Summary

King County Metro launches another round of service improvements March 11, adding trips and improving reliability on more than 80 routes. The changes affect about one-third of Metro’s bus routes at a time when the Seattle metro area leads the nation in record high ridership growth and King County has budgeted service expansion in 2017 and 2018. Details of route improvements are online and new teal timetables will be available on buses soon.

Story

Metro Transit is adding more trips and improving service reliability beginning March 11 on more than 80 bus routes across King County. More trips are planned on 35 bus routes to decrease crowding and help meet growing demand, and schedules will be changed on 62 bus routes to improve reliability. About a dozen routes receive funding to address both crowding and reliability challenges.

The changes deliver the first round of improvements approved in the 2017-2018 budget. Metro Transit’s two-year budget invests $30 million in better service and better schedules, including investments in some transit schedules which provide transit operators with improved restroom access.

Details are now posted on Metro’s website and people can begin preplanning their trips using Metro’s Trip Planner app by entering a travel date of March 11 or later.  Changes are also included in a Rider Alert brochure and new teal-colored timetables that will be distributed on buses and at customer service locations in coming days.

Service improvement highlights

• Additional investments to complement Sound Transit’s Link light rail service to UW, including more frequent evening service on Routes 65 and 67 and more frequent Sunday service on Routes 8 and 372.
• Additional peak period trips on routes to and from South Lake Union, including routes 5, 8, 26, 28, 40, 62, 63 and 70.
• Additional peak period trips on Burien express Route 121.
• Additional peak period trips on I-90 express routes 212, 216 and 218.

Metro Transit route change details

(Comprehensive descriptions are on Metro’s Service Change website. Some routes are listed twice below as they have both added trips and schedule changes.)

• Routes with both added trips and schedule changes (11 routes): 5, 15E, 17E, 18E, 21E, 41, 101, 121, 158, 271, RapidRide E line.
• Routes with added trips (35 routes) to address crowding: 5, 8, 15E, 17E, 18E, 21E, 26E, 28E, 31, 32, 40, 41, 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 70, 74, 75, 101, 121, 158, 212, 216, 218, 255, 257, 271, 311, 346, 355, 372 and the RapidRide C and E lines
• Routes with schedule changes (62 routes) to address reliability: 5, 9E, 15E, 17E, 18E, 21E, 22, 29, 37, 41, 55, 57, 60, 64, 83, 84, 99, 101, 102, 111, 113, 114, 119E, 121, 122, 123, 128, 143, 148, 150, 153, 157, 158, 159, 164, 168, 177, 180, 182, 187, 192, 193E, 197, 217, 219, 221, 232, 244, 246, 252, 269, 271, 303E, 304, 308, 309E, 312E, 330, 331, 345, 355E and the RapidRide E Line
• Route 907/ Black Diamond – Enumclaw Community Ride: Route 907, a Dial-A-Ride Transit service, will no longer operate between Black Diamond and Enumclaw so that service can be improved to hourly on a busier stretch between Black Diamond and Renton. The southern segment of Route 907 will be replaced by the Black Diamond – Enumclaw Community Ride, a reservation-based alternative service between the two communities. The Community Ride will also serve areas of Enumclaw and Black Diamond that have been served by the 907. Reservations by calling 1-866-261-3278 (voice) or 1-800-246-1646 (TTY) or make reservations online.
• Extending Routes 3 and 4 to Seattle Pacific University: Routes 3 and 4 will be extended to better serve customers heading to and from Seattle Pacific University, and connect with routes 31 and 32 to Fremont and the U District, and improve restroom access for Metro transit operators.