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<br /> <br />Final Report <br />NCDA Trip to Seattle and Vancouver <br />October 2000 <br /> <br />Seattle: October 2, 2000 <br /> <br />Description of Sound Transit Commuter Rail Service <br /> <br />1. Sound Transit, the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority <br />· A special purpose government formed to build and operate a high <br />capacity transit system. <br />· Authorized under state law, subject to local voter approval. <br />· Requires a system plan, description of benefits and a local financing <br />proposal. <br />· State law sets planning requirements, revenue collecting authority and <br />board composition. <br />· One member per 145,000 population, not to exceed 25 members. <br />· Half of the members must be drawn from local transit boards. <br />· Current board of 18 members: 17 local elected officials plus the <br />Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) secretary. <br />· Urbanized area of three counties - King, Pierce and Snohomish <br />· Population - 2.5 million <br /> <br />2. Components of the Sound Transit commuter rail system: <br /> <br />· Sounder will eventually serve 13 stations and cross three counties for <br />a total of 82 miles, divided into three segments (Seattle-Tacoma 39.5 <br />miles, Seattle-Everett 34.5 miles, and Tacoma-Lakewood 8 miles). <br />See the Sound Transit map in Attachment One. <br />· When the system is fully operational, trains will run every half-hour <br />during peak commute hours. <br />· Sounder trains will travel at speeds up to 79 mph. <br />· Each climate-controlled Sounder car has worktables, high-back cloth <br />upholstered seats, surge-protected outlets for laptop computers, <br />overhead storage, bicycle storage, rest rooms and cup holders. NCDA <br />used two Sounder cars for its demonstration run in August 2000. <br />· By 2007, about 2,400 passengers a day are expected to ride Sounder <br />trains from Everett to Seattle. About 10,200 passengers are expected <br />to ride the Lakewood to Seattle commuter route daily. <br />· Sounder is expected to recover about 30 percent of its operating costs <br />through the fare box. <br />· Sounder fares are based on zones - the one-zone fare is $2, two-zone <br />is $3 (e.g. Auburn to Seattle), and 3-zone is $4 (e.g. Tacoma to <br /> <br />1 <br />~ <br />