Preliminary data show ridership across our system remains substantially lower compared to this time a year ago. King County Metro and health officials call on customers to reserve transit only for first-responders, medical personnel, other essential workers, and people who rely on Metro for access to food, medicine, and similarly essential needs.
Metro analyzed preliminary extrapolations to create an unofficial estimate of ridership. From March 30-April 3, the average weekday bus ridership was about 111,000 compared to 418,000 in 2019, or a 73% drop.
Similarly, an estimated 72% fewer passengers used Metro’s Access paratransit service. Water taxi routes also are seeing significantly reduced ridership, with 92% fewer riders than at the beginning of March.
Next week’s release of ridership numbers will be the first to reflect the additional service reductions that took effect on April 6. That schedule, which is still in effect, includes a core of 115 routes and services, with 104 routes now completely canceled. We have provided guidance for riders seeking individual canceled trips and alternate bus routes for canceled routes.
Help support the health of our frontline essential staff – the operators and crews, supervisors, and maintenance staff—by:
- Staying home if you are sick,
- Wearing a mask when traveling,
- Washing your hands often and using sanitizer,
- Covering your cough or sneeze, and
- Staying as far apart as possible from other people.
Our commitment is to the safety of our employees, customers, and community and we appreciate your support as you follow the guidance to take only essential trips and to “Stay Home, Stay Healthy.”
| King County Metro bus ridership
*Unofficial ridership estimates are preliminary and based on samples and extrapolations |
|||
| Date | Baseline (2019) | Current (2020) | Change |
| 3/2/2020 | 416,885 | 389,103 | -7% |
| 3/3/2020 | 430,822 | 396,544 | -8% |
| 3/4/2020 | 425,431 | 381,634 | -10% |
| 3/5/2020 | 411,763 | 344,562 | -16% |
| 3/6/2020 | 399,641 | 301,111 | -25% |
| 3/9/2020 | 408,494 | 283,259 | -31% |
| 3/10/2020 | 417,616 | 275,642 | -34% |
| 3/11/2020 | 424,583 | 269,362 | -37% |
| 3/12/2020 | 415,904 | 230,570 | -45% |
| 3/13/2020 | 397,707 | 207,253 | -48% |
| 3/16/2020 | 404,158 | 181,732 | -55% |
| 3/17/2020 | 410,204 | 163,519 | -60% |
| 3/18/2020 | 413,908 | 159,033 | -62% |
| 3/19/2020 | 403,555 | 149,350 | -63% |
| 3/20/2020 | 384,736 | 146,983 | -62% |
| 3/23/2020 | 377,285 | 131,543 | -65% |
| 3/24/2020 | 394,904 | 117,852 | -70% |
| 3/25/2020 | 394,545 | 115,874 | -69% |
| 3/26/2020 | 391,104 | 109,210 | -72% |
| 3/27/2020 | 376,578 | 109,633 | -71% |
| 3/30/2020 | 412,936 | 108,418 | -74% |
| 3/31/2020 | 426,257 | 109,490 | -74% |
| 4/1/2020 | 429,250 | 117,709 | -73% |
| 4/2/2020 | 426,229 | 108,079 | -75% |
| 4/3/2020 | 396,491 | 113,640 | -71% |
| Key affected King County Metro routes – Average weekday ridership *Unofficial ridership estimates are preliminary and based on samples and extrapolations |
||||
| Week | Route | Baseline (2019) | Current (2020) | Change |
| March 30-April 3 | 7 | 11,544 | 5,518 | -52% |
| March 30-April 3 | 8 | 9,041 | 2,294 | -75% |
| March 30-April 3 | 36 | 9,782 | 3,218 | -67% |
| March 30-April 3 | 40 | 12,992 | 3,155 | -76% |
| March 30-April 3 | 44 | 9,834 | 2,272 | -77% |
| March 30-April 3 | 120 | 8,894 | 3,123 | -65% |
| March 30-April 3 | RapidRide A Line | 9,493 | 5,174 | -45% |
| March 30-April 3 | RapidRide C Line | 11,941 | 2,831 | -76% |
| March 30-April 3 | RapidRide D Line | 14,261 | 4,844 | -66% |
| March 30-April 3 | RapidRide E Line | 17,274 | 7,595 | -56% |
| King County Metro Water Taxi ridership (2020) | |
| Feb. 24 | 1,910 |
| Feb. 25 | 1,982 |
| Feb. 26 | 1,962 |
| Feb. 27 | 2,043 |
| Feb. 28 | 1,540 |
| March 2 | 1,778 |
| March 3 | 1,892 |
| March 4 | 1,739 |
| March 5 | 1,383 |
| March 6 | 838 |
| March 9 | 958 |
| March 10 | 936 |
| March 11 | 845 |
| March 12 | 686 |
| March 13 | 452 |
| March 16 | 370 |
| March 17 | 274 |
| March 18 | 271 |
| March 19 | 262 |
| March 20 | 208 |
| March 23 | 183 |
| March 24 | 212 |
| March 25 | 208 |
| March 26 | 145 |
| March 27 | 115 |
| March 30 | 147 |
| March 31 | 136 |
| April 1 | 156 |
| April 2 | 144 |
| April 3 | 125 |
Many healthcare workers get off duty on a normal day at midnight. That includes docs nurses, janitorial staff, etc. I know someone who works at a gas station convenient store that is open 24/7 and he goes in at 0600 but the person he relieves comes in around midnight. The grocery workers who are working day and night to keep our shelves stocked work odd hours. Amazon workers and other shippers have people coming and going at all hours.
As a retired nurse I find the above post judgmental and offensive.
Why are the busses even operating after 12 am ? At that time of night its just homeless, drunks , and drug addicts riding . There is nothing essential open at that time of night !
even homeless, drunks and drug addicts need transport. It’s prolly best you are privileged enough to not need to ride the bus at that time.