Even though Sounder was not able to operate many of their trips ridership for 1st quarter up 7%. Ridership way up over budget projections. Look at budgeted trips verses # operated. Following previous trends north line ridership up more than south line.
http://www.soundtransit.org/Rider-Community/Rider-news/Quarterly-Ridership-Report
It’s interesting that the north line trips increased, even though many trips were canceled for landslides.
Sound Transit does a good job of bus substitution. Also, (depressingly), I think that it is considered somewhat normal by the ridership, and is planned for.
Good to see the ridership up, there is a lack of roads into Seattle, and parking.
I wonder if there was much of a jump in the south line ridership when the line was extended past Tacoma to Lakewood?
The report mentions Superbowl records- something to do with it?
Think the super bowl celebration caused a one day record of ridership ?
Yes.
Because of the horrendous lack of parking, as well as the short distance (half block) between King Street Station and CenturyLink Field, Sounder runs Sunday Football Specials on game days. The Seahawks advanced much farther than normal, thus more games, and more trains and ridership.
Interesting that, even on a railroad site, the phrase “horrendous lack of parking” can be used. If we are actuallly to support local rail service a lack of parking should actually be seen as a good thing.
No. Not too many would walk to a station. Nor are taxis as prevalent as they used to be in many areas. And bus services cannot even be considered in the larger scheme of things. Parking is of utmost important and in reality is the first point of convenience.
Well, yes and no. There is simply a lack of public* parking in downtown Seattle, thus the situation is terrible in terms of parking, which was what I was attempting to express. The main constraint is the limited amount of roads into the city (due to the peninsula-like geography of the city center), which makes Sounder necessary regardless of the parking situation. There are now more cars than lane space, and no room to add lanes. For sports games (usually weekends and off-peak periods), the lack of parking is the bigger problem.
*Many skyscrapers have employee-only garages in their basements.
Thanks for the comments. I fear they reflect a somewhat different attitude to city planning between the US and the UK. There is a view, particulalry in the bigger cities in the UK, that providing parking for all who need it is wrong, becasue it encourages people to drive, and so “requires” extra highways which tend to ruin the local environment, because actually encouraging people to travel by public transport is better for a city in the first place and because, especially when parking lots are on the surface, the detrimental effects of a mass of concrete surrounding buildings actualy makes a mess of the urban environment and makes cities less attractive places. Cities need people on the streets, they don’t need atomised societies in which people dip in on a few occasions before heading back out by private transport.
The US remains broadly committed to exurban development with a belief (almost consitutional if that’s not too heretical an idea) that one should be able to drive from place to place and park for free, or at least cheaply.