Sound Transit launches onboard passenger survey focused on travel behavior and demographics

Graphic courtesy Sound Transit

Over the next several months, Sound Transit will conduct a survey onboard select bus, Sounder, and light rail routes in the Puget Sound region. This will include select Community Transit and King County Metro routes. 

From April through fall 2024, survey participants will help transit planners understand who rides transit, their origins and destinations, and trip purpose — all to inform transit planning and transit demand modeling.

Surveyors will wear blue vests and a badge with a transit agency logo. They’ll use tablet computers to select participants at random and administer the survey. Paper surveys will be available if necessary. 

All personal information will be removed from all records kept by Sound Transit, and the results will be aggregated to ensure participant privacy and anonymity. Later, Sound Transit will share survey results with the public.

To increase participation in the survey, riders who can’t complete it when approached will be offered options for a follow-up interview. While the survey contains some questions about personal characteristics, surveyors don’t ask about personally identifiable information such as Social Security or bank account numbers.

 More information about the survey here

Sound Transit is required to collect specific demographic data about passengers including race, household income, and language proficiency to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This information is submitted to the Federal Transit Administration approximately every five years.

Sound Transit builds and operates regional transit services throughout the urban areas of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. Transit services include light rail, commuter trains, express buses, and their associated stations and facilities.