The light rail service to Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Shoreline won’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so Sound Transit is doing everything it can to make the opening weekend (August 30-September 1) of its new, highly anticipated extension line a showpiece.
According to John Gallagher, a spokesman for Sound Transit, 30% of riders on the new Lynnwood extension line are expected to be first-time public transit users.
Their first experiences with the line on the opening weekend could determine whether they become future passengers.
“In the beginning, a lot of people are just testing the system,” Gallagher says. “They ride it to see what it’s like. They ride it to get comfortable with it. And then, you know, the ridership drops off a little bit.”
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That’s exactly what happened at Northgate Station, says Gallagher.
However, he said many of those who enjoyed the first ride come back later, perhaps to go to the airport or a baseball game.
Little by little, the light rail is becoming a habit for more people and passenger numbers are slowly increasing again throughout the system.
This is why Sound Transit places such great importance on the opening weekend.
The agency will have staff on site to ensure no one gets lost. There will be extra security measures in place to make people feel safe.
And this applies not only to the new train stations, but also to the streets.
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Gallagher says each employee has to take a few shifts in public relations, either on an opening day like Aug. 30 or out in public. That way, the organization can find out how people feel about their transit services.
You may have seen a Sound Transit employee standing on a street corner handing out flyers about expanding the system.
Some people walk past them, perhaps because they look like they are selling something. Others pick up brochures, ask a few questions and think about their place in a future where light rail reaches many more places.
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For many drivers it is a personal matter.
Alex Hudson lives with her family near downtown Seattle.
She also leads Commute Seattle, an organization that partners with employers to offer monthly ORCA transit passes as a benefit to their employees.
Hudson’s daughter had a best friend who lived just four blocks away. High housing costs forced the friend’s family to move 17 miles away to Lynnwood, which meant an eternity in traffic.
Hudson doesn’t own a car and so her daughter lost contact with her friend.
“Transportation infrastructure connects us to our communities, connects us to our friends,” she says. “And when we don’t have those things, those connections break down.”
On August 30, the expanded light rail service to Lynnwood will reconnect them.
“And that’s why I’m so happy, not only because of what it means for the general public, but also because it means for my own family that my daughter’s best friend is back in our lives,” Hudson says.
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According to Sound Transit, the length of the light rail system will more than double in the next few years.
This makes the light rail accessible to many old or new best friends.
