Link Connections

Link is coming to Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium in early 2016. Metro and Sound Transit are working with the public to plan how bus service will connect with new light rail.

More frequent and reliable bus and light-rail service is in store for tens of thousands of transit riders in Seattle and surrounding areas under plans approved Oct. 19 by the Metropolitan King County Council.

Changes are planned to three dozen bus routes, five new routes will be added and five routes deleted in 2016 when swift, reliable light-rail service is extended from downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington.

Overall, an estimated 80,000 daily bus riders will see more buses per hour on designated corridors in Northeast Seattle and Capitol Hill, with better local service connecting neighborhoods with the new light rail stations. The estimated number of Northeast Seattle homes with access to 15-minute mid-day bus service will triple from 8,700 to 28,000. On Capitol Hill, the estimated number of homes with access to 12-minute mid-day service will more than double from 15,600 to 40,000.

It’s a major milestone decision that concludes about a year of effort by Metro, Sound Transit and Seattle to listen carefully to what riders wanted in a revised transit network, including months of work to fine tune and adjust plans. Thanks to the 16,000 riders who gave input since last November, especially Sounding Board volunteers who dove into the details to sharpen Metro’s proposals on behalf of their fellow riders.

More work is ahead. Changes as originally recommended by Metro are posted online, but updated information and maps will be added in coming weeks to reflect the final restructure as approved by the County Council. Work also is planned by Metro, Sound Transit, Seattle and University of Washington to prepare riders to use the revised bus and train network. Some updated network maps are already online, and individual route sheets will follow.

Highlights

  • Changes for 36 bus routes primarily serving North and Central Seattle.
  • Five new bus routes will be added.
  • Five bus routes will be deleted.
  • We wrote in a previous blog post about recent amendments to the recommended plan, including keeping some service on routes 43 and 71 that was previously slated for deletion.
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