(Image: Sound Transit)

As Sound Transit is struggling with crucial decisions that will shape its next stages of growth and expansion, the agency will also be searching for a new leader. CEO Julie Timm is stepping down after just over a year of leadership that saw Sound Transit struggle to address issues around a return to pre-pandemic ridership levels and big questions about how light rail will expand to serve key areas of Seattle.

Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm announced today she will be leaving the agency in order to return to the East Coast to take care of family matters. Since joining Sound Transit in September 2022, Timm has overseen a renewed emphasis on the rider experience as Sound Transit approaches the opening of several new extensions, starting with East Link next spring. Her focus and leadership in centering current and future riders in the agency’s capital and operating programs will benefit the region for years to come.

Timm’s exit comes as Sound Transit’s plans for a key expansion to Ballard are facing new battles over alignment and timelines after delays for the planned lines serving the city’s northwest and West Seattle have already been grown and will cost billions more than originally planned. Meanwhile, costly construction snafus have delayed the opening of Judkins Park Station and the Eastside expansion line it is part of to the spring of 2025.

4.1 miles of light rail service from SODO to West Seattle’s Alaska Junction neighborhood, meanwhile, including four new stations between SODO and Alaska Junction, is scheduled to start service in 2032.

The agency is also undergoing a transition in its light rail philosophy with a move to a $3 flat fare that could replace the current distance-based fares that start at $2.25 per ride.

Under Timm, Sound Transit tried to respond to growing service and safety issues that accompanied a return of stronger ridership across the system. CHS reported here in November on the rollout of new fare enforcement resources including the Fare Ambassadors. The agency depends on fares for a big chunk — around 7% — of its operating budget. Unlike some major metro transit systems around the world, Sound Transit has designed its stations without payment gates or turnstiles.

Busy Capitol Hill Station has also suffered some filthy post-pandemic growing pains.

Timm’s watch also included plenty of bad luck including a long service disruption downtown this summer caused by the removal of a street-level clock.

Sound Transit says Timm will step down in January and the agency’s board will soon appoint an interim CEO while the search for a permanent new leader begins.

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