ST also posted big gains. What’s interesting is that, even though Sounder and ST Express Buses have seen phenomenal growth, those numbers are going to be absolutely dwarfed by light rail:
Today, Sound Transit’s system of regional express buses, commuter rail and light rail carries about 50,000 riders each day, a number that will more than double following the 2009 opening of light rail service between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac International Airport. Construction of that light rail line is moving forward on schedule and is now 85 percent complete.
Expansion of Link light rail between downtown and the University of Washington is slated to begin this year and be completed in 2016. University Link is projected to nearly triple the regional light rail system’s ridership to more than 114,000 a day by 2030.
Even with all the increases in bus and commuter rail service, light rail will still constitute almost 90% of daily boardings in 2030, or at least it would have if ST2 had passed. I bring this up only to reinforce what should be obvious: nothing scales like light rail. The price tag looks high, but the benefits are at least as big.
Update: It seems I was more right than even I knew! The invaluable Daily Sightline says that Light Rail is setting ridership numbers before it even opens:! How’s that for performance?!
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