The First Hill Streetcar in Seattle’s International District. (© Seattle Department of Transportation, Creative Commons License)
Today in Seattle, you can stand on Third Avenue between Pike and Pine streets, a few blocks from the convention center, and watch 200 buses an hour pass by during the peak. Local buses mix with the distinctive red-and-yellow RapidRide buses, which connect to six regional routes that prioritize frequent and faster service. Underground, a light-rail line linking downtown to the University of Washington and to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shares the downtown transit tunnel with even more buses.
Seattle’s transportation transformation also includes changes to car parking policies, street management, and even employer/employee relationships. These advances serve today. In a world promising autonomous vehicles, rides on demand, and delivery by drone, they also bode well for the city’s ability to quickly shape and adapt to whatever new transportation technologies take hold.
For people using mass transit, new services have come in quick succession. Seattle’s first modern streetcar opened in 2007. Light-rail service began operating in 2009, and the first RapidRide route started service in 2010. In 2016 alone, a second streetcar line was launched, and three additional light-rail stations opened, increasing ridership by 75 percent.
Seattle residents have
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