Tacoma-area commuters who ride Link light rail through Federal Way Downtown Station will need to tap through fare gates starting in late 2029 or early 2030 under a new pilot program.
The Sound Transit Board of Directors voted unanimously on Thursday, Aug. 27, to spend $6 million designing fare gates at 14 of the system's 39 stations.
The design funds are part of an $87 million program authorized under Motion No. M2026-30. Gates could be installed between late 2029 and early 2030, according to KUOW, with the pilot running through 2034.
Federal Way Downtown Station is the closest Link endpoint to Tacoma and will remain so until the 1 Line reaches Tacoma Dome in 2035 at the earliest, according to Sound Transit.
The station is among the 14 targeted for gates, along with SeaTac Airport, Westlake, Capitol Hill and others across Seattle, Bellevue and Lynnwood.
The numbers
Sound Transit estimates the gates will generate at least $30 million in additional fare revenue each year. A consulting report cited by the Seattle Times put the figure at roughly $32 million, enough to recoup installation costs within about three years.
The agency puts fare compliance at 63% based on automatic counters compared to fares paid.
That includes youth under 19 who ride free under the state's Youth Ride Free program; adjusting for exempt youth pushes the rate closer to 70%. A separate measure, the fare ambassador program that checks riders on trains, recorded 85% compliance in 2025, with an additional 7.5% of riders checked being exempt youth. Sound Transit's financial model targets 95% compliance at gated stations.
Fares cover about 12% of the cost to operate trains, below the 40% goal the agency set in the 1990s. Fares account for 2.6% of Sound Transit's $3.3 billion overall budget, the Seattle Times reported.
Equity questions
Several board members pressed staff on how fare gates would affect low-income riders, people with disabilities and cyclists.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, a Sound Transit board member, asked whether the agency had a plan to set up on-site enrollment for free and reduced-fare cards before gates go live.
Brian de Place, Sound Transit's executive director of security and fare engagement, confirmed the agency plans to staff on-site ORCA LIFT enrollment with board authorization.
ORCA LIFT drops the light rail fare to a flat $1 per ride for eligible low-income riders.
About 91,000 people are enrolled in a reduced-fare program across the Seattle metro area, which has a population of roughly 4 million.
King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci called the program's success measures "a bit squishy so far" at the Rider Experience and Operations Committee meeting on Aug. 6.
The motion requires staff to present a formal evaluation framework with baseline data and compliance metrics to the board by the end of 2027.
What happens next
Construction funding requires a separate board vote.
The bidirectional gates, expected to stand at least 5 feet high, would require riders to tap an ORCA card or ticket on entry and exit. About 85% of Link ridership starts or ends at one of the 14 targeted stations, according to agency officials cited by The Urbanist.
Whether gates will open at all 14 stations simultaneously or on a rolling basis has not been determined.
The motion also directs staff to include fare gates in future station designs under the ST3 expansion plan. For Tacoma riders, the nearest gated station at Federal Way Downtown connects to ST Express Route 574, which began running to the station every 15 minutes on Sunday, Aug. 30.
