Traffic & Transit
Taylor Swift Helped Link Light Rail Break Ridership Record
Sound Transit reported record-breaking ridership numbers in May, close to the ninth anniversary of the line.
SEATTLE, WA - Link Light Rail carried a record number of weekday passengers in May, according to Sound Transit. Ridership was up to 81,000 on weekdays, which is 10 percent higher than May 2017.
Several factors contributed to the jump. On May 22, Taylor Swift brought 56,000 people to CenturyLink , and ridership hit 90,000 that day. Ridership also topped 90,000 on May 4 and 18, both days with a Friday night Mariners game.
Additionally, local population growth, housing near train stations, tourism, and people moving outside Seattle (and thus seeking easier ways to beat traffic) contributed to the ridership growth, according to Sound Transit.
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The light rail line, which now spans Angle Lake to the University of Washington, opened nine years ago on July 18 (nine years ago, the line went from Sea-Tac to Westlake).
Find out what's happening in Seattlefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch
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