Sound Transit Express

Sound Transit Express

Sound Transit New Flyer hybrid bus 9601 in Seattle, operated by King County Metro
Slogan	Ride the wave.
Parent	Sound Transit
Founded	1996
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington
Locale	Puget Sound region
Service area	King, Pierce, and Snohomish
Service type	Public Transit
Routes	28
Hubs	8
Fleet	280 buses
Daily ridership	66,360 (May 2016, weekdays)
Annual ridership	18,468,373 (2016)
Fuel type	CNG, Diesel, and Diesel-electric hybrid
Operator	Community Transit, King County Metro, and Pierce Transit
Website	ST Express

Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses, operated by the multi-county transit agency, Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) in the Puget Sound region. Sound Transit Express ranks first in the nation in the number of commuter bus passengers carried and in vehicle miles driven. The first nine routes began operating in September 1999.

Unlike a typical transit bus, Sound Transit Express routes typically make limited stops as they travel longer distances on the freeways. Most routes operate seven days a week, with runs throughout the day. Where available, buses use transit-only lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, high-occupancy toll lanes, express lanes and direct access ramps to speed travel times.

While Sound Transit oversees, plans, and funds the service, operation and maintenance of the buses is contracted out to Community Transit (who subcontracts with First Transit), King County Metro and Pierce Transit.

ST Express uses a fare zone system, which comprises 3 regions:

The fares are as follows:

Paper transfers are not accepted or issued on Sound Transit routes. Passengers who use ORCA may transfer between ST routes or routes operated by most other agencies within two hours of initial payment. If the fare for the second route is higher, the difference will be charged.

27 Sound Transit Express bus routes are overseen by the agency. Buses are operated under contract by King County Metro, Pierce Transit and Community Transit (who subcontracts with First Transit). When Sound Transit implements a new bus route, changes are frequently made to existing routes that serve the area to avoid overlapping.