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1. How much bus service does the plan add?
2. Does the mass transit expansion package reduce congestion?
3. Sound Transit's figures show 358,000 riders on Sound Transit services each weekday in 2030. This is a small percentage of the total trips that will occur around the region. Did the Board take this into account?
4. Why did Sound Transit propose a ballot measure even though the 2007 Roads & Transit ballot measure was defeated?
5. Is it possible to build these transit expansions faster?
6. Why wasn't the proposition on my ballot? I thought everyone in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties got to vote on this measure.
7. How was this year's plan different than the 2007 Roads & Transit plan that failed?

1. How much bus service does the plan add?

   • 17 percent starting in 2009.
   • The bus service expansions in the package are targeted to the routes and corridors where the demand is greatest.
   • The package balances the immediate need for transit service expansions with the region's need to build a regional rail transit system that adds major new transportation capacity.
   • Buses will always be part of the transit system, but each year rising congestion keeps degrading service.
   • The ST Express bus service expansions will be complemented by partner agency service expansions already in the pipeline. King County Metro continues to roll out its Transit Now expansions – up to 20 percent increases across the county – and Community Transit in Snohomish County will begin its SR 99 "Swift" bus rapid transit service in the near future.
   • With the addition of light rail services along our most heavily traveled corridors, partner agencies will be able to redeploy bus services that would normally travel those corridors. King County Metro planners estimate they will be able to redeploy 50,000-70,000 service hours once the light rail line opens to Northgate. That means local providers can redeploy services to feed into the light rail system spine.

2. Does the mass transit expansion package reduce congestion?

   • Yes. More than 300,000 daily riders using the expanded rail lines will experience zero congestion.
   • Those riders won't contribute to congestion on the road system.
   • Light rail will add major new capacity to the region's transportation system. Each new leg of light rail can move up to 12,000 people an hour in each direction. For purposes of comparison, a freeway lane can move 2,000 vehicles per hour in ideal conditions or as few as 700 during congested times.
   • Congestion will be worse in the future because of growth – 40 percent population growth by 2040 (1.5 million). Rail creates new, congestion-free corridors, and gives people a choice.
   • Forecasts project that the mass transit expansion investments will reduce vehicle travel by 268 million vehicle miles annually by 2030 and reduce traffic delay by 25 million hours annually.

3. Sound Transit's figures show 358,000 riders on Sound Transit services each weekday in 2030. This is a small percentage of the total trips that will occur around the region. Did the Board take this into account?

   • Yes. Mass transit targets rush hour congestion.
   • By 2030, public transit will serve more than 800,000 trips every day in our region. With the Mass Transit Expansion plan, Sound Transit will serve 44 percent of those trips.
   • The mass transit investments make the most difference when and where it matters the most – at rush hours into and out of the biggest job centers in the region. Today, about 40 percent of commuters into downtown Seattle take transit to and from work. With these expansions that number will rise to 50 percent. In Bellevue, these investments will increase transit use into and out of downtown by 50 percent – 12 percent of all commuters. That means fewer cars competing for space on the freeways during rush hours.
   • Our regional transportation system is formed by an extensive array of roads and transit services. The number of trips served by any one element off that system is relatively small, but that doesn't mean that element is not critical. For example, I-90‘s Lake Washington crossing between I-405 and downtown Seattle serves about 1 percent of daily trips; most people would agree that this is an important part of the regional transportation system. I-90 is one of those critical elements that the ST expansion plan focuses on.
   • Generalized statistics using "total trips in the region" are not very relevant to the question of how to move large volumes of people into and out of major population and employment centers during peak hours. This comparison looks at region-wide trips on a 24-hour basis, including rural areas and times of day with no congestion.
   • Sound Transit's rail stations will serve as transit hubs where people can access the congestion-free rail service by car, bus, bike or on foot, boosting the efficiency, integration and convenience of the region's transportation system.
   • The Mass Transit Expansion plan targets the areas where our greatest population growth will occur. In 2030, 70 percent of the regional population and 85 percent of its jobs will be located within easy access to light rail and/or commuter rail.

4. Why did Sound Transit propose a ballot measure even though the 2007 Roads & Transit ballot measure was defeated?

   • Transportation improvements are the public's highest priority for local government. Thousands of public comments to Sound Transit and surveys of district residents expressed a strong sense of urgency about expanding transit options.
   • Among the more than 6,000 people who took a Web or phone questionnaire in May and June, 76 percent favored a 2008 vote, 10 percent favored a 2010 vote, 3 percent favored voting after 2010 and 5 percent said never. More information.
   • Research following the defeat of the 2007 Roads & Transit ballot measure showed that people thought the package was too big and they didn't like voting on both roads and transit together in the same package.
   • Sound Transit responded by developing faster, lower-cost options for a transit-only package.

5. Is it possible to build these transit expansions faster?

   • Sound Transit worked to expedite the projects in the 2008 package. The light rail projects will be completed five to seven years sooner than in last year's Roads & Transit ballot measure package.
   • While longer-term investments come online, the current plans increase regional bus service in the busiest corridors almost immediately. As light rail services come online in those corridors, the bus services can be redeployed to serve other areas.
   • Any major expansion of transportation right-of way takes a significant amount of time to plan and build.
   • The time required to build major projects is one reason the Board and the public cited to move forward now.
   • The time it takes to design and build a project is not the only consideration. Another consideration is the rate of revenue collection.

6. Why wasn't the proposition on my ballot? I thought everyone in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties got to vote on this measure.

   • The Sound Transit District includes only the urban areas of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The proposition was not on the ballot in rural areas outside the district. Sound Transit's taxes are not imposed in the rural areas outside the district.

7. How was this year's plan different than the 2007 Roads & Transit plan that failed?

   • After the failure of the 2007 ballot measure, Sound Transit heard that people want lower-cost options for a transit-only package.
   • The 2008 plan focuses only on improving mass transit.
   • The 2008 plan will be completed in 15 years, five years faster than last year's plan.
   • This year's plan puts much greater focus on increasing express bus and commuter rail service in the near term.