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Newsroom > Rider News > Quarterly Ridership

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Systemwide Ridership Report

Fourth Quarter 2004 - October 1 - December 31

Sound Transit trains and buses last year carried more than 10 million passengers. Total system ridership for the fourth quarter of 2004 for ST Express regional bus, Sounder commuter rail and Tacoma Link light rail reached 2,648,840 passenger boardings, up 15.0 percent over fourth quarter 2003. Average weekday boardings were 36,953, up 16.1 percent from fourth quarter 2003.

Total system ridership includes weekday and weekend ridership for express bus, light rail and commuter rail, as well as special service for commuter rail and express bus. Average weekday boardings are based on Monday – Friday ridership.

Sound Transit’s ridership data is obtained from the agencies that operate Sound Transit service. For Sound Transit express bus routes operated by King County Metro (KCM), ridership is estimated on a monthly basis and updated when KCM automatic passenger count data is made available.

 

Available past Ridership numbers >>

Total Systemwide Ridership	Average Weekday Boardings

ST Express Regional Bus

ST Express regional bus ridership totaled 2,157,341 passenger boardings, up 12.6 percent over fourth quarter 2003. Average weekday boardings were at 30,218 per day, up 13.6 percent over fourth quarter 2003.

All routes in regular service showed an increase in ridership over the same quarter of last year, except for the Bellevue-Seattle Express (Route 550). The ridership decrease for Route 550 was 1.5 percent.

NOTE FOR ST EXPRESS BOARDINGS TABLE:
Projected annual boardings estimate is developed as part of the annual Service Implementation Plan. Adjustments to previous boardings estimates reflect adjustments for existing conditions versus initial assumptions.

ST Express Boardings

Sounder Commuter Rail

Sounder commuter rail boardings totaled 266,705 in the fourth quarter of 2004, an increase of 31.6 percent over the fourth quarter of 2003. Average weekday boardings were at 3,793, up 30.9 percent. Sounder celebrated its three millionth boarding in mid-December.

Everett-Edmonds-Seattle service completed its first year of operations in December. Fourth quarter special service included Mariner Sunday Home Run service and Sunday Seahawk service on both corridors. Sounder special service was very successful in the quarter as ridership jumped 60.3 percent from the same quarter last year.

Sounder Commuter Rail Boardings

Tacoma Link Light Rail

Tacoma Link light rail ridership for the fourth quarter of 2004 totaled 224,794 passenger boardings, up 22.5 percent over the fourth quarter of 2003. Average weekday boardings at 2,942, were up 27 percent over average weekday boardings for the fourth quarter of 2003. Tacoma Link average weekday boardings continue to exceed the year 2010 projection of 2,000 passengers per day.

Tacoma Link Light Rail Boarding Numbers