The Sound Transit Board of Directors has approved the formation of a new task force to comprehensively examine how the agency manages its operations as more services reach maturity and new facilities come on line. The six-member task force, to be led by Sound Transit Board member and King County Council Vice Chair Dow Constantine, will look at current service approaches and search for ways to make the services more efficient and effective.
King County Council Chair Julia Patterson, Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow, Issaquah City Council Deputy President Fred Butler, Edmonds City Council member Deanna Dawson and Redmond Mayor John Marchione will also serve on the task force. All are members of the Sound Transit Board.
The new Operations Task Force will compare Sound Transit’s current operational costs with peer agencies and review industry standards for operations and maintenance benchmarks. The group will seek out opportunities for more efficient overall operations costs, including an examination of current agreements with Sound Transit’s partners. The group will also consider policy options to address parking constraints at Sound Transit facilities.
Ridership on Sound Transit’s regional system of Sounder commuter rail, ST Express buses and Tacoma Link light rail has steadily risen since the first passengers came aboard in 1999. Last year almost 14 million riders used Sound Transit services, a 12.3 percent increase over 2006. About 50,000 riders a day take Sound Transit services between Everett, Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and points in between.