Summary

King County Metro urges bus riders late Thursday to plan for snow routes or reduced service as weather conditions develop. Currently, a National Weather Service Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the greater Seattle area, with a forecast of snow for Thursday evening.

Story

King County Metro urges bus riders late Thursday to plan for snow routes or reduced service as weather conditions develop. Currently, a National Weather Service Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the greater Seattle area, with a forecast of snow for Thursday evening.

Metro will continue to monitor weather conditions overnight as they affect Friday morning’s commute and issue transit alerts as more information becomes available.

SNOW ROUTES: Metro may shift buses to snow routes Thursday night in certain areas depending on road and weather conditions. Metro customers are urged to sign up for transit alerts and familiarize themselves with the planned snow route for their regular bus. In the event of snow, riders are urged to dress warmly, bring a bottle of water, and if safe to do so, walk to bus stops on flat or level portions of roadways or at major transfer points to make it easier for buses to reach them.

BUS CHAINS: Crews will be stationed at various locations in Seattle and other areas to chain up buses as needed. In addition, specially-chained shuttle buses designed to connect riders from areas that are less accessible in adverse weather to major transit routes will be on stand-by.

TROLLEY BUSES: Depending on weather conditions, Metro might replace 60-foot articulated trolleys with motorized buses Thursday evening due to the trolleys’ difficulty operating in slippery conditions.

For weather and route information

• King County’s My Commute page is a resource for monitoring the status of roads, and information is available on the county roads’ snow response page.
• Metro Transit riders can review timetables and the transit adverse weather page for snow route information.
• Regional updates will be posted on the King County Emergency blog.

Other Department of Transportation divisions

Road Services crews are on rotation and available to sand and plowmapped snow routes.  Call the 24/7 Roads Helpline to report road traffic safety issues in unincorporated King County, such as downed stop signs, malfunctioning signals or trees over the roadway. The 24/7 Helpline: 206-477-8100 or 1-800-527-6237 (1-800-KC-ROADS). The Snow and Ice page has more information.

Water Taxi captains are monitoring wind conditions at three shoreside facilities as well as on the water, and communicate with Washington State Ferries at the Vashon Island ferry terminal.

Airport personnel will be monitoring airfield conditions during the period of cold temperatures.

Resources for travelers

• Sign up for Metro Transit Alerts (text, email, tweets via @kcmetrobus, see RSS feed via desktop or mobile RSS reader)
• Sign up for King County Road Alerts (text, email, tweets via @kcroads)
• Sign up for King County Water Taxi Alerts (text, email)
• Visit the King County My Commute page
• Visit the Eye on Your Metro Commute (blog during peak weekday commutes)

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