Julie Timm Weighs In on the Future of the Puget Sound Region.

SoundTransit's CEO talks to me about her experience moving from Richmond, VA to the Puget Sound region, paying drivers a more-than-fair wage, and the challenges of building anything new.

Our tour of the Pacific Northwest continues. Below is a lightly edited for clarity and length interview with Julie Timm, who’s taken on the responsibility of leading Sound Transit, one of Puget Sound’s many, interwoven transit systems. As of July 2023, ST operates three distinct services that connect seamlessly with partner agencies across the region—Seattle at its core:

• The Link Light Rail (if you’ve traveled from SEA/TAC to Seattle proper, this is the service you’ve taken)

• Sounder Commuter Rail (if you’ve taken the train from Seattle to Tacoma, this is likely the service you’ve taken)

• Sound Transit Express (if you’ve taken a double-decker bus around the region (including King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties, this is the service you’ve taken)

Sound Transit looks to the future by creating new service based on reliability and access and enhancing existing service to provide regional equity and dignity to all riders and potential riders. This new service continues to open and ridership con…