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The Future of Airport Transportation 
Port Commission Roundtable 
November 22, 2016 
Councilmember Claudia Balducci, King County, Sound Transit Board 
Peter Rogoff, Sound Transit CEO 
Rob Gannon, King County Metro General Manager 
Craig Stone, WSDOT Gateway Program Administrator 
Bryan Mistele, Inrix President and CEO 
Vlad Gutman, Washington Director, Climate Solutions 
Steve Banfield, President and CEO Reach now

Master Plan - Unconstrained Activity Forecast 




Region's economy driving rapid growth in recent years 
Master Plan will assess if, and plan how, 
Sea-Tac can meet demand 
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Sustainability Goal: Sea-Tac Airport 
Airport Customer Mode Choice 
Approximately 70% of passengers reported using private vehicles and
rental cars for Airport access 

Sustainability Goal 
Increase the percentage of passengers accessing the airport via
environmentally-preferred modes of transportation from 60% in 2014 to
70% in 2020 

3

Sustainability Goals & Mode Shift Strategies 
Why target
passenger vehicles? 
Major contributor to green
house gas emissions 
Nearly equivalent to
aircraft-related emissions 
Congestion on the
airport drive 
Risk to airport operations 
Negative passenger
experience 

4

Sustainability Goal & Mode Shift Strategies 
Environmental impact by travel mode 
Grams CO / mile 
2
Private vehicle - curbside                                           21.10 
Limousine                                    20.82 
TNC (eKPI compliant)                     10.82 
Taxi                     10.24 
Private vehicle - parking                      10.20 
Rental car                   8.79 
Public transit bus           4.61 
Shuttle Express      2.06 
ST Light Rail  0.02 
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Mode Split Characteristics at Airports 
Best Practice report in airport ground
transportation*. On average:              Passenger travel mode to Sea-Tac
71% of pax use is private transportation 
a
2014  2015  2016
Mode split by region                    Private vehicle - curbside/hourly parking    39%   39%   40%
N America:                           Private vehicle - daily parking           16%   17%   16%
49% car                       Rental vehicle                  15%   15%   16%
b
15% rental cars                    TNC                                2%    5%
14% taxi/limo                     Link light rail                     5%   6%   5%
12% bus/shuttle                   Shuttle Express                  5%   5%   5%
Taxi                            8%    6%    4%
Europe:                             Limousine                         4%    1%    1%
37% car                        Public transit bus                  1%    1%    1%
20% taxi/limo                     Other                         8%    7%    8%
17% bus/shuttle 
a 2016 data through Q3
16% subway/rail 
b w as not a response option in 2014
5% rental car 
Source: Ongoing Enplaning Passenger Survey
Prepared by Business Intelligence
Asia: about same as Europe 
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* ACI ASQ 2012

Air Passengers: Potential Transportation Issues 
Time sensitive trips with high stakes if you are late 
Peak arrival and departure times often don't line up well with transit service 
Parking availability at transit locations may be scarce or include time limits 
Vacation travelers 
Infrequent travelers may perceived unfamiliar travel mode as risky 
Arriving passengers may be unfamiliar with the region and our transit options 
Larger party size and luggage makes transit less attractive 
Business travelers 
May travel to/from the airport frequently, but cost of taxi, limo or rental car often built
into travel expense and is typically a small share of total cost 
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Current Bus Service to Airport 
King County Metro Transit (International Blvd) 
Rapid Ride A line (Federal Way) 
Route 156 (Southcenter/Des Moines) 
Route 180 (Burien/Auburn) 
Sound Transit Regional Express Buses (Main Terminal Stop) 
Route 560 (West Seattle  Sea-Tac  Bellevue) 
Route 574 (Lakewood  Sea-Tac) 
Frequency of Service 
Route    Peak     Off-Peak   Evening        Sat/Sun 
A Line    10 min    15 min     15 - 30 min       15/15 min 
156      30 min    30 min    30  60 min      60/60 min 
180      30 min    30 min    30  60 min      30/30 min 
560      30 min    30 min    60 min         60/60 min 
574*     30 min    30 min    30  60 min      30/30 min 
*Route 574 also operate early AM trips arriving at SeaTac starting around
3AM (intended for Airport employees). 
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Sound Transit Link Light Rail 




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Barriers to Light Rail Use for Air Travelers 
A sample of King County residents who were
Barrier to using transit      Barrier score 
waiting to board aircraft at Sea-Tac read a bus-
and-light-rail scenario for reaching the airport. 
The travelers then completed a tablet-based
self-administered survey regarding factors that                             Interpreting Barrier
scores: 
could affect the difficulty of using public transit. 
"Barrier scores"
indicate the influence
of each factor. 
Additional time necessary to use public transit
For example, the
was largest barrier to taking transit, followed by                              travel time factor with
a barrier score of 24
need to transfer, and frequency of service.                                 was six times more
likely to be selected as
the largest barrier than
the covered walkway
The smallest barriers were weather, walk from                            from the Airport station
to terminal. 
Airport light rail station to terminal, and transit
cost. 
Source: Light Rail barrier survey (November 2016)                           Prepared by Business Intelligence
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Employees: Commute Trip Reduction 
Over 40% of the 18,000 badged employees reside in
just 14 zip codes south and southeast of airport. 
Remaining 60% of employees are spread thinly
across entire Puget Sound region. 
Recent Port of Seattle employee commute trip reduction
trends 
Drive-alone rate is around 70% with transit around 10-15% 
Shift from carpools/vanpools to drive alone 
Potential for employee commute trip reduction? 
Trip length on transit (stops enroute, frequency) 
Access to transit routes 
Time of day / shift starts and ends 
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Mid-Term Landside Strategy 
Problem: 
Accommodate near- to mid-term demand on existing terminal roadways and curb 
Address bottleneck areas to reduce congestion and improve Level of Service (LOS) 
Goal: 
Leverage operational strategies before phasing in capital projects 
Seek lower cost capital projects that minimize throwaway work, maximize
flexibility for either one or two terminal solutions 
BOTTLENECK AREAS 
Exit ramps             Curbside           Drives approach 

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Master Plan  Improvements to Transportation 
Proposed second terminal 
Supports independent north terminal ingress and egress 
Reduces passenger traffic and congestion at main terminal 
Served by APM or bus guideway and stations, removing rental car buses from roadway 
Provides additional regional and local access to airport 

3-D model in
AutoCAD set
geometry of
facilities in North
Terminal area 

13

Cooperation Underway 
How are the Port and regional transit partners already working together? 
Transportation Review Committee 
Regional Mobility Forum staff work group conceptualized 
Routing buses off of drives due to congestion 
Sound Transit's signage study underway 
Built Link to Airport (2009) and extension to south (2016), pedestrian skybridge 
to transit kiss 'n' ride, and city businesses 
ORCA cards subsidies for employees from POS and TSA 
Some route adjustments to compensate for employee shifts 
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Opportunities 
Near-term                Long-term 

Expand Link to new markets north           Accelerate ST3 Link extensions (north,
and south                    east, south) 
Extend route for night-owl service     Expand light rail East-West: ST3 will study
future light rail extension from West
Incorporate technology innovations    Seattle to Burien, and Renton 
Enhance airport connection to Link    Explore remote park & fly 
Light Rail Station 
Incorporate technology innovations 
Identify employee incentives 

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