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1987: Washington State Rail Development Commission formed by the Washington State Legislature
1990-04: High Capacity Transit Act passes state legislature, providing local-option taxing authority for public transit
1990-08: Joint Regional Policy Committee (JPRC) formed by King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to coordinate regional transit planning
1993-06-22: Pierce County votes to join RTA
1993-07-06: King County Council votes to join RTA, by one vote[1][2]
1993-07-08: Snohomish County votes to join RTA
1993-09-17: RTA Board holds first meeting at the former WSDOT District 7 offices in Bellevue, King County Councilmember Bruce Laing elected as first chairman[3][4][5]
1994-09: Original proposed date for RTA election, later delayed to March 1995
1997-08-15: CPSRTA Board adopts "Sound Transit" as its official name for services, along with "Link" for light rail, "Sounder" for commuter rail and "Regional Express" for buses; "Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority" retained as business name;[12][13]
1997-09-25: Sound Transit logo and color scheme adopted
1999-09-19: ST Express begins service on nine routes[14]
1999-10-16: Union Station rededicated as ST headquarters[15]
2000-09-18: Sounder South begins service, from Tacoma to Seattle via Sumner and Auburn;[16] Puyallup, Kent and Tukwila stations open in 2001
Headquarters: Union Station, 401 South Jackson Street, Seattle (adjacent to King Street Station, International District/Chinatown Station and First Hill Streetcar)
Bus bases owned and operated by partner agencies
Light rail base in SODO
Amtrak-Sounder facility on Holgate
Park and rides
Future expansion
Long Range Plan updates
1996-05-31: Sound Move 10-Year Plan adopted by ST Board
The Puget Sound region's public transit agencies have operated with separate fare systems since their inception in the 20th century. Although paper
transfers were accepted between some systems, there was no regional fare payment system in place until the 1990s.
The
University of Washington adopted plans for a monthly
transit pass program, named "U-PASS", in March 1991, allowing unlimited rides on
Metro Transit (now King County Metro) and
Community Transit for a flat fee. The program was introduced to mitigate increased traffic congestion on the university's campus in Seattle and reduce demand at its parking lots, where fees were raised to fund the pass's subsidy.[1] The program was rolled out to all students and faculty on September 30, 1991, and by the following year transit ridership on the campus increased from 21 percent to 33 percent.[2][3]
PugetPass and ORCA
The
Regional Transit Authority (later renamed Sound Transit) was established in 1993 to produce a regional transit plan for a future ballot measure in
King,
Pierce, and
Snohomish counties. The agency propose an integrated, unified fare system as part of its 1995 and 1996 plans,[4][5] the latter of which was approved by voters alongside regional rail and bus services.[6] Sound Transit formed a regional fare coordination forum with King County Metro, Community Transit,
Pierce Transit, and
Everett Transit in 1998 to create a regional fare pass system that would eventually be replaced by a
contactless smart card with passes and a
stored-value purse.[7]
The PugetPass, accepted by five agencies and sold in three versions based on subarea zones, was introduced on September 1, 1999.[8] The pass system debuted ahead of the rollout of
Sound Transit Express later that month.[9]
Planning
2003-04-29: Central Puget Sound Regional Fare Coordination Project established, agreement signed by seven agencies (ST, KC Metro, CT, ET, PT, KT, WSF)
Commemorative and special editions: University Link (March 2016), Mariners (2018), Seattle Storm (2019), Swift Green Line (March 2019), Link 10th Anniversary (July 2019), Sounder 20th Anniversary (2020)
Special editions for ORCA2: three RapidRide cards (2023),[17] Kitsap Transit 40th Anniversary (2023), Swift Orange Line (2024), East Link Starter Line (2024)
Technology
Manufactured in China at a cost of $1.92 to $2.40 each[18]
Participating systems
Criticism
References
^Pryne, Eric (March 22, 1991). "UW plan: U-Pass or you pay". The Seattle Times. p. A1.
^Aweeka, Charles (October 14, 1991). "U-PASS program's success overcrowds park-and-ride lots". The Seattle Times. p. E1.
^Sharpo, Lawrence J. (December 18, 1992). "UW U-PASS: An experiment that works". The Seattle Times. p. A13.
The transit system was formed in 1893 as a private
streetcar operator that was later owned by the
Puget Sound International Railway and Power Company. The streetcar system was converted into a bus system in 1923 and renamed to Everett City Lines in 1939. The company was bought out by the city government in 1969 after a ballot measure to save the system.
History
The first transit service in Everett was a
streetcar system that was conceived in 1892, prior to the city's
incorporation. The Everett Land Company received several proposals for streetcar systems and awarded a construction contract to A. R. Whitney Jr. in December 1892 for a 7-mile (11 km) network.[3] Delivery of the streetcars began the following month and construction commenced in March, traveling south from a smelter on Monte Cristo Avenue. The final rails were laid in late June, with the system reaching
Lowell.[4]
The streetcar system opened on July 3, 1893, with an inaugural ride from the city's elected leaders and prominent citizens. Following the
financial panic, the Everett Land Company unsuccessfully attempted to sell the streetcar system to the city government in 1894, instead retaining ownership of the Everett Railway and Light Company.[4]
1905: Acquired by Stone and Webster, operated by Puget Sound International Railway & Power (later Puget Sound Power & Light and later Puget Sound Energy)
2007: Streetcar revival proposed for new waterfront and riverfront development
2018: First electric bus; planned to go half-fleet by 2022[15]
CT merger
Proposed since formation of SNOTRAN and PTBA
1988-11: CT Board votes to study a merger with ET and SNOTRAN[16]
1990: SNOTRAN plan to merge CT & ET to save $350,000 per year in deadheading rejected by Everett City Council, called unnecessary by consultant[17]
1994: Washington State House Rules Committee halts bill that passed House Transportation Committee allowing for a CT/ET merger, successful lobbying from Everett helped prevent merger[18][19]
1996: CT reaffirms belief that they should absorb ET to ease transfers in Everett, resisted by Everett because of a fear of them subsidizing the rest of the county[20]
^Ray, Susanna (July 19, 2002).
"CT limits service in Everett". The Everett Herald. The Washington Post Company. p. A1 – via ProQuest. {{
cite news}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (
help)
Washington State Ferries began operating on June 1, 1951, taking over private routes and vessels owned and operated by the
Puget Sound Navigation Company, nicknamed the "Black Ball Line".
History
Earlier public ferries
1895: State legislature authorizes counties to build and operate ferries
1940–1950: Temporary ferry on Tacoma Narrows operated by Highways Department during construction of the second
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
State-operated system
1940s: Various proposals for cross-Sound bridges to replace private ferries
1949-12-30: State announces their intention to purchase and operate Black Ball routes
1951-06-01: State officially begins operating former Black Ball routes in the Puget Sound, under the management of the Washington Toll Bridge Authority; $5 million paid for 16 ferryboats and 20 terminals[2][3]
WSF flag: "The new flag is white with a green tree in the center, symbolizing the new name for the service, the Evergreen Route. Superimposed on the green tree is a white 'W,' for Washington. The flag has a narrow green border."; 600 employees transferred from Black Ball to WSF[4]
Fleet of 19 ferries inherited, to be rehabilitated by the state[5]
1958-04-25: WSF and Toll Bridge Authority agree to continue the Black Ball tradition of naming vessels after Native American words[6]
1959: Part of state gasoline tax revenue used to support ferries for the first time; ferries required to generate 60% of its operating expenses from fares
1961: Colman Dock renovation completed by WSF
1966-02-21: Kalakala rams Colman Dock, causing $80,000 in damage[7]
1967: Super Class ferries introduced to fleet
1972: Jumbo Class ferries introduced to fleet, becoming the largest ferries by capacity in the world
1974:
1970s energy crisis forces ferries to run at reduced speed and power during midday operation
1974-06-06: State takes over Port Townsend–Keystone run, previously a private operation
1977-09-22: Toll Bridge Authority absorbed into newly-created WSDOT[8][9]
Washington State Ferries runs 450 departures per day on 10 routes that travel between 20 terminals located on the
Puget Sound and in the
San Juan Islands.[1] Effective June 9, 1994, these routes were included in the
state highway system as extensions of existing state routes, with the exception of the newly-created
State Route 339 between
Vashon Island and
Seattle.[10]
1988-10: Wenatchee Downtown Association brings together political and business leaders to discuss a possible public transit service for the area
1989-03-14: Special Transit Conference held; elected officials passed a resolution in support of a two-county transit system
1989-11-21: PTBA forms, under RCW Chapter 36.57A, encompassing the entirety of Chelan County, as well as the Eastmont and Waterville school districts in Douglas County
1990-09-18: PTBA sales tax approved by 54 percent of voters, funding the "Chelan Douglas Public Transportation System"; 0.4% local sales tax, 63% match from MVET
1991-06: "LINK" name and logo approved
1991-12-16: First day of service; ridership at 1,700[3]
1992-12: First year of service ends with over 1 million rides in first year, carrying over 3,600 people daily on 19 routes[4]
1995-03: Orondo SD annexed into PTBA
2000-02: Free fares end because of the loss of MVET revenue after I-595; initial fare is 50 cents[5][6]
2000-05: Board of Directors update branding to "Link Transit"
Administration
Administered by Chelan Douglas Public Transportation Benefit Area
Area: 3,500 square miles (9,100 km2)[1] (largest in Washington state)[7]
Monthly Pass (Student, ages 12 to 21): $15 with proof of enrollment[14]
Student Freedom Pass (ages 12 to 21, unlimited use for one year): $120 (decreases further in the year), partially refunded to school; available at select high schools[14]
Purchasable at Columbia Station and select grocery stores[17]
The Seattle Transit System was a
public transit system in
Seattle, Washington that operated from 1939 to 1973. The bus system replaced an earlier
streetcar network and was operated by the Seattle Transit Commission until 1970, when it was reorganized into a city department. Effective January 1, 1973, it was absorbed by
King County Metro, a former waste treatment agency that was given authorization to operate transit service.
1939-05: Seattle Transportation Commission created to operate municipal transit; $10 million loan from RFC for streetcar debt and conversion to trackless trolleys
1939-08: STC takes over municipal transit
1940: Cable cars and streetcars shut down
1941: Final streetcar
Beginnings and expansion
1939-12: "Seattle Transit System" adopted as new name, Madison cable car to be first converted to trackless trolley[1]
The Metropolitan Transit Corporation, also known as the Overlake Transit System, was a commuter bus operator in the Seattle metropolitan area from 1927 to 1973.
Hollywood/Vine opened on June 12, 1999, as the western terminus of the northern branch of the Red Line. Upon the opening of the westward extension to North Hollywood in 2000, it lost its title as the end of the line.
Station layout
G
Street level
Exit/Entrance
B1
Mezzanine
Faregates, ticket vending machines, to Exits/Entrances
Like most stations on the Metro, Hollywood/Vine uses an island platform setup with two tracks. There is an entrance to the east of the intersection at Argyle Avenue.
Local Chicano artist
Gilbert "Magú" Luján was selected to design the Hollywood/Vine station. "Light" was one of the central themes of the station because of its pervasiveness in Hollywood, from stars to light that passes through projectors to show films to the sun in sunny southern California. Cultural motifs in the form of So Cal cultural icons are also prevalent throughout the myriad of ceramic tiles lining the walls of the corridors as passengers descend into the railway tunnel. Benches for waiting passengers were fashioned as classic car lowriders on pedestals.
The station has, perhaps, the most detail and decorations of any station in the entire Metro system. This station is among the most pleasant and "fun" stations and tourists may find this station the most enjoyable. Other features include two movie projectors donated by
Paramount Pictures pointed towards a representation of a movie screen flanked by large curtains. The ceiling of the station is covered with empty film reels. Pillars that provide support for the station are designed to look like palm trees, and beneath the handrail of the stairs are musical notes for the famed song "Hooray for Hollywood." Passengers making their way to the street follow the "Yellow Brick Road" while passing many colored tiles that depict icons or represent southern California lifestyle.
Sound Move was approved by 56 percent of voters during the election, allowing the RTA, later renamed to
Sound Transit, to begin planning and construction of a regional transit system. The last part of the Sound Move plan to be built was opened in 2016, twenty years after the vote; the light rail portion of the plan cost a total of $4.95 billion (86 percent over the 1996 budget).
Background
The construction of a
rapid transit system for Seattle has been proposed in various forms since the turn of the 20th century, during periods of rapid growth for the city and region. In 1911, civil engineer
Virgil Bogue and the
Seattle Planning Commission proposed a 60-mile (97 km) rail system with subways and elevated railways across the then-smaller city of Seattle. The plan was put to a public vote on March 5, 1912, where it was defeated by a 2-to-1 margin.[3] While Bogue's vision largely did not materialize, the idea of a rapid transit system influenced later plans for the city.[4]
Forward Thrust
1988: Advisory referendum in King County
PSRC plan: Federal Way to Lynnwood; Redmond to Seattle
1993 JRPC plan
$9.3 billion plan originally planned to be on November 1993 ballot,[5] later delayed to "after 1994 session"[6]
1993: RTA formed
1995 RTA vote
History
1996-05-31: RTA Board votes 15-2 to send plan to voters (2 dissents would later try to submit a "no confidence" motion in September)
The
Honolulu Rail Transit system in
Honolulu, Hawaii, US, is planned to include 21 stations on 20 miles (32 km) of track. The stations will include names in English and
Hawaiian to reflect the culture and history of the Hawaiian people.[4][5]
Hālawa station will be located on the east side of the Kamehameha Highway at its intersection with Salt Lake Boulevard. To the northeast of the station is
Aloha Stadium.
"Serving the Aloha Stadium, Aiea, Salt Lake, Moanalua, and outlying residential areas."
Jarrett Walker (born 1962) is an American author and
transit consultant. He founded his consultancy firm, Jarrett Walker + Associates, in 2011 and has worked on redesigns for transit systems in numerous cities in
North America and
Oceania. Walker released a book on transit design, entitled Human Transit, in 2011, and has also authored a blog of the same name since then.
Early life and education
Walker was raised in
Portland, Oregon, where he became interested in transit issues while using the
TriMet bus system.[1]
Walker gained a significant amount of media attention as a result of a dispute he had with
Elon Musk.[5][6] In December 2017, Musk expressed his disdain for public transit and reiterated his preference for individual transportation in response to an audience question during the
Neural Information Processing Systems Conference.[7] Walker criticized him on
Twitter, stating that "Musk's hatred of sharing space with strangers is a luxury (or pathology) that only the rich can afford," referring to the theory that planning a city around the preferences of a minority yields an outcome that usually does not work for the majority.[7][8] Musk responded with "You're an idiot," later saying "Sorry [...] Meant to say 'sanctimonious idiot.'"[9] This dispute led to a broader debate about Musk's opinions on transit, including during a segment on
Fox Business Network in which Walker spoke with
Stuart Varney,[10] and prompted an outpouring of people sharing their stories of the connections and community formed on transit, using the hashtag #GreatThingsThatHappenedonTransit.[9]