Sound Transit’s 2025 Startler Line “Alarm”

The previous post concluded the limited ridership added by the Lynnwood Link should have been a “wake-up” call negating Sound Transit’s “Field of Dreams” presumption “If we build light rail, riders will come.  This post details why their plans for the Downtown Redmond Extension to the Starter Line will “likely” result in another “alarm”.

Sound Transit plans for 2025 were detailed in a recent Claudia Balducci flyer,"What's ahead for King County".  She’s used her position as System Expansion Committeee chair to “Look forward to " more light rail" to new stations at Marymoor Park Village and Downtown Redmond in 2025 spring.  That in late 2025, when the "I-90 segment connects Eastside light rail to Mercer Island, Seattle, and the rest of the system".

The  Downtown Redmond Link Extension is scheduled to open in 2025 Spring with access at Downtown Redmond Station and to 1400 stalls at Marymore Village Station before connecting to Starter Line at Redmond Technology Center (RTC) . The extension adds 3.4 miles to the Starter Line route from RTC to South Bellevue T/C. At Sound Transit’s ~$30 per mile light rail cost, the two-car trains will add ~$200 for the 6.8-mile round trip.  Maintaining current schedule for trains every 10 minutes fro 16 hours a day requires 96 trips, ~$19,000 per weekday.  

Sound Transit hasn’t predicted the ridership added by the Downtown Redmond Link's 2 stations.  However, Sound Transit’s September Ridership—Ridership website for Line 2 Starter Line was 5493  daily boardings. Presumably reflecting 2746.5 average riders and far less than the 4000-5700 riders predicted. Thus, the 8-station Starter Line ridership, like the limited riders added by the 4-station Lynnwood Link, have apparently debunked Sound Transit  assumption “if we build light rail, riders will come”.

The “alarm” with the Redmond extension should be commuters currently use the KCM Rapid Ride B route from Redmond Transit Center to RTC and into downtown Bellevue. (Like RapidRIde E Line from Aurora  Village)  It  provides access at 12 scheduled stops between Redmond and RTC and 12 more into Bellevue T/C, with a maximum of 50 possible stops.   The  RapidRide’s 12 scheduled stops from RTC to Bellevue T/C, an alternative to the Starter Line’s 5 stops presumably detracts from its ridership. The 12 RapidRide stops between downtown Redmond and RTC will be an even bigger access advantage over 2 stops on light rail.

It provides routes from 4:14 am to 11:44 pm from Redmond T/C to Bellevue T/C every 10 minutes during peak commute increasing to 15 off-peak and 30-minutes late night. During peak commute it takes15 minutes to Redmond T/C and 20 minutes more to Bellevue T/C. While the trip takes longer than the Starter Line the stops along 148th Ave, 156th Ave, and NE 8th make it far more accessible. 

The bottom line is the RapidRide provides up to 50 stops along route from Redmond to Bellevue T/C.  The increase in access for inbound trips to Bellevue and egress for return trips should have been an ”alarm” for Starter Line ridership.  The 2025 Downtown Redmond Extension debut will “likely” reaffirm that ridership alarm and its $19,000 cost per day.