King County Metro’s 3,000 drivers make it look easy. They’re master curb huggers and their turning radius down sometimes busy and narrow streets in Seattle and across King County is on point! To get a better sense of the widths and turning radius of buses, the team at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) got together with Metro’s safety and training sections to go for a spin.
A new perspective from the driver’s seat.
Bus driving takes some serious skills. Staff from the city has a new perspective on driving a bus compared to a car! This gave their team a better sense of the experience from the driver’s seat, what it takes to navigate a bus, and how much room it takes to do it well and safely. With this first-hand knowledge, their team now feels like they can better plan future bus lanes across the city, from helping create new bus stops, bus-only lanes, to planning street improvements for route changes to serve customers better.
Seattle has 27.5 miles of dedicated bus lanes and transit priority signals at 60 intersections. As we expand this network, it helps move people better as the city and region grow.
To all the Metro drivers: Thank you! Next time you see your driver, be sure to give them thank them.