Harger: The Tokyo subway costs 80 cents a ride. Sound Transit costs up to $47. And they still can’t get to Ballard
Apr 14, 2026, 6:11 AM | Updated: 2:52 pm
One of the things that stood out to me in Tokyo last week was the subway and train system. Clean. Quiet. Efficient. Safe. You tap your phone, pass through the gate, get on, and get where you’re going — every single time.
So when a post popped up in my feed showing the staffing cost per passenger trip for the Tokyo Metro, I assumed it was wrong.
Twenty cents, it said.
I figured that couldn’t be right. Even Tokyo has to pay workers. They’ve got to maintain the trains. They have to keep the lights on.
So I dug into it. And it turns out, 20 cents was just the staffing cost. When you look at the total operating cost of moving a single person on the Tokyo Metro, the number jumps to a staggering … eighty cents.
Eighty cents to move a rider across one of the most efficient transit networks on the planet.
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Sound Transit and King County Metro cost per rider: $11 to $47 per boarding
Naturally, I decided to look up what we’re paying here in Seattle. Buckle up.
If you look at the total operating expenses for King County Metro and Sound Transit and divide by the number of people riding, it’s not 80 cents.
Metro buses? About $11 each time a passenger takes a ride. Link light rail? $11. Sound Transit Express buses? Nearly $18 a boarding. Sounder commuter rail? $47 every time someone gets on the train.
Tokyo moves millions of people flawlessly for 80 cents a ride. We’re paying anywhere from $11 to $47.
When Sound Transit reports on “Farebox Recovery,” they admit that rider fares cover only 12% of the cost of the Light Rail, 10% of the Express Bus, and a dismal 7% of the Sounder train. The rest of those massive per-boarding costs are eaten entirely by the taxpayer.
Now, let’s be fair. Tokyo has incredible population density. Not many people drive cars. Seattle’s spread out. That’s a real difference, and it matters.
But that gap, 80 cents versus $11, isn’t just a density problem.
Sound Transit Link light rail, Sounder, and ST Express: what each line actually costs per rider
To put it plainly, the Link light rail costs about $11 per boarding. ST Express buses cost nearly $18. Sounder commuter rail hits $47 every time someone steps on the train. These aren’t obscure numbers buried in footnotes. They’re in Sound Transit’s own financial reports.
I believe the people behind Sound Transit want to build a world-class system for this region. But you look at the reality, and it’s pretty obvious they’re in over their heads.
Sound Transit’s $34.5 billion shortfall: no money for Ballard, West Seattle, or Tacoma
Right now, by their own admission, they don’t have the money to reach Ballard. They don’t have the money to reach the Alaska Junction. They don’t have the money to get to Tacoma. They’re staring down a $34.5 billion shortfall. They’re talking about painful cuts. Shortened lines. Stations that never get built.
KIRO Newsradio’s Chris Sullivan recently spoke with Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine and asked him straight out: Is there a world where Sound Transit doesn’t deliver on what it promised voters?
Constantine didn’t hesitate.
“No,” he said. “There is no world in which we don’t end up with Ballard or West Seattle or Tacoma or Everett. We’re committed to getting those things done.”
I appreciate the confidence. I really do.
But then you look at how they manage the system they already have.
Sound Transit ballot measure: another ask is coming
Here’s where I think this is heading. Back to the ballot. Another measure. Another ask. Another number with a B at the end of it.
$34.5 billion, presented to the same voters who’ve approved every Sound Transit measure ever put in front of them. We promise. We swear. We pinky swear this is the last time we’ll ask you for money.
Until it isn’t.
Tokyo: 80 cents a ride.
Seattle: $11 to $47 a ride, and they still can’t figure out how to get to Ballard.
I loved the subway in Tokyo. But you don’t have to go to Japan to figure out we’re getting taken for a ride.
Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here.
