(Image: Sound Transit)
With a new expansion set to open in August, Sound Transit is rolling out a host of changes including a new $3 flat rate that will eliminate the dreaded “tap off” for its light rail riders and new station ID numbers that are hoped to make navigating the growing system easier and that will give you a new way to refer to Capitol Hill Station. Next stop: Station 1-49.
Meanwhile, there is a “new” stop downtown where Sound Transit has renamed the old University Station as Symphony Station to hopefully clear up past confusion for riders thinking they were arriving at the University of Washington stop.
The changes come as Sound Transit is ready to expand its light rail system with service connecting Lynnwood to the existing 1 Line at the end of August. More expansion is coming including the new line connecting Seattle to the Eastside across I-90. Costly construction snafus have delayed the opening of Judkins Park Station and the Eastside expansion line it is part of to 2025 — some eight years after the project broke ground.
The new flat-rate pricing will be part of the August northward expansion:
Beginning August 30, an adult one-way trip on Link light rail will be $3 flat. From then on, you only need to tap your ORCA card before you board—just tap the yellow card reader once you arrive at your closest Link station and enjoy your trip. This change is designed to simplify our fare structure, making it easier for you to plan and budget for your travels on Link. Whether you’re commuting to work, catching a flight at Sea-Tac, heading to a game, or getting dinner with friends, your trip on Link light rail will just be $3.
Sound Transit has used a distance-based fare system for its light rail station where fares depend on how far a passenger travels. The new flat-rate is hoped to streamline the payment process by eliminating confusion over rates and eliminating the need to “tap off” from the system.
Sound Transit also needs the money. The update of the “fare structure,” it says, will help “ensure sustainable and high-quality service” as it depends on the revenue along with sales tax, government grants, property taxes, and motor vehicle excise taxes to pay for service and new projects.
In Washington, riders 18 and under ride transit for free.
An efficiency still missing with the ORCA card system is a mobile device payment option for all major platforms. In June, Sound Transit finally introduced Google Wallet and Android capabilities.
Meanwhile, at it prepares for a future of expansions that will move it beyond its current 1 Line and handful of ective stops, Sound Transit is introducing a new station identification system that moves beyond the symbol icons it developed in the past — Capitol Hill Station got stuck with a monotone “Pride flag” — to a new numbered system:
We have designed our new system to accommodate future expansions. Starting with “50” at Westlake, our centermost station, each station will have a new two-digit stop code paired with the lines that service it. For example, Westlake is the midpoint at 50 and will be designated as 1-50 in August. Once we connect the 2 Line, it will also be stop 2-50. We have reserved numbers for potential mid-line stations, ensuring our system remains adaptable as we continue to grow.
Looking for Capitol Hill Station? You’ll want Station 1-49.
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That numbering system couldn’t be more confusing.
like the buses?
Stations need names that make sense, not numbers.
It needs the money. After these car tabs. Sheesh.
Great changes overall. A little confusing that the numbers go down as you go north, but that’s a relatively minor quibble.
House numbers in street addresses go down as you go north too. I think it’s a thing.
This is not always the case.
I’ve been saying that stop should be Symphony from the first time I rode the thing, so good. But this new numbering system, are they kidding? They think this is LESS confusing? Those little icons were bad, but not as bad as random numbers!
Fares don’t matter if no one pays and there’s no enforcement.
Now all they need to do is change University of Washington Station to Husky Stadium Station and U.District Station to University of Washington Station and most people will get to where they need to go. Imagine slogging up the hill (with luggage maybe?) from the current UW Station to where all the university administrative offices and the majority of academic buildings are located, which is near the current U.District Station. Who designs these things — a Wazzu grad?
Symphony station. Why did that take so long to figure out? For sports events, why can’t Light Rail stack trains at the yard and send them out when these events end, so that the unsafe crowding is relieved (especially going North). Riders could get on quickly. If this costs extra, why not actually set up a system where adults can quickly tap on and keep the lines moving? As it is, most people are getting a free ride and a lot of inconvenience. Crowding really is a safety issue.
They do it in other cities but don’t do it or don’t do it enough here. Getting out of events by the stadiums is a disaster.
Just don’t pay and decline to talk to the fate inspectors. Free transit for all.
Meanwhile Los Angeles just saw a 40% drop in subway crime by adding fare gates. What a concept!
I don’t know why they don’t name the stations like most places do – by the friggen intersections they’re at.
Why is Seattle so exceptionally bad at wayfinding?
This fix is worse than the original “problem” of University St & University District. (Changing University St. to Symphony is enough)
ST can add station numbers if they want but should keep the icons also (and add new ones for the 2 line). Yes, some of them are a bit goofy but they’re readily understandable to more people. And while we’re on the subject of renaming I’ve never understood why the “University of Washington” station isn’t called “Husky Stadium.” It’s at least a half-mile from anything else on the campus. The “U District” station is much closer to the university proper.