As Metro Transit gears up to revise and improve bus service in March, you’ll see transit and research staff aboard buses, asking riders about their experiences and travel patterns in the Northeast Seattle and Capitol Hill areas.

The on-board survey – planned 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays from Feb. 19 through March 18 – will help establish a baseline of customer satisfaction and ridership patterns on Metro routes in areas around the upcoming Link light rail expansion. A follow-up study is planned later this year to learn how the changes have affected passengers and to learn their opinion of the changes.

Survey workers wearing Metro vests will be riding a sample of bus trips during the weekday, handing out and collecting surveys from customers. Surveys will be available in six languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Amharic, Somali and Vietnamese. Routes where riders can expect to see staff include routes 8, 10, 15, 26, 28, 30, 43, 48, 49, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 242, 316, 372 and 373.

Metro worked with riders last year to understand what bus service you wanted in Northeast Seattle and Capitol Hill. Planned revisions will better connect riders to new Link light rail stations and establish a frequent, reliable network of bus service that riders have asked for. An estimated 80,000 daily riders will see more frequent service on designated corridors in Northeast Seattle and Capitol Hill – this doubles the frequency of buses along some key corridors that have never seen more than half-hourly service.

Thanks in advance riding transit and helping us improve your service!