Early ridership meets expectations

Published 9:00 pm Friday, December 26, 2003

Ridership has varied during the first few days of the new Sounder service, Sound Transit said Friday.

Although the trip is free between Everett and Seattle and back — with a stop in Edmonds — the average early numbers show the train carrying about two-thirds of what Sound Transit anticipates as its daily average, said Martin Young, the Sounder’s operations manager.

That’s a good start, and more than expected for its first week of service, he said.

There were 462 riders on Monday, 400 on Tuesday and 187 on Christmas Eve. Sounder service from Tacoma to Seattle on Christmas Eve also dropped to about 40 percent of its average daily number, Young said.

On Friday morning 107 riders took the trip to Seattle. Afternoon numbers were not available.

About 40 percent of the riders are getting on and off in Edmonds, Young said.

Sounder officials project a daily average of 600 commuters to take the Everett-Seattle run in 2004.

The free service lasts until Friday, Jan. 2. Tickets after that will cost $3 each way. The train will run weekdays only. It departs Everett Station at 6:55 a.m. and arrives at Seattle’s King Street Station at 7:54 a.m. On the return, it leaves King Street Station at 5:15 p.m. and arrives in Everett Station at 6:14 p.m.