Seattle transit riders are tearing themselves up over the 77 day wait until Federal Way Link opens

Transit always.

This got me thinking. Turns out Sound Transit relies on the MVET for 9.3% of its $4.4 billion of revenue in 2025, compared to only 1.4% from fares. That means car tab evasion is almost certainly costing ST far more revenue than fare evasion.

I was today years old when I found out that in ‘93, SF voters passed Proposition AA, requiring their Mayor, Councilmember, & City staff to take transit 2 days a week. So metal @sftru.bsky.social 🤘🏻

This morning @councilmember-amr.bsky.social called for the council's transportation committee to pursue some type of formal inquiry into the decision to rule out additional bus lanes on Denny Way's most congested blocks to get the Route 8 out of traffic.

Today is the 1 year anniversary of the G Line opening. It feels like yesterday I ran out of my apartment to take this video! (The G stands for giddy because I was so excited) Frequent transit is necessary for an accessible city that’s serious about its climate goals. Let’s make that a reality.

Seattle's long in-person public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan has officially kicked off. First comments were from @ceceliablack.bsky.social: "As you're going through this Comp Plan, I would really hope you ask yourself what you would do if you were disabled tomorrow and you couldn't drive."

Look, good news! It was a joy to celebrate this official trail opening today and honor the many hard working folks who made it happen.

Great op-ed by Jason Li of @fixthel8.bsky.social. Let’s get red paint on Denny & WSDOT needs to act on the Yale I-5 ramp www.seattletimes.com/opinion/we-c...

Balk: 20% of Seattle households are car-free, and we have barely added cars to our city since 2017 #SEAbikes #Seattle

A world first: trains under power are now running across the I-90 floating bridge ⚡ Last night marked a big milestone for the 2 Line’s Crosslake Connection - hear more from Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine on this historic evening for transit and the entire Central Puget Sound!

The first East Link train under its own power on the floating bridge!

So I’m bringing champagne to the East Portal Viewpoint. Who’s joining?

NEW // While Seattle Population Spikes, Car Population Stalls Out By Doug Trumm via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/09/07/w...

Mamdani: We need to make public transportation so good that “no matter how much money is in your pocket, you say: I’m gonna use this.”

This bridge is the worst and I’m glad to see it go

It’s almost like we opened a huge transit expansion & passed major funding for bus service shortly before 2017

Great thread. This has been framed as a zero sum game. It’s not. We need to build the trains & be levelheaded. We’re at the start of this 8 month conversation. We all want to be armchair planners, but there’s more to learn from ST before we start settling on solutions.

The big worry is that the way to “solve” this problem is to kill the new downtown Seattle tunnel designed to carry some of the new lines. But doing so could make operating this system, which is planned to five outward branches, really really challenging, effectively limiting the number of trains.

I’ve said it before & will say it again. Build the damn trains. www.king5.com/article/news...

Voters overwhelmingly said yes to Sound Transit 3 in 2016. The mission is clear: build the damn trains. Cost challenges are real, but we need to keep projects moving. The longer we wait, the more it costs. Sound Transit & this region have overcome challenges in the past. We’ll do it again.

Let’s pilot it in real life and find out

The second to last piece of Sound Transit 2 opens in just 3 short months. Starting 12/6, South King County bus riders won’t have to slog through I-5 traffic again. Save the date! www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

NEW STORY // Federal Way Light Rail Extension to Open December 6 www.theurbanist.org/2025/08/28/f...

Within the next few years, King County Metro figures out how to avert a fiscal cliff, Sound Transit undergoes an agency-wide program reset, and Seattle renews its transit funding measure. I don't think it's an overstatement to say we're standing at a generational moment for transit in Puget Sound.

It’s funny how you can walk down a block hundreds of times & not notice an old sign. This would be….an ambitious ride Cc @seattlebikeblog.com

Many are saying

Our banner on the @transit.app is now live! It's hiding behind the Transit 6.0 update banner but you'll see it if Route 8 is in the top 4 nearby routes or if it's pinned and nearby. Riders will also see a similar message on the GO navigation screen after answering questions while on riding Route 8.

One reason that Washington isn't on this list: our state legislature already defunded transit 25 years ago, by enacting I-695 into law and repealing the state motor vehicle excise tax. We've increased state transit support a little since that era, but still aren't close to what it used to be.

With the right design, even a state highway can have bike lanes where kids are truly safe (video of the Green Lake Outer Loop next to Aurora Avenue / Highway 99)

My bicycle was just stolen in Capitol Hill Seattle. Please keep an eye out for a small sized Salsa Vaya, green bicycle with a rear rack, steel fenders, dynamo hubs, 26” wheels. Parked at a bike rack at 15th and Pike. Saw my lock cut and thrown on the ground.

Great to catch up with @geisers.bsky.social and hear how he helps the activate @downtownseattle.bsky.social public spaces. The 1st and Pike pedestrian block is getting a lot more use now thanks to their efforts! Movable chairs are one example of making a welcoming pedestrian street

Join me, @staterepjuliareed.bsky.social, Kate Kreuzer, & Bryce Yadon to talk transit-oriented development (TOD) today on an @mpactmobility.bsky.social webinar at 3 pm ET/12 pm PT. We'll be talking specifically about Washington state's landmark new TOD law, passed this spring. Register here ⏬

Some nice improvements here from @seattledot.bsky.social —>

Late last week I wrote about how the 2 Line is performing well by exceeding 200,000 boardings for two months in a row...and then Sound Transit released data showing that it jumped to 300,000 in July. Turns out people do actually want to ride the train between Bellevue and Redmond.

Light Rail to Eastside Delayed Again as I-90 Bridge Troll Asks Particularly Challenging Riddle: tinyurl.com/2neuxn4c

With monthly ridership now exceeding 200,000 on the 2 Line, Downtown Redmond Link has clearly kicked things into a higher gear. Having a light rail station so well integrated into a growing urban neighborhood is likely part of the recipe for success. Story: www.theurbanist.org/2025/08/09/d...

When you go on a bike tour w/ a French tram designer you go see the French trams. These trams on First Ave when?

The people want more ferries but... that might not be so easy www.thestranger.com/news/2025/08...

AAA estimates the average cost of owning a car is $12,297 a year, and recommends drivers spend no more than 10 percent of their income on car costs. This means you should make 120K to afford the average cost. Median *household* income in the US is $77K. The math just doesn't work.

Hoops on the Sound is so good @waterfrontparksea.bsky.social!

Wider sidewalks, new trees, smoother pavement, new signals, new lighting and more. Here are three SDOT projects helping people access transit and travel safely in the heart of downtown Seattle along 3rd Ave: sdotblog.seattle.gov/2025/07/28/b...

A $69.8 million grant partially funding two Sound Transit Stride stations in South King County has not been cancelled.

New display on the Sound Transit light rail trains. (Old one is on the right.)

The City of Redmond, one of Seattle's superstar suburbs, is adopting bollard regulations.

Seattle Politics are a gem. Thanks @thestranger.com & Washington Bus

Today's Sound Transit board meeting features some very special guests.

We’re here with our furry friends to ‘bark at the board’ for a welcoming policy for dogs on Sound Transit!

There is a way out of the transit fiscal cliff! States & cities must commit the funds to supporting their transit systems, and preventing them from cutting service—or the result will be less ridership, more pollution, more traffic.

A note for advocates: Despite the frequency of transit funding crises, they are not inevitable or “natural.” Starving transit is a political choice, and we must name and shame the elected officials who are allowing it to happen.