08.06.20

Cantwell Announces $4.8M Federal Grant to Sound Transit for Bus Rapid Transit

Since 2012, transit ridership in Puget Sound region has grown faster than anywhere else in the nation - increasing 150 percent

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced that Sound Transit will receive $4.8 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to expand bus rapid transit services and help reduce traffic congestion.

The funding will help Sound Transit purchase up to five new high-capacity transit buses to provide new and expanded bus service for Sound Transit’s SR 522 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in north King County. The project will connect Seattle, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville, serving 13 stations along the route. It is expected to serve as many as 86,000 people in 35,000 households in the corridor, helping to increase bus ridership and reduce traffic congestion.

According to data from the National Transit Database, Sound Transit is the nation’s largest commuter bus agency, and the Puget Sound region has seen the nation’s fastest growth in transit ridership in recent years – increasing 150 percent since 2012.

The funding for Sound Transit comes from the FTA’s Bus and Bus Facilities Grant Program, which assists in the financing of buses and bus facilities capital projects. It supports the replacing, rehabilitating, purchasing, or leasing of buses or related equipment and the rehabilitating, purchasing, constructing, or leasing of bus-related facilities. 

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