Business & Tech
POLL: Sound Transit Considering Fee For Riders Using Its Park-and-Rides
Abuse by those not using the transit system means the lots are often full by 9 a.m., making it hard for bus and train commuters to ride to work.
As someone who used to commute to Seattle five days a week, I know just what a pain it can be. Therefore, if I can avoid driving into the city, I take advantage and ride Sound Transit's Light Rail from Tukwila to shop downtown or attend games at Safeco or Century Link Fields.
Free parking, affordable fares, no freeway drama ... But sadly, the times may be a'changing.
Sound Transit is considering charging riders a daily fee to use its park-and-ride lots in an effort to prevent people not using transit from abusing the free parking spaces.
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Riders of Sound Transit buses, Light Rail and the Sounder commuter train often show up to find no parking available. All 600 spaces at the Tukwila Light Rail station are usually taken by 8:30 a.m. Sounder service from Lakewood Station, which has 600 parking spaces, is slated to begin in September. Ten trains will arrive and depart each weekday.
While there isn't a specific proposal, and no changes are planned until at least 2013, a Sound Transit staff report mentions $2, $3 or $4 as a possible daily charge.
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Ridership is up 10 percent, so Sound Transit has to balance charging a fee to free up parking spaces with keeping riders on board. The Link is carrying an average of 28,000 weekday boardings from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Downtown Seattle, and Sounder trains have 9,500 daily riders on the South line that originates at the Tacoma Dome.
According to KING-TV, crowding is particularly dire in the south suburbs, where the lots are overflowing, but the trains are nowhere near capacity. Kent's five-level Sound Transit parking garage, which serves as parking for both commuters and shoppers at Kent Station, is often full by 8:30 a.m.
In turn, some commuters end up having to drive to work in Seattle, negating the purpose of the trains.
Sound Transit is also looking into ways that riders could use their ORCA Card to pay to park and then count that toward their transit fare.
According to The Seattle Times, Sound Transit believes it can afford new parking garages in Sumner and Puyallup, as well as additional spaces in Tacoma, Mukilteo and Tukwila. But additions to the Kent and Auburn parking garages will be delayed due to lower sales tax revenue.