In the early 1990's, the communities of The Puget Sound region recognized that they had fallen behind the rest of the country in the area of mass transit. As a result, its citizens created The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, better known as Sound Transit, in order to create a high-capacity transit system uniting Snohomish, King, and Pierce Counties. On November 5, 1996, voters approved a plan known as Sound Move. This plan is funding a system of express buses, Sounder Commuter Rail, Tacoma Link light rail, as well as improvements to High Occupancy Vehicle lanes.