The Tukwila Sound Transit station still has that new escalator smell.
During the first week of light rail service an average of 12,000 people road the train every weekday.
"We're encouraged by the large numbers of people who boarded light rail on opening weekend and have started using it every day," Sound Transit Board Chair and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said in a press release. "This is a new way to think about getting around our region and we know ridership will continue to increase as more people try the system and we expand the line to more communities."
The number of people riding the light rail is expected to nearly double by the end of 2009.
Sound Transit Rail Operator Darius Hakki said he expects the light rail train will be used more once the Sea-Tac Airport/SeaTac City Center station opens. Sound Transit is predicting a weekday average 26,000 riders in 2010 once the new station opens in December.
In a short time more parking spots will be needed at the Tukwila Station, according to Hakki.
“I believe this is the future of the region and I am happy to be a part of it,” said Hakki.
On average 1,300 people each day are using the shuttle from the airport to the Tukwila station.
During peak hours, 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the trains are running every 7.5 minutes, and every ten minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All other hours, the train runs every 15 minutes. The train operates from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays.
Events in Seattle have consistently drawn strong crowds of people riding the train into downtown Seattle. Hakki said during the Sounders FC game against Barcelona the line to get a ticket went down to the parking lot. By 4 p.m. he said the parking lot was completely full.
Two additional ticket machines have been installed at the Tukwila station since it opened July 18. Hakki said there were a few bugs to be worked out at first but he has noticed no problems with the ticket machines.
There has been some confusion, however, over which platform to be on to travel into Seattle.
The trains are currently running north and south on both tracks, which will change after the SeaTac station opens in December. Until then there are arrows that light up to let you know what platform the train will be departing from.