If you ride the bus between West Seattle and downtown Seattle, you’ve probably seen full buses and delays during commute times in recent weeks as we launched the RapidRide C Line and made other changes to transit service.

We added buses to the C Line after demand increased to the point where full buses had to pass by riders waiting at stops. But more buses are also needed to serve demand on other routes between West Seattle and downtown Seattle. Tallies earlier this month showed double-digit percentage increases in the number of riders, which signaled an increase in annual ridership and gave Metro planners enough information to add buses in this corridor.

Starting Monday, Oct. 29, we’ll add eight trips to routes 55 and 120 during weekday peak commutes – that’s two more buses on each route during both the morning and evening commutes.

Metro can put these additional buses on the street by drawing on a limited contingency reserve of bus service hours set aside to address any needs that might arise as a result of the complex Sept. 29 transit service change—the largest Metro has ever made.

Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond says the agency’s budget is still tight, so Metro is making the bus system more productive by putting service where it’s needed most. Metro will continue to keep an eye on transit demand in West Seattle and south of Seattle.

It’s always helpful for us to hear from our riders, so please let us know if there are still delays and full buses serving West Seattle.