Start Camping Out Now for Light Rail Launch
Last night we dropped in at the Seattle Transit Blog meet-up, and ran into Sound Transiteers Andrew and Rebecca, who were filling us in on their crowd control preparations for the July 18 opening of the Westlake-Tukwila light rail line.
They're anticipating a huge turnout from the "I Rode Light Rail First!" squad, so the crowd control preparation is substantial. People will be informed not just of the wait at their station, but of the wait at their return station, too, so you don't get stuck in Tukwila facing a two-hour wait in line to get back home.
(We were not able to persuade them of our idea to strap Seattlest Jack to the roof of a light rail car with a digicam, but we'll keep trying. Thought strapping him down would address any safety concerns, but no.)
We also learned from STB's Ben Schiendelman that we've been incorrectly hassling bus drivers for a transfer after swiping our ORCA card. Turns out the system is smarter than we thought, and "remembers" our trips including transfer. Ben says you'll see the reader say "XFER" if you make your transfer in time (within two hours of your first trip payment). Noted!
