. That partnership is worth investing in, and we want to see it done right.

Continue reading “MASS Coalition’s priorities for the 2026 STM”

Last week, Mayor Wilson has unveiled her proposal for the next Seattle Transit Measure (STM) that will replace the current measure when it expires in 2027. The STM is an additional tax in Seattle that is used to fund more bus service and various transit programs. Wilson is proposing a 0.3% sales tax for the next 10 years that is expected to generate $138M every year.

What Does the STM Fund?

The vast majority of this funding, $96.1 million each year, will be used to support better bus service in Seattle. The current STM funds 5% of all bus trips in Seattle. This includes extra trips and improved frequencies on Metro routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 21, 24, 33, 28, 36, 40, 44, 48, 50, 60, 70, 106, 107, 124, 125, C Line, D Line, E Line, G Line, and H Line. Wilson’s proposal increases funding for addition bus service by nearly 60%, so more routes will be supported to help Seattle meet its Frequent Transit Measure goal.

Another $23.4M will cover the operational costs of Seattle’s two streetcar lines. These two lines are operated by King County Metro, but are funded by Seattle via the STM. Ridership on both the South Lake Union Line and the First Hill Line has increased over the past few years.

Continue reading “Seattle Transit Measure Renewal 2026”

Riding the oldest subway cars in the world. They’re 1950s cars in the Buenos Aires Metro on Line B. (Trains are Awesome)

Honorable mention to the Muni Metro F Line with a variety of vintage streetcars from the 1950s and earlier. I rode a few early 20th century international ones and found them bumpy, but the 1950s San Francisco cars felt as smooth and quiet as a modern streetcar.

The video recomments RielesDePlata (Silver Rails), a channel about Argentina rail transit by Marcos Villena. The original is in Spanish but the text and audio defaulted to an English translation for me. The English voice has a Spanish accent and is slightly halting, so he may dub it himself.

The T Line in Tacoma. (Classy Whale)

King County transit and growth planning in 1975. (KOMO News) We had a comment thread on it a week ago.

This is an open thread.

Sound Transit’s Link light rail system continues to break its own ridership records. After the highly-anticipated Crosslake Connection opening at the end of March, system-wide ridership jumped 46% to 4,675,216 passengers in April 2026. This equates to an average 155,840 boardings across the 1 Line, 2 Line, and T Line every day. Since the pandemic, Link ridership has increased significantly. Seattle’s growing population and growing light rail network have boosted Link’s ridership above pre-pandemic levels. The following Link extension projects have opened in the past five years.

• October 2021: Northgate extension (1 Line)
• September 2023: Hilltop Extension (T Line)
• April 2024: East Link Starter Line (2 Line)
• August 2024: Lynnwood City Center extension (1 Line)
• May 2025: Downtown Redmond extension (2 Line)
• December 2025: Federal Way Downtown extension (1 Line)
• March 2026: Crosslake Connection (2 Line)

Continue reading “Link Ridership Soars 46% After Crosslake Connection Opening”