By Oliver Moffat
Bus riders, get ready for major bus revisions. Metro Transit, Community Transit and Sound Transit will make big changes to bus service in the Shoreline and North King County region starting September 14th to better serve the new Light Rail stations.
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| Metro Flex will serve the area north of Ballinger Way |
King County Metro Transit
plans to add five new bus routes, delete eleven routes, change 15 routes, and add Metro Flex service to Lake Forest Park and Kenmore. In Snohomish County,
Community Transit will delete a whopping 22 routes and change 30 routes, while adding ten new routes. And
Sound Transit will modify six routes and add one.
The new routes will provide more east/west connections to get riders to light rail lines while deleting dozens of north/south lines made redundant by the new light rail stations.
The deletion of bus routes will free up capacity so bus riders will get more weekday trips (+9%), weekend trips (+32%) and more evening trips after 10pm (+43%) and riders will have shorter wait times because of improved frequency up to every 15 minutes on many routes.
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| New Metro bus routes |
With the new
1 Line opening, Metro will be deleting the outdated
73,
301,
304 302,
320,
330, and
347 routes. But Shoreline and Northshore transit riders will get changed, new and improved service on the
331,
333,
345,
346,
348,
365,
E Line and
522 routes. And Kenmore and Lake Forest Park riders will get on-demand, ride-hailing
Metro Flex service.
Goodbye 347 and 330: Route
347 from Northgate to Richmond Beach and the cross-town
330 from Shoreline Community College to Lake City will both be deleted.
Hello 5th Ave 365: Now, the new
route 365 will run north/south along 5th Ave NE connecting both light rail station in North City and Ridgecrest and running south to serve North Seattle College and Northgate.
Hello crosstown 333: The new
route 333 will (finally) provide east/west service along NE 175th St - connecting the Mountlake Terrace Station to the Shoreline South Station with stops in Ballinger, North City, Shorewood High School and Shoreline Community College.
Revised 345, 346, 348 and E: Route
345 will now connect to the Shoreline South Station and run along N 155th St but will no longer connect to Shoreline College. Route
346 will connect the Aurora Village transit center to the Shoreline South station via Meridian Ave. The
348 will run along 180th instead of 175th in North City with a connection at the Shoreline North station. And Metro promises increased frequency on the express
E Line all day and night.
Goodbye downtown expresses 301, 302 and 304 and hello 515: downtown Seattle routes
301,
304 and
302 will also be deleted because riders will be able to use the
Link 1 Line instead. With the deletion of the
302, Richmond Beach commuters will need to take the
348 and transfer to the
303 or the
Link 1 Line.
However, for some reason, Sound Transit will add the new
515 downtown express to get Lynnwood bus riders to Seattle who don’t like the train (essentially duplicating service provided by the new light rail extension).
Route 65 and 72 connects UW to 145th:
Route 65 to the UW will now continue to the Shoreline South Station, running along 145th St. but the
73 from Jackson Park to the UW will be deleted. Metro says the new
Route 72 will partially replace the
372 and will run from the Shoreline South Station to the UW via Lake City.
UW Bothell 372 deleted: Metro will delete the
372, forcing UW faculty and students commuting between the Bothell and Seattle campuses to make a transfer. In its place, Metro is adding the new
Route 324 from Bothell that terminates in Lake City where riders can make a transfer to the new
Route 72. Metro decided to not extend the new 331 to Bothell but Community Transit’s new
Route 120 will connect Lynnwood station to the UW Bothell campus where riders can transfer to get to the UW Seattle campus. Taking the
522 Express, may provide a faster option but will still include a transfer.
Bothell Express Bus: Northshore riders can take Sound Transit’s
Route 522 Express, which (currently) connects Woodinville to the Roosevelt light rail station along Bothell Way and Lake City Way with stops in Bothell, Kenmore and Lake Forest Park. When the
East Link 2 Line from Lynnwood to Redmond opens in spring of 2025, the
522 will start running along 145th street to connect to the Shoreline south light rail station - providing another needed east/west connection across North King County. Further down the road, the
Stride S3 Line will replace the 522 with all-electric, bus rapid transit (BRT) to Shoreline on Bothell Way and 145th starting in 2027.
322 and 331 connect Kenmore: Route
320 from Kenmore to South Lake Union will be deleted but Kenmore riders can take the new 331 and improved 322 and 522. The new east/west
Route 331 from Kenmore will connect Lake Forest Park, Ballinger, Mountlake Terrace, and Aurora Village to Shoreline Community College. The
322 will now connect Kenmore riders to the Northgate Station instead of Roosevelt Station.
On Demand Pickups for Lake Forest Park and Kenmore: Lake Forest Park will mostly be left behind and remain a car-dependent, transit desert with bus routes only on the state highways that cut through town. But Metro will be expanding its
Metro Flex service area to north Lake Forest Park and Kenmore allowing transit users to hail a ride with an app. The on-demand transit service will serve only north Lake Forest Park leaving residents south of Ballinger Way stuck in traffic.
Take the Ferry with the 909 and 117: The new
express Route 909 and modified
Route 130 will connect the Mountlake Terrace station to Edmonds station, opening up easy, car-free access to Edmonds’ downtown, waterfront, Kingston Ferry terminal and Amtrak station. The new
Route 117 will connect light rail riders from Lynnwood to the Mukilteo Ferry.
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