A convergence of prime-time Huskies and Mariners games combined with a busy afternoon rush-hour last Friday helped Sound Transit set a new single-day light rail ridership record with approximately 101,000 boardings.
The boardings on Sept. 30 surpassed by 23 percent the previous record of 85,000 set on Aug. 25. UW Station had about 18,000 boardings last Friday.
“For thousands of M’s and Dawg fans, getting to the game by Link light rail was just the first of many highlights of the evening,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and King County Executive Dow Constantine in a Thursday media release. “The happy, cheering crowds on board that record-breaking evening are further proof that our region embraces faster, more reliable ways to cut through traffic on game days, work days, any days.”
Link weekday ridership during August averaged 69,100 – an increase of about 70 percent over the same month last year. Since last year, Sound Transit opened new stations in March at the UW and Capitol Hill and just last month opened the Angle Lake station in SeaTac.
Sound Transit’s entire system of bus, light rail and commuter rail saw just over 4 million total boardings for the month, a first for Sound Transit. Overall weekday ridership in August averaged about 154,000 boardings, up 27 percent from last year.
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