The Tuesday (10/16) Times article “Too many empty
seats on Sounder North Line” epitomizes Sound Transit incompetency. The North Sounder operation was
based on the dubious idea that large numbers of commuters would chose to ride a
train rather than an express bus from Everett to Seattle.
The bus service, ST510, begins service southbound from
the Everett Station at 4:20 a.m. with departures every 10-15 minutes during the
peak commute. It takes 52 minutes
to reach 5th and Pine in Seattle.
The return routes leave 4th and Union at similar intervals
and take about an hour to reach Everett.
The fares in both directions are $3.50.
Sounder trains leave Everett every 30 minutes from 5:45
a.m. to 7:15 a.m. and reach the King Street Station in an hour. The four return routes begin at 4:05
again every 30 minutes, and reach Everett in an hour. The train fares for Everett are $4.50.
While riding a train may be more attractive than a
bus, the King Street Station location is not nearly as convenient as the options
with the bus routes. Thus it
should not be a surprise (unless you’re Sound Transit) that ridership levels
are low.
In 2011, this failure to attract riders along with
the high operating costs for the trains forced Sound Transit to subsidize each
rider by $20,000 a year (See 6/12/12 Post) This has been going on for
years. Yet ST response is a threat
to reduce service if ridership doesn’t double by 2020. Wow, that ought to get peoples
attention!
They spent untold millions on stations in Mukilteo and
Edmonds yet Mukilteo has only 56 parking spaces and Edmunds 156. ST’s aversion to putting P&R lots
near Central Link has apparently carried over to the Sounder.
I was particularly struck by the women who commented
“When not in a hurry, she drives to Edmunds Station instead of catching a
crowded bus for a ride into Seattle”.
Think about that for a moment. ST is spending tax dollars so riders
can take a somewhat slower but relatively empty train rather than a crowded bus
for their commute. Any rational
analysis would lead to quickly reducing the number of trains and increasing the
number of buses. Not ST, they want
to give the system another 8 years because of their $368 million initial investment. Talk about “throwing good money away after
bad”.
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