Editing Sound Transit (section)

{{short description|Regional transit for the Seattle area}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox government agency<!--Do not switch to public transit infobox, as each component of the transit system has its own article and the main article should be about the agency itself-->
| agency_name     = Sound Transit
| logo            = Sound Transit logo.svg
| picture         = Seattle Union Station in 2016.jpg
| picture_caption = [[Union Station (Seattle)|Union Station]], Sound Transit's headquarters since 1999
| formed          = {{start date|1993|09|17}}
| agency_type     = [[Transit authority|Regional transit authority]]
| jurisdiction    = [[Seattle metropolitan area]]
| headquarters    = [[Union Station (Seattle)|Union Station]]<br />401 S. Jackson Street<br />[[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], U.S.
| coordinates     = {{coord|47|35|56|N|122|19|43|W|region:US-WA|display=inline,title}}
| motto           = "Ride the Wave"
| employees       = 1,585<ref name="Budget2024"/>
| budget          = $3.1 billion (2024)<ref name="Budget2024"/>
| chief1_name     = [[Dow Constantine]]
| chief1_position = CEO
| keydocument1    = [[Revised Code of Washington]] [http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=81.112 Chapter 81.112]
| website         = {{URL|https://www.soundtransit.org/|soundtransit.org}}
| map             = {{maplink |frame=yes |plain=yes |type=shape |frame-align=center |raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Sound Transit district}} |frame-width=250 |frame-height=350 |frame-lat=47.503 |frame-long=-122.3293 |zoom=8}}
| map_size        = 
| map_caption     = Sound Transit district boundaries
| map_alt         = 
| footnotes       = 
| embed           = 
}}

'''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 [[Seattle]] and [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]], regional [[Sounder commuter rail]], and [[Sound Transit Express]] bus service. The agency also coordinates with the regional [[ORCA card|ORCA]] fare card system used by transit operators across the metropolitan area. In 2024, Sound Transit services carried a total of 41.7{{nbsp}}million passengers and averaged over 134,000 riders on weekdays.

Sound Transit was created in 1993 by [[King County, Washington|King]], [[Pierce County, Washington|Pierce]] and [[Snohomish County, Washington|Snohomish]] counties to build a regional [[rapid transit]] system. After an unsuccessful proposal in 1995, the agency's "[[Sound Move]]" plan for regional light rail, commuter rail, and express bus service was approved by voters in November 1996. ST began operating its [[express bus service]] in September 1999, taking over existing routes from local transit agencies. The region's first [[commuter rail]] line, between Tacoma and Seattle, started in December 2000; the agency's first light rail line, [[Tacoma Link]] (now the [[T Line (Sound Transit)|T{{nbsp}}Line]]), began service in August 2003. Light rail service in Seattle on [[Central Link]] (now the [[1 Line (Sound Transit)|1{{nbsp}}Line]]) began in 2009, and is the largest part of the Sound Transit system in terms of ridership. [[Union Station (Seattle)|Union Station]] in Seattle has served as the agency's headquarters since its renovation in 1999.

Sound Transit is independent of local transit agencies and is governed by an eighteen-member [[board of directors]], which consists of elected officials from member jurisdictions and the [[Washington State Department of Transportation|Secretary of Transportation]]. It is funded by local [[sales tax]]es, [[property tax]]es, and [[motor vehicle excise tax]]es levied within its taxing district in portions of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. The agency has passed three major [[referendum|ballot measure]]s to fund system expansion: Sound Move (1996), [[Sound Transit 2]] (2008) and [[Sound Transit 3]] (2016). Planning and construction of transit projects is scheduled to continue until 2041 under the Sound Transit 3 plan, which would expand the light rail network to {{convert|116|mi|km}} and 83 stations.