Oh and I had to bring my car. Like down a hill, have Stefan ride on the hood for some reason. I mean, he couldn't WALK down, that would be silly.
Sound Transit has released new station level boarding data. It is by year instead of Service Change like past reports and we are told is more accurate. I forgot to save a clean copy of the spreadsheet before I started playing around so I apologize for the clutter. Data here> Total boardings are still dominated by the terminus stations. In raw numbers, daily boardings at SeaTac and Westlake grew the most. However, the Rainier Valley had fastest growth rates. More interestingly they had the largest percentage of growth. While the Rainier Valley accounts for only 27% of boardings, the stations were responsible for 33% of the record setting growth Link is experiencing. When looking at the data, it's important to remember that almost every trip has a return. So while the Rainier Valley may only directly account for 27% of the boardings, it is likely responsible for over half of all boardings. For example, every morning I get on the train at Columbia City, adding a boarding. However my evening International District boarding is also due to there being a Columbia City station for me to exit at. Yes, some trips may will be intravalley, but not many, the 7 and 8 are much better suited for those trips. I don't think it coincidence that the two Rainier Valley stations with the most amount of development have had the highest ridership. The North Rainier Rezone and Bowtie plan will hopefully generate stronger results there as well. While Rainier Beach station doesn't currently have the fundamentals for strong residential growth, there have been some great bus reorganizations suggested by Aleks and Bruce that will improve mobility and increase ridership. Overall, we're heading in the right direction. No need to listen to anti-urbanists that want the quick and dirty bump in ridership that might come from subsidized parking, instead keep to the path that's generating all day, sustainable growth; increase the number of people allowed to live near the stations and improve the bike, pedestrian and bus connections to the stations.