With the Seattle FIFA Wprld Cup matches now a little more than three months away, readiness was part of the focus of this morning’s meeting of what’s become known as the City Council’s STEPS Committee, chaired by District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka. You can see the full video above; we tuned in for the meeting’s final scheduled briefing, about transit access. While no specifics were offered, a Metro rep confirmed that West Seattle Water Taxi service would be beefed up, not just on match days but throughout the entire World Cup period in June and July.
They’re also planning to add service on many Metro bus routes, though no specifics were cited there either. Other transit services gave toplines on their plans too, as you can see in the video and briefing slide deck if interested.
Speaking of big sporting events and transit, Metro was asked about bus ridership on Super Bowl parade day last month. No, it didn’t set a record, was the response.
(WSB photo, Seacrest, Super Bowl parade day last month)
Coincidentally, though this wasn’t part of today’s meeting, we have finally received the numbers for Water Taxi ridership on parade day, in a request we’ve had out since shortly after the parade. It didn’t set a record either, says Metro’s Jeff Switzer, providing these stats: “5,435 boardings on West Seattle water taxi (second highest ever, compared to 7,721 for the Sub Pop Festival, Aug. 11, 2018. There were 4,592 riders on Super Bowl parade day on Feb. 4, 2014.)”