Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses, operated by the multi-county transit agency,

Sound Transit Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It manages the Link light rail system in Se ...

. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, Pierce, and Snohomish) in the

Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the ...

. 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 and 114 buses began carrying passengers on September 19, 1999. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . 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, bus bypass shoulders, 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 Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates Public transport bus service, local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish Count ...

(who subcontracts with

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...

King County Metro King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in t ...

and Pierce Transit.

Fares

ST Express uses a flat fare system, where each ride costs the same regardless of distance. The fares are as follows: Paper transfers are not accepted or issued on Sound Transit routes. Passengers who use

ORCA The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

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.

Routes

23 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

). When Sound Transit implements a new bus route, changes are frequently made to existing routes that serve the area to avoid overlapping. The ST Express routes and operators are:

Fleet

Sound Transit owns a fleet of 360 buses operated by three different local transit agencies. Sound Transit buses are painted white with aqua, turquoise, and blue waves along the sides, representing the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

region ST Express serves, and most feature a freely-adapted representation of the Sound Transit bus and train system map on the seating fabric. Occasionally, vehicles that are not in Sound Transit livery are used on Sound Transit routes by the operating agencies. Also, Sound Transit vehicles may also be used by the local agencies for other commuter routes. This is due to vehicles having mechanical problems, vehicle allocation issues, and assignment errors.

Retired fleet

References

External links

ST Express Rider Guide
{{Puget Sound Transit 1999 establishments in Washington (state) Bus transportation in Washington (state) Intermodal transportation authorities in Washington (state) Transportation in King County, Washington Transportation in Pierce County, Washington Transportation in Snohomish County, Washington