Sound Transit hoping for increased ridership with new stations
Will more people start riding the rails on the Eastside with two new stations open?
Sound Transit believes adding stops will get people to use the Two-Line more frequently. Right now, the ridership numbers are lower than anticipated.
Monday officially marked the first day of commuting at the downtown Redmond light rail station.
In fact, Jack McKellip planned his home base around the new Redmond station.
'I found out this place was opening on my first day of work, so I took this into work Saturday, my second day doing it, I love it,' McKellip said. 'I'm super excited. I just moved here from California, and I was looking at places close to the station to live so I could commute to work.'
But at nearly 7 AM, he was one of only a few riders.
Sound Transit's Rachelle Cunningham said reporting a lower ridership so far this year compared to 2024.
'We don't know why it was higher or declined a bit since then. It may be that it was open in summer, there was more to do, it could be the novelty of it, people are trying it out,' Cunningham said.
On weekdays in March, some stations like Overlake have fewer than 200 riders on average daily.
'There are some more busy than others; it may be Overlake is more of a commuter station,' Cunningham said. She tells us that's soon expected to change.
'We expect once people get used to Redmond being open and summer in Marymoor Park, we will see an increase in ridership, or hope to see,' Cunningham said.
Luke Thompson can't wait for that connection since he lives in the Chinatown-International District (CID).
'Super nice, it will cut out all the driving. I can take the train straight from my house pretty sweet,' Thompson said.
Sound Transit's ultimate goal is to complete the line extensions before the World Cup next summer.
The testing for the new I-90 connection right across the lake is expected in the next month. We will, of course, let you know when it happens.
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