Sound Transit Contracts Awarded in 2024?

A Google search of Sound Transit contracts resulted in the following:

Open and Closed Contracts Awarded in Excess of $100,000 (Trailing 12 Months). Generated on: 2/3/2025 at: 8:32:20AM. Reporting Period: Trailing 12 Months.

The result was 5 pages labeled “Sound Transit Proprietary and Confidential” detailing 130 contracts in excess of $100,000.  Contracts with start dates ranging from 02/22/24 to 01/29/25 and end dates from 08/31/24 to 04/30/32 were apparently agreed to by someone at Sound Transit.  The search provided the same information previously  released 1/7/2025 at 9:48:51 AM.

Both raise several questions. Why were two reports classified as “Sound Transit Proprietary and Confidential” available on Google search?  Some of the bigger contracts were used to fund needed elevator improvements. The $20 million contract with KPMG had previously raised concerns as a “no-bid” contract with CEO Sparrman’s former employer. 

However the desire to limit access may be due to many of those receiving the funds seemed rather “distant” from Sound Transit’s presumed goal: improving public transit. For instance “Clean and Happy” received $4,697,611.39, “Drug Free Business", $2,634,641, and “Center for Human Capital Innovation" and "Work With Candor" each $250,000. 

Other Contracts seemed to duplicate former efforts.  For example, the Sound Transit Board funded the Transit Advisory Group (TAG) and a private consultant for advice on how to better implement transit system expansion.  Board meetings for two years included a detailed response to that advice.  Yet the 2024 contracts include Eagle Hill Consultants LLC getting a $3,650,000 Award Change Order raising the LLC’s Total Award in 2024 to $5,700,000. Again, who signed the contract and what do they expect as a result? 

The bottom line is what about contracts for less than $100,000. It's also not clear how the funds were included in Sound Transits 2024 Financial Plan and Approved Budget, or their 2025 Proposed Budget and Financial Plan. Were similar “Sound Transit Proprietary and Confidential” contracts awarded in previous years?

It's something the Seattle Times Traffic Lab project to “comment on how public transit money is spent” should “comment on”.

Even More Sound Transit Incompetence

Sound Transit continues a decade of demonstrating its failure to understand what constitutes effective public transit.  The latest example is their plan for shutting down Line 1 during weekends to implement routing Line 2 trains to Lynnwood.

It’s never been clear why Sound Transit chose to route east side light rail trains through DSTT to UW and beyond.  Sound Transit could have terminated Line 2 at existing CID station and allowed those needing to go beyond to transfer to Line 1 trains. Routing additional Line 1 trains through DSTT could have satisfied any need for added capacity to and from Lynnwood.  Routing Line 2 trains through DSTT halves the number of Line 1 trains to both Lynnwood and Angel Lake.

Any transit system board member with a modicum of competence, especially someone receiving $200,000 in compensation, would raise all sorts of questions.  Does Sound Transit continue to schedule Line 2’s current 2-car trains every 10 minutes for 16 hours a day to Lynnwood?  Limiting half of the trains to Lynnwood to 2 cars is hardly a way to increase the extension’s capacity.

However, routing 4-car trains 18 miles to downtown Redmond and back the 96 trips the schedule requires will double the operating cost. At $30 per vehicle mile, each round-trip cost $1080 per car or $4320 for 4-car trip. Maintaining the current schedule of trains every 10 minute for 16 hours a day requires 96 trips, or $414,720 each weekday.  

Yet the 3839 weekday boardings for the 8 Starter Line stations in January indicated only 1919.5 average riders, a fraction of the 4000 to 5700 predicted.  While the extension to downtown Redmond and stop on Mercer Island will add riders, routing 4-car trains to CID is an expensive option.

The other question is how does Sound Transit merge Line 1 and Line 2 routes.   While Line 1 can be scheduled southbound to Angel Lake and Line 2 to Redmond, how do they intend to account for different trip times when they return. Safe operation through DSTT normally requires 4 minutes between trains. Routing Line 2 trains through DSTT would seem to require increasing the scheduled intervals between trains to assure they satisfy that requirement. 

The bottom line is Sound Transit should have never routed light rail trains across the I-90 Bridge.  Doing so precluded two-way only BRT on center roadway with 10 times the capacity, 10 years sooner, at 1/10^th the cost. They compounded that problem by choosing to use light rail trains to replace I-90 corridor bus routes into Seattle.  Replacing bus routes reduces transit capacity into the city.

As detailed above routing Line 2 trains through DSTT results in all sorts of problems. The failure to recognize them is another example of Sound Transit Board incompetence. The Line 2-to-Lynnwood debut next winter will demonstrate the result.

System Expansion Committee Still Doesn’t “Get It”

The  February 13th System Expansion Committee meeting agenda continues the committee’s Fantasy Land approach to the area's transportation problems.  They’ve never recognized 4-car light rail trains can’t accommodate the number of commuters needed to reduce multi lane freeway peak hour congestion and cost too much to operate off peak.  

That Sound Transit should have never extended light rail beyond the UW Stadium, across I-90 bridge, or beyond SeaTac airport. Their using light rail to replace bus routes reduces transit capacity, does nothing to reduce freeway GP congestion, and those transferring from buses reduces access for current riders.  The results being the more the extensions, the higher the train operating cost, more lost capacity and no congestion reduction into Seattle. .  

The 2024 Starter Line and Lynnwood Link debuts should have debunked another Sound Transit premise “if we build light rail extensions riders will come”.  Yet the 2025 System Expansion Committee Work Plan seemingly ignores those results.  For example the lack of Lynnwood riders should have ended plans for the Everett Extension.

Yet the 2025 Proposed Budget & Financial Plan for the extension adds $44 million to the $84 million already spent and the work plan includes the following:

Consider amending the Everett Link Extension project budget for Phase 2

The meeting agenda’s Recommendation to the Board includes authorizing the chief executive office to acquire property needed for West Seattle and Ballard extension.  The 2025 work plan included “consider authorizing acquiring the property and increasing Project Allocation to date.  

They seemingly ignore that the areas served by both extensions have access to bus routes with far better access to routes to more convenient stops for egress and access in the city.  That it's “unlikely” the number of riders that chose to transfer to light rail for the ride into Westlake will justify the $13 billion cost for a 2nd tunnel or spending $7 billion for a 2nd Duwamish Waterway bridge for a ride to SODO.

The bottom line is Sound Transit continues to use Prop 1 approval in 2016 to spend $54 billion between 2017 and 2041 on light rail extensions detailed in ST3 map to justify spending $150 billion collected between 2017 and 2046 doing so.  Leaving $20 billion needing debt service payments in 2046. The February13th System Expansion Committee agenda demonstrates they still don’t recognize the folly 

Downtown Redmond Light Rail Extension

The January 31 Seattle Times Traffic Lab article “A pair of new light rail stations to open in Redmond this spring” announced the May 10th opening with “fanfair”.  It was likened to the Sound Transit Starter Line debut when “dignataries gave speeches around 11:00 am. and crowds could enter the new stations at noon”.  Sound Transit had previous approved spending $42 milliion “activating” the Starter Line, so its not clear how much will be spent  on “fanfair”

The 3.4mile extension from Redmond Technology Station to downtown Redmond adds 6.8 miles to round trip to Bellevue T/C.  Sound Transit budgets light rail cars at ~$30 per mile. Thus, a 2-car trainl will cost $408 for the round trip. Maintaining trains every 10 minutes from 5:30 a.m.to 9:30 pm requires 96 round trips or ~$40K per weekday.

The article report the Eastside Starterline has attracted 3,000 to 6000 average daily riders is belied by boarding reports for 5640 boardings at the 8 stations, the highest for the year.  They presumably reflect inbound and return boarding for 2820 riders and concern, “its common to see only a few people per railcar.”

The lack of Starter Line riders is undoubtedly due to commuters having access to King County Metro’s RapidRide B.  It’s routed from Redmond Transit Center (RTC) through Redmond Technology Station (RTS) to Bellevue Transit Center (BTC) with 25 stops along route.  The 10 stations inbound between RTC along 156th Ave and 8th ST with route through Bellevue to BTC provides commuters more access to and from transit than Starter Line.

The RapidRide B from RTS to RTC provides a similar advantage with 10 stops, including 3 in Redmond and along 148th Ave compared to only 2 added by light rail route from RTS to Downtown Redmond.  However, the additional stops for access with KCM RapidRide B routes results in longer commute times.  The current Starter Line schedule shows 13 minutes from RTS to Bellevue T/C vs 26 minutes with RapidRide B.  

The lack of Starter Line riders suggests access is more important than time.  An obvious concern for whether the access with the 15 minute  RapidRide B route from RTC to RTS will outweigh the shorter time with 1 stop from downtown Redmond.

The bottom line is the May 10th debut of the Downtown Redmond link will “likely” reconfirm the results of the 2024 Starter Line and Lynnwood Link debuts.  That providing access to light rail trains doesn’t assure light rail train riders. Another warning concerning spending billions on future light rail  "spine" extensions, a tunnel from Ballard, and a 2nd Duwamish Bridge from West Seatte.