On Sept. 27, Sound Transit launched a survey to solicit public input on the Sounder South Strategic Plan, created in early 2020, which prioritized longer trains to provide more capacity during peak commute periods. Since then, travel patterns have changed with the increase of hybrid and remote work.
With this survey, the public is being asked whether they prefer new trips, such as on weekends, evenings or midday, rather than longer trains.
The survey results, along with research on travel patterns and ridership estimating, will help inform Sound Transit’s discussions with BNSF Railway, which owns most of the tracks Sounder runs on.
Survey participants will be entered for a chance to win two tickets to the Nov. 12 Seahawks game versus the Commanders, a $100 gift card (five available) or Sound Transit swag bags (10 available).
The survey can be found at soundersouth.participate.online/ and is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Somali, Russian and Ukrainian.
Additionally, information on the survey and Sounder S Line service in general will be available at the following times and places:
- Sept. 28, 6-8 p.m. Sumner High School football game
- Sept. 30, 2-7 p.m. Southcenter Mall
- Oct. 7, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Puyallup Farmers Market
- Oct. 11, 2 – 6:30 p.m. Seattle King Street Station
- Oct. 14, 12 – 5 p.m. Tacoma LatinX Festival at Tacoma Armory
- Oct. 14, 12 – 3 p.m. Lakewood Truck and Tractor Day at Fort Steilacoom Park
- Oct. 19, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Broadway Farmers Market in Tacoma
- Oct. 21, 2 – 5 p.m. Harvest Fest at STAR Center in Tacoma
- Oct. 24, 3 – 6:30 p.m. Sumner Station platform
- Oct. 28, 1 – 5 p.m. Auburn Halloween Harvest Festival at Les Gove Park
- Oct. 28, 2 – 5 p.m. Kent Street of Treats
Sound Transit’s Sounder S Line train service provides a dependable, traffic-free trip between Seattle and Tacoma and Lakewood. Thirteen round-trip trains run every weekday between Tacoma and Seattle, including seven round trips that also serve South Tacoma and Lakewood. Sounder S Line makes interim stops in Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent and Tukwila.
