Summary

For the eighth time since 2015, King County Metro will increase bus service countywide to provide faster, more reliable service on some of the most popular routes. It will provide more peak service in Auburn, Renton, and Bellevue, more frequent service into downtown Seattle on popular routes such as the RapidRide E Line and Route 40, and expanded peak-hour service in West Seattle.

Story

King County Metro will offer an additional 150 trips on more than 50 routes each weekday throughout King County starting Sept. 22, providing passengers with more frequent and less-crowded trips. It is the eighth time since 2015 that Metro has added service under budgets proposed by Executive Dow Constantine.

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The additional 88,000 hours of annual bus service includes more service funded by the City of Seattle and Amazon. It will include more peak service in Auburn, Renton, and Bellevue, more frequent service into downtown Seattle on popular routes such as the RapidRide E Line and Route 40, and expanded peak-hour service in West Seattle.

“We are providing faster, more reliable commutes throughout King County by partnering with cities and employers,” said Executive Constantine. “We have now increased transit service eight times since 2015, which has contributed to our region’s unprecedented prosperity. We will continue to expand our integrated, regional transit system to meet the growing customer demand.” 

Over the past four service changes since 2017, King County Metro has add more than 300,000 annual service hours to improve reliability and increase frequency on key corridors. The greater Seattle area continues to lead the nation in ridership growth with more than 122.5 million annual boardings.

The additional service will help buses keep on schedule when the Washington State Department of Transportation permanently closes the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Increasing service during peak commute times 

Amazon will invest $1.5 million to fund additional Metro service over two years on busy routes serving West Seattle, Shoreline, Ballard, and Capitol Hill. The company has paid more than $60 million since 2014 to support public transportation by providing ORCA passes to its employees through Metro’s ORCA Business Passport program.

Since 2015, the City of Seattle has purchased transit service through the voter-approved Seattle Transportation Benefit District. It currently invests $40 million each year to provide more than 270,000 hours of Metro service. The Seattle City Council approved changes to allow for investments in more routes across the city – such as the RapidRide E Line – that connect North Seattle neighborhoods to downtown Seattle.

Passengers can read details about changes on Metro’s website and begin pre-planning trips using Metro’s Trip Planner app by entering a travel date of Sept. 22 or later. Changes also are included in a red Rider Alert brochure and new red-colored timetables that will be distributed on buses and at customer service locations.

Additional Metro Transit service starting Sept. 22

Comprehensive updates are available on Metro’s Service Change website. 

• Relieve crowding: More trips on the 3, 8, 18, 40, 56, 62, 63, 111, 114, C Line, D Line, and E Line
• More frequent peak service: 5, 150, 180, 181, 240, 245, and 345
• Expanded hours of peak service: 17, 56
• More RapidRide E Line service: 14 additional trips each weekday
• New two-way peak service: 373
• Night Owl: Improved service on Route 7
• More frequent evening service: 31, 75, 345 and F Line
• More frequent midday service: 41, 70
• During Alaskan Way Viaduct closure: Additional service hours on the 21X, 37, 55, 56, 57, 113, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, and C Line

Relevant links

• Metro service change
• Drive for Metro

Quotes

We are providing faster, more reliable commutes throughout King County by partnering with cities and employers. We have now increased transit service eight times since 2015, which has contributed to our region’s unprecedented prosperity. We will continue to expand our integrated, regional transit system to meet the growing customer demand.

For more information, contact:

Jeff Switzer, Metro Transit, 206-477-3833