New Sounder station agents add friendly faces to daily commutes
April 07, 2008
Today, many Sounder commuters were greeted by Sound Transit’s new station agents on the train platforms. These new Sounder staff will be at each Sounder station to assist customers with things like buying tickets, directions, information about delays and emergencies, or help for disabled passengers. Station agents had their first official day on the platforms on Friday.
As Sounder ridership continues to grow rapidly, new riders in particular can sometimes use a hand buying tickets and navigating the system for the first time. Station agents will provide an added level of on-site customer service for Sounder riders.
“Sound Transit’s steps to make sure customers get the service they deserve gives them yet another reason to climb aboard and leave the traffic behind,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. “We’re making it easy for people to improve their commutes and protect our natural environment.”
The biggest ridership increase among Sound Transit’s three modes was on Sounder commuter rail, with a 27.4 percent increase in 2007. This represents the fourth biggest commuter rail ridership increase in the nation for 2007, and was achieved in part by significant service increases Sound Transit implemented last year. New service included one new round trip on the north corridor serving Everett, Edmonds and Seattle and two on the south corridor serving Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent, Tukwila and Seattle. South corridor service increases included the first “reverse commute” train that runs from Seattle to Tacoma in the morning and returns northbound in the evening.
More Sounder trains will be added in September 2008, and Sounder ridership is expected to continue to grow. Sound Transit is currently working with the region’s communities to evaluate service priorities for a ballot measure in 2008 or thereafter to expand the regional transit system. Options include increasing Sounder service on the Tacoma-Seattle corridor by 90 percent by running more trains and longer trains. As more and more Puget Sound residents discover the convenience and comfort of Sounder commuter rail for their daily commute or for attending special events like Mariners and Seahawks games, station agents will be there to help make their Sounder ride safe, convenient, and comfortable.
The station agents will also help manage stations by reporting maintenance issues and offering an additional security presence. Having station agents allows for Sound Transit to re-deploy the fixed post security guards, offering greater flexibility to security staffing. Sound Transit will continue to use the roving patrols and police patrols at certain stations. The station agent program is in addition to our established security program and brings an additional presence to the stations.
Station agents will be at every Sounder station each weekday morning and for special event trains. On weekday afternoons, station agents will be at the seven Sounder stations along the south corridor between Seattle and Tacoma. A station agent will serve the new Mukilteo Station when in opens later this year.
Transportation
Friday, April 11, 2008
Sounder Stations add friendly faces; no word on ballot
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
ST opens Seattle to Tacoma service; now upto 8000 boarding
Though it’s off to a modest start – a few dozen people ride south each weekday morning – the new “reverse commute” train is another milestone for Sound Transit. And it’s not the last one.
Another Tacoma-to-Seattle train will debut in September. So will a sixth northbound morning train. And Sound Transit hopes to extend service to Lakewood by 2011.
As service expands, so does the number of Sounder passengers. The number of people boarding Sounder trains each weekday has nearly tripled in four years.
“Each time you add a new service option, a new time choice, it makes it more convenient for new people to join the whole transit movement,” said Sound Transit spokeswoman Linda Robson.
Voters in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties approved local taxes to build and operate the regional transit system in 1996. In addition to the Sounder – which serves commuters from Everett to Tacoma – the agency offers regional bus service and the downtown Tacoma Link. And it’s developing a light-rail line from downtown Seattle to Sea-Tac Airport.
The transit system as originally envisioned is either completed, under construction or in development. But it’s been a long time coming.
When voters approved tax hikes for the transit system, they were told it would be finished in 10 years.
That didn’t happen. Instead, projects were delayed and costs ballooned.
In 2005 a citizen oversight panel cited numerous reasons. The panel said Sound Transit relied on overly optimistic passenger projections and project development timelines. Voter initiatives to reduce local and state tax revenue also played a role. So did protracted negotiations with BNSF Railway over track improvements.
The panel said the 10-year completion promise “clearly was unrealistic and should not have been made.”
“They overpromised, is what they did,” said David Chapin, chairman of the oversight panel.
But in recent years the panel has praised Sound Transit. In a report issued last month, the panel said the agency made good progress on the regional transit system in 2007.
“We think the agency has greatly matured into a very effective, well-run organization,” Chapin said. “We think, on the whole, they’re doing a good job.”
Last year’s progress included the September introduction of the reverse-commute train from Seattle to Tacoma.
The southbound train leaves Seattle at 6:10 a.m. each weekday and arrives in Tacoma an hour later after stops in Tukwila, Kent, Auburn, Sumner and Puyallup. An afternoon train leaves Tacoma at 4:45 bound for Seattle.
Robson said the reverse commute allows the agency to offer a fifth northbound train in the morning despite having room to house only four trains at a time in Tacoma. The fifth train starts in Seattle and picks up passengers on its way to Tacoma before heading north again.
Robson said the train gives commuters another option besides driving or taking the bus. And she said Tacoma’s growing economy was a factor in the decision to begin the service.
The number of passengers heading south is relatively small.
In January an average of 38 people boarded the southbound train each morning. By comparison, the new northbound train departing Tacoma at 5 a.m. saw an average of 509 passengers in January.
Robson said the number of reverse-commute passengers is about what the agency expected. But she thinks it will grow as the agency expands service.
Sound Transit will launch another reverse-commute train – along with a sixth northbound morning train – in September. Next year it plans to add a seventh northbound morning commute trip.
As Sounder service expands, so does the number of passengers it serves. In 2007, an average of 8,026 people boarded Sounder trains each weekday – up from 2,740 in 2003. In January of this year, an average of 9,312 people boarded the trains. In February, the average was 9,123 passengers.
The Sounder cost $24.8 million to operate last year.
Robson said each expansion of service reaches a new group of commuters willing to take the train instead of driving the region’s crowded highways.
“Commuting by themselves in their cars is becoming more and more difficult as each year passes,” she said.
David Wickert: 253-274-7341
Sounder day trippers
The number of people boarding Sounder commuter trains has nearly tripled in recent years.
Year Average weekday boardings
2003 2,740
2004 3,512
2005 4,565
2006 6,310
2007 8,026
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sounder North is a bust; Too expensive, too few riders
Sounder North Costs Per Ride 5/20/05
>> View charts | Explanation of charts:
The attached charts show calculations of "cost per ride" for Sounder North, based upon Sound Transit estimates of capital costs, O&M costs and ridership estimates. All cost and ridership estimates are from Sound Transit's 2005 financial plan (as of November 2004), adjusted to 2005$. The cost-per-ride outcomes assume that all riders are new riders to transit, and it also assumes that 100% of the capital investment is of benefit to those riders.
The first worksheet summarizes the finding for Annualized Capital Cost per FTA guidelines. That annual cost is constant throughout the life of the project and does not vary with ridership. The primary set of O&M annual costs represent a 22-year average from service inception (2004) thru 2025, as do the ride estimates. The average total cost per ride during that 22-year period would be $70 of which the rider pays about $2.50 leaving $67.50 for public subsidy. Annual public subsidy = $67.50 x 2 rides/day x 250 days per year = $33,700.
But current costs per ride are far greater than the long-term average. The column highlighted in bright yellow shows the calculations for the current 2005 year: Cost per ride - $276; rider fare - $2.46; public subsidy - $273.44 per ride = $136,700 per year.
The second and third sheets show the year by year estimates where the cost per ride falls dramatically as more train runs are added and ridership supposedly soars. Just as we are finding for Sounder South, I believe future ridership is significantly overestimated. The rest of the sheets show the supporting calcs converting ST YOE$ estimates to 2005$ estimates. The 2005$ estimates were then summed and averaged.
