As the executive in charge of Metro Transit, and chair of the Sound Transit Board of Directors, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced actions under his initiative to integrate services that will create greater efficiencies, a more seamless experience for riders and enable future service expansion.
The report, Getting There Together, outlines further actions under the integration initiative launched by Constantine in June through executive order and a motion unanimously adopted by the Sound Transit Board of Directors.
The report identifies “efficiency dividends” where transit agencies can provide more overall service with fewer resources. Efficiency dividends include stretching dollars and achieving significant long-term improvements in service for customers, including:
- Redeployment of services to places that need them,
- More bus service connecting to rail or bus rapid transit (BRT, such as RapidRide),
- Further investment in the region’s high-capacity rail and bus systems,
- Redeployment of investment to capital improvements, and
- Improved financial health and stability of agencies.
Identified actions also include near-term collaboration on a range of customer tools:
- New smartphone app for joint trip planning, and a pilot program that will enable riders to pay fares with their smartphones,
- Pilot project to provide parking availability information for transit riders.
- Launching a pilot project to display real-time arrival information at selected transit station, and
- Providing cellular service inside the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and the underground University Link line.
Near-term work will also include managing impacts of upcoming Metro service reductions – for example, restructuring Metro services in Kent/East Hill to connect with Sounder trains, and coordinating service along state Route 522 to shift riders from Metro to expanded Sound Transit service.
Many long-term opportunities are created by the more than 30 miles of light rail extensions that Sound Transit is on track to complete by 2023. Light rail and RapidRide bus rapid transit services create important opportunities to modify bus to move riders onto services with significantly greater operating speeds, reliability, and capacity while avoiding duplication.
In preparation for the early 2016 opening of Sound Transit’s University Link light rail extension – which offers six-minute trips between UW and downtown Seattle regardless of traffic conditions – the agencies will plan for integrating services to provide easy connections with bus routes. Near-term planning for rail/bus integration will also put particular focus on connections at Mercer Island and Northgate. The agencies will study fully integrated bus/rail networks in planning for a potential future Sound Transit ballot measure.
The agencies will also work on longer-term customer-focused improvements such as potential coordination to improve rider alerts; jointly evaluating highest and best use of facilities such as Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and bus bases; and exploring opportunities for operational efficiencies in areas such as security and public safety.
Regional partners
Other agencies joining to increase collaboration on regional transportation services include Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Everett Transit, Kitsap Transit, Washington State Department of Transportation, Puget Sound Regional Council, and the City of Seattle.
