Summary

The King County Council approved an agreement to allow for operations of Pierce Transit Route 497 to continue after the existing funding partnership agreement expires on September 30, 2020.

Story

“I am pleased that after working closely with the city of Auburn and Pierce Transit, we were able to reach an agreement before funding expired,” said King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer. “This route has been a valuable resource for those commuting from the Lakeland Hills area and we now have the certainty that this route will continue to be there for our commuters in the years to come.”  

Today, the King County Council unanimously voted in favor of approving an agreement to allow for operations of Pierce Transit Route 497 to continue after the existing funding partnership agreement expires on September 30, 2020. 

Sponsored by von Reichbauer, who represents the Auburn area, the agreement allows for the continuation of Route 497, which connects the Lakeland Hills neighborhood of Auburn to the Auburn Station, and has been operated through a partnership between King County Metro, Pierce Transit, and the city of Auburn since 2008.

According to Metro, ridership on Route 497 has grown 16% per year since initial implementation, and the route attracts more rides per platform hour than many other Metro peak-only routes outside downtown Seattle.