estimated at 101,000 riders, due in part to home games for the Washington Huskies football team and Seattle Mariners. Ridership fell to 9.7 million total passengers in 2020, a decline of 61 percent from 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other service reductions. Fares The 1Line uses a proof-of-payment system, requiring valid payment before boarding and lacking a turnstile barrier at stations. Fares can be purchased as paper tickets at ticket vending machines at stations, credit or passes loaded on an ORCA card, or through a mobile ticketing app. Fare ambassadors check for valid fares while aboard trains or in the fare-paid zone of stations; passengers who do not present a valid ticket or validated ORCA card are offered educational materials and warnings. Until 2021, fare inspectors and transit police officers checked fares and issued warnings or a $124 citation to passengers who did not present a valid form of payment. Following the dismissal of fare inspectors, an estimated 42 percent of passengers in January 2022 did not pay their fare. A new program led by fare ambassadors was approved in September 2022, enacting a multi-step system with monetary penalties beginning with the third violation and a $124 infraction for a fifth violation. Fares are calculated based on distance traveled, ranging from $2.25 to $3.50 for adults. ORCA card users are required to tap a reader before and after riding a train to calculate the fare. Reduced fares are available to elderly passengers, persons with disabilities, and low-income passengers enrolled in ORCA Lift. Transfers from other modes, including buses, water taxis, and streetcars, are only accepted using ORCA cards. Since September 2022, fares for passengers under the age of 18 have been free as part of a statewide transit grant. Rolling stock and equipment The original "Series 1" fleet used on the 1Line consisted of 62 low-floor light rail vehicles manufactured in Japan by Kinkisharyo. The Kinkisharyo vehicles, built through a joint venture with Mitsui & Co., have 74 seats and can carry 194 seated and standing passengers at standard capacity; a maximum "crush load" of 252 passengers per car can be carried by Link trains for short distances. Individual railcars are long and wide, sporting dual cabs that allow cars to travel in either direction. The interior is 70 percent low-floor, while the remaining 30 percent is raised above the floor and accessed via stairs. Railcars include four