Seattlest to SeaTac in Under 60
Instead of mimicking Seattle’s big-time media outlet, which spent the new light rail’s first in-service day counting parking slots in Tukwila and heads on trains, we decided to give the new line a practical test. Our goal: to get from Capitol Hill to SeaTac (and back).
We departed Seattlest world headquarters at 12th and John Street at 11:49 and landed at SeaTac at 12:45. Our trip included a ride on the 10 bus to Westlake (4 min.), a light rail ride from Westlake Center to Tukwila (34 min.), and a shuttle bus from the Tukwila station to the airport (9 min.).
How much it costs is an open question. In theory, it's $2.50 one-way from Westlake to Tukwila on light rail. We grabbed a transfer leaving the bus ($1.75) and were told in the station that that was all we needed to show to get to the airport. Light rail tickets range from $1.75 and $2.50, depending on how far you're going, and are good for two hours of travel. No matter how you slice it, it's cheaper than a taxi, Shuttle Express, private driver, or parking at the airport.
By far the easiest way to pay is the ORCA card. There are multiple quick-swipe machines at all the stations--look for yellow metal posts, with a black screen atop them. You walk up, wave your card across the reader, and walk on the trains. We were cautioned by a station attendant to remember to swipe the card on the way off the train, which is when the fare is calculated--the screen will flash your fare and balance too quickly for human eyes to read. If you forget, you simply get billed the full $2.50, even if you only took a $1.75 trip.
The opening of light rail seems to have taken the directional signage people completely by surprise. The electronic signs in the tunnel tell you you're in the tunnel and the current time, not when the next train will arrive. At the Tukwila Station, no signs direct you to the shuttle buses, which also have no signage whatsoever. And though trains leave from either side of the station, you don't know which side is leaving next unless a volunteer tells you.
At the airport, the shuttle bus arrives at the bus stop at the south end (where the 174 and 194 pick up and drop off), but there is no special sign announcing that. And again, the shuttle bus has nothing identifying its route. (Does the airport have any signs or posters announcing the new light rail? A quick walk through the baggage claim area didn't reveal anything.)
People have mentioned the train’s wobble here and there in the southern, higher-speed end of the line, which a Sound Transit employee told us they knew about and were working on. Still, we’ve ridden subways and light rail in California, New Jersey, New York, Chicago, and Boston, and our light rail is steadier than all of those.
