14-05-2025
Express bus to Seattle must keep rolling after light rail gets on track
Quick, what's the fastest affordable way to get from Tacoma to Seattle without a car?
If you guessed the Sounder train, you're on the right track, but there's a better choice. Unlike the commuter train, the option I'm thinking of runs all day, and it doesn't veer southeast to Sumner after you get on board. It's Sound Transit express bus route 590 and its all-day sibling, route 594.
These unassuming coaches pulling out of the Tacoma Dome station are in fact chariots that — and I can't stress this enough — do not stop until they get to Seattle.
Now, local officials are worried about the fate of this bus route as light rail inches closer to Tacoma. With new routes offering alternatives, they're concerned the express bus could spend more time in the garage, or even get parked for good. This shouldn't happen without a reckoning over the havoc it would create for Tacoma commuters.
If you're a fellow fan of the express bus, don't panic yet. There's no specific plan to eliminate the commuter-oriented 590, or the 594, which originates in Lakewood and runs all day. But change is coming.
In its upcoming 2026 service plan, Sound Transit will spell out changes to express bus service. That will specifically focus on 'how the regional bus service can be restructured to connect riders to new light rail extensions,' the agency said in a planning document. The transit authority will propose changes this year, expecting to implement them in 2026.
The agency's language around these changes is vague, but I feel iffy about phrases like, 'Change is always hard, but the benefits of reorienting ST Express service to connect to Link light rail include …' followed by a list of reasons why connecting to light rail could be better than taking an express bus all the way. Those reasons center around avoiding traffic delays, which is reasonable, as is the point that having more options in general will benefit riders.
A coalition of Tacoma and Pierce County elected officials and representatives of the business community wrote an open letter to the Sound Transit Board of Directors asking them not to derail the express bus connection to Seattle.
'For many, an express bus is not simply a convenience — it is a lifeline,' the coalition wrote, citing the line's ridership of people with disabilities, low-income residents, and people who speak limited English. Diverting riders to new light rail stations, they went on, 'risks creating unnecessary time burdens for those least able to absorb them and defeats the purpose of express bus service.'
I agree. Having more transit routes to Seattle is an excellent thing. Riders complained to the agency last year of standing-room only rides on both the express bus and the Sounder. That can be attributed in part to pandemic-related service reductions that were slated to expire this year, but more transit options will also help take the pressure off.
But what's coming down the pike is no replacement for a direct bus. Starting next year, regional travelers will have the option to take a different express bus to the new Federal Way light rail station. By 2035, the plan calls for the light rail system to reach Tacoma.
The first of these options requires every transit commuter's foe: the transfer. Local riders have already struggled with a transfer that was added to the beginning of their journey on the express bus, after downtown Tacoma stops were taken out of service as part of the pandemic-related reductions.
Riders complained that they risked missing the bus to Seattle because the T-line or city bus they took to the Tacoma Dome Station often arrived later than scheduled. That forced some to start their commutes much earlier.
And the second option, the full light rail trip, is expected to have around 18 stops between the Tacoma Dome and downtown Seattle.
Light rail is a good thing, and it's past time this great metropolitan region had a fully connected passenger rail system that doesn't have to compete with freight trains or freeway traffic to get people around. Getting more cars off the freeway is an essential goal, and all those stops are going to give a variety of communities access to the growing light rail system.
But people who commute on the express bus know what's up. Unless there are express trains that limit the number of stops on the light rail route to Seattle, getting there isn't going to happen at light speed. Or even bus speed.
My prediction is that most commuters won't want their bus trip diverted to Federal Way next year. I can only imagine the exasperation I'd feel at transferring to a light rail train that will include, by my count, 14 stops before getting to Pioneer Square in Seattle. The express bus gets to the same neighborhood from the Tacoma Dome after just five local stops along a dedicated busway in Seattle.
That's especially true when previously riders could zone out, get a little work done or catch a nap without fear of missing a connection. If they have to connect in Federal Way, the trip will get bumpier.
