EVERETT, Wash. – Linda Crueger did a double take when the bus picked her up in Seattle Thursday. She’d never been on a double-decker before and she wasn’t sure this was the one that was going to take her to Everett.
“I looked at it twice and said … okay,” she said. “It does say Everett … 512.”
Crueger's bus is one of five new double-deckers that will be in service by the end of this week. Eventually, Sound Transit plans to add as many as 32 more.
“We were hearing from a lot of customers who ended up standing the whole ride down from Everett and going back in the afternoon,” said Bruce Gray, spokesman for Sound Transit. “It’s safe to say we’ll have 32 more buses. Our whole fleet out of Snohomish County is eventually going to be double-deckers."
The double-decker diesel bus costs $825,000, according to Sound Transit. That’s roughly $110,000 more than the type of 60-foot diesel buses they’re replacing. But the two story buses sit 82 instead of 56 people.
“It’s a cost savings overall because you’re carrying more people with the same number of drivers,” Gray said.
It’s happening at a time when the commute north of Seattle has gotten worse. New numbers show that Sound Transit riders again set all-time records last year. Boardings on commuter trains, buses and light rail in central Puget Sound totaled nearly 35 million -- a 6 percent increase over 2014.
Linking the light rail "spine" between Tacoma, Seattle, and Everett is also listed as a top priority in the Sound Transit 3 measure, which voters will decide on in November.
“We’ve got light rail funded to Lynnwood. It’s in final design,” Gray said. “It’s got a high rating from the FTA for federal grants. We’re looking at up to a billion dollars in federal grants for that light rail line. But while that work’s happening, this is a great way to carry more people with the same number of drivers.”
Crueger, who commutes about two and a half hours from Kent to see her mother in Everett, appreciated the extra space Thursday compared to what she’s used to.
“You're kind of sitting on top of each other almost or you have somebody's back end in your face," she said, smiling. "That's not the view you'd like to see."
