June is Ride Transit Month, and it will be here in just a few weeks. This year’s theme is going to be The Future Takes Transit, and we have some incredibly exciting things in store! We wanted to share two things before the month begins.
First, we’re planning to kick off the month with an in-person event, and you’re invited! Join us for our Tri-Cities Mixer and Ride Transit Month kickoff on Thursday, June 2 in Richland, WA:
And second, we want you to have your official Ride Transit Month t-shirts in time to wear all June long! This year’s official Ride Transit Month tees are now available! See the choices and order yours in time for June:
We’ll have a full schedule of events available next week. In the mean time, see everything we’ve been up to recently in our monthly newsletter, below.
Group Chat on fare enforcement
“We have housing crisis. We have opioid crisis. We have all of these things, where people aren’t getting the support they need. And the bus is one of the last remaining public spaces.”
Our own Hester Serebrin joined Barbara Baquero and Nathan Vass for Seattle Met’s Group Chat. Catch the conversation.
Recent news
- Help grade Sound Transit on how our service is doing (Sound Transit, April 7)
“To help keep our priorities in line with our riders, we’re conducting these surveys three times a year – every spring, summer and fall.” - New Ride Now program offers free and discounted rides for older adults (65+) and people with disabilities (SDOT, April 11)
“We are launching a new pilot program called Ride Now, to provide free and discounted rides specifically for older adults (65+) and people with disabilities and their caregivers.” - Sound Transit Unveils Cost Savings Concepts for West Seattle and Ballard Light Rail (The Urbanist, April 11)
“Sound Transit has unveiled concepts for cost savings and refinements for its Link light rail expansion into West Seattle and Ballard.” - Elected Leaders Shy Away From Big Amendments to 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (The Urbanist, April 18)
“The board has signed off on a plan that is slightly modified, but mostly unchanged, from the one members saw for the first time in early January.” - WA ferries drop mask rule, but most Seattle-area transit agencies keep theirs (The Seattle Times, April 19)
“King County Metro, Sound Transit and Kitsap Transit on Monday said their requirements would not change, as the judge’s ruling could be appealed and directives changed once more.” - How I Live Car-Free in Hartford, Connecticut (Motherboard, April 22)
“In this series, Motherboard speaks to some of the people living car-free in places without robust public transportation options like New York City.” - Sound Transit eases fare enforcement amid equity concerns (The Seattle Times, April 28)
“Sound Transit’s board of directors voted Thursday to overhaul its fare enforcement practices, with the goal of creating a system that’s less punitive, more educational and increasingly mindful of racial disparities.” - New ORCA card system begins on May 16 (Sound Transit, May 2)
“Starting May 16, hundreds of thousands of ORCA transit customers across the Puget Sound region will have access to a new website, smartphone app, and real-time value loading for their ORCA cards.” - Bus ridership grows as gas prices soar (HeraldNet.com, May 9)
“Skagit Transit’s ridership increased 113% in March compared to the same month last year. Its County Connector route 90x into Snohomish County grew 13.5% from when gas prices soared.” - Introducing youth to the freedom of transit (King County Metro, May 9)
“This fall, Washington will become the first state in the country where youth can ride transit for free until their nineteenth birthday. This transformation will unlock opportunity, spur innovation and grow support for public transportation.” - Sound Transit to choose new CEO in closed-door talks (The Seattle Times, May 9)
“Sound Transit’s board members could decide by June who will succeed CEO Peter Rogoff and oversee the nation’s biggest public transportation expansion program.” - Seattle’s Transportation Equity Framework (City of Seattle, n.d.)
“A history of racist policies and disinvestment has created inequities in our transportation system, including longer commutes for communities of color than their white counterparts.”
Staff pick
Three miles of Lake Washington Boulevard will be open only to people, not cars, during 10 weekends this summer and I’m so excited for the return of this event! I like it because it usually feels so dangerous to ride in traffic in the park — car drivers often use the Boulevard to avoid traffic and it is not safe for kids and people who are walking, riding bikes, or scootering. I’m looking forward to enjoying it as part of summer this year!
Raven Cruz
TCC Operations Manager
Memes in motion
Shout out to our friend Luke Distelhorst who was not about to let a traffic sign block the bike lane last week. Happy national #BikeMonth, everyone!
