The Ride Free Area for buses in downtown Seattle is scheduled to be eliminated on Sept. 29, 2012. At the same time, riders will begin paying when entering the bus for all trips.
These changes will help us save money and preserve bus service. Sound Transit and Community Transit are also preparing to act on similar changes for their bus operations in King County.
We are partnering with these agencies and the city of Seattle to host an open house to update the community and get feedback:
Thursday, March 29
4-6:30 p.m.
Union Station Great Hall
401 S. Jackson St., Seattle
We are currently working with Sound Transit, Community Transit, and Seattle on an implementation plan for the Ride Free Area changes. This includes options to address transportation needs of low or no-income people who use the Ride Free Area to travel to essential services in the downtown area.
The Sound Transit Board is scheduled to vote in June on charging fares for ST Express bus trips within the downtown area, consistent with current policy for Link light rail.
If you’re not able to make it to the open house, you can get more information and comment on the plan by visiting: www.kingcounty.gov/metro/howtoride. Comments can also be emailed to community.relations@kingcounty.gov; or submitted by phone: 206-296-7643; 206-263-9988 (Spanish); or 206-263-9674 (Vietnamese).
The comment period on the plan ends April 6.
This comment was moved from the Comment Policy page. Comments made on the comment policy page that are not in regard to the comment policy will no longer be approved. Please post comments to a blog post. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at haveasay@kingcounty.gov.
Michael Ford on April 7, 2013 at 1:38 pm said:
I’m with you. I’ve been assulted once and had 5 other trys by different groups at the 2nd and Columbia stop dow town. I’ve had hookers ask if I wanted to be serviced at this stop and watched drug deals go down there as well and the street people know they are safe to drink at the stops and nobody mess’s with them. I’ve seen the Seattle city pd officers drive by while these people do drug deals or drinking in the open and they don’t do anything about it. I find this really sad as it is there job inside the city to protect us yet as long as these people hang out in the bus stop area they are safe. I feel this is totally wrong.
This comment was moved from the Comment Policy page. Comments made on the comment policy page that are not in regard to the comment policy will no longer be approved. Please post comments to a blog post. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at haveasay@kingcounty.gov.
gabby242 on March 20, 2012 at 2:47 am said:
i love public transit, but i have to carry almost illegal ‘police issue’ weapons to protect myself for a ride home. its been years of this danger. if the state is behind METRO, please protect us! WE are not allowed to react without the threat of imprisonment.SET UP LATE NIGHT POLICE PROTECTION IN SENSITIVE AREAS!!! IT IS NECESSARY FOR ANYTHING ELSE TO IMPROVE! I’ve fought for my life down there more than once, its time for change. God Bless Metro Improvement, there are a million good people around, we want good for you, us and the youth. i apologize to whoever has to painstaking read this, but i spend a lot of time investing in the idea that i know we can do better. thank you for your time.
Regarding paying whenever you enter on a bus; I have heard that no transfers will be given. If you have to take two buses to get to work or however many buses you take, then you have to pay a fare each time. That can’t be right because for one thing many people won’t be able to afford it and second, it most definitely would be highway robbery and people won’t accept that.
I take the 5 to Holman Road from 134th and Greenwood where I connect with the 75 to get to work in Ballard. I pay when I get on the 5 of course and get a transfer to the few blocks to Ballard. Is Metro going to require me to pay two fares? That is ridiculous!!!
If this is the case, there will be mass protesting and I will be there along with everyone else.
Hi Charlotte – The scheduled elimination of the Ride Free Area will not affect the use of transfers in the Metro transit system. You will still be able to transfer between Routes 5 and 75.