COVID-19 ridership update: Essential trips the focus of current transit service
Ridership on King County Metro continues to remain steady at just over 100,000 daily trips across our reduced service network. This figure reflects customers using Metro to make essential trips, while many customers continue to stay home in response to public health guidance to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Metro analyzed preliminary extrapolations to create an unofficial estimate of weekly ridership, which remains substantially lower compared to a year ago.
Highlights
- From May 4-8, the average weekday bus ridership was estimated to be about 109,000, compared to 420,000 for the same time in 2019, or a 74% drop.
- Similarly, an estimated 74% fewer passengers used Metro’s Access paratransit service from May 4-8 compared to a year ago. Water taxi routes also are seeing significantly reduced ridership, with 96% fewer riders during the same weekdays.
- During the morning and afternoon commutes, estimated ridership has dropped about 76-85% compared to last year. Midday and evening ridership are down about 62-68%, and late-night ridership is down an estimated 51-59%, depending on the day of the week. (More detailed tables are below.)
- Weekend ridership has strengthened slightly in recent weeks on Saturday to 83,000, while Sunday ridership was about 72,000. These figures continue to represent about 50% of normal weekend ridership.
A new public health directive to wear masks in public and on transit was announced this week and goes into effect May 18. Metro is calling on riders to comply with the directive to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Metro’s reduced network of service has 73% of its typical weekday trips on the street, and we’ve recently added buses on high-demand routes during the midday and late at night to support social distancing efforts.
As Gov. Inslee has extended his “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order through May 31, we ask people to please continue to reserve transit for essential trips for work and for access to food, medicine, and similarly essential needs.
Please help support the health of other passengers and our frontline essential staff – the operators and crews, supervisors, and maintenance staff—by:
- Staying home if you are sick
- Wearing a face covering when traveling
- Washing your hands often and using sanitizer
- Covering your cough or sneeze
- Staying as far apart as possible from other people
King County Metro bus ridership
*Unofficial total 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% |
| 4/6/2020 | 386,962 | 109,611 | -72% |
| 4/7/2020 | 399,581 | 102,590 | -74% |
| 4/8/2020 | 396,974 | 105,624 | -73% |
| 4/9/2020 | 388,329 | 106,453 | -73% |
| 4/10/2020 | 377,581 | 107,688 | -71% |
| 4/13/2020 | 414,207 | 105,947 | -74% |
| 4/14/2020 | 423,523 | 104,672 | -75% |
| 4/15/2020 | 421,208 | 106,603 | -75% |
| 4/16/2020 | 416,347 | 106,735 | -74% |
| 4/17/2020 | 389,484 | 107,565 | -72% |
| 4/20/2020 | 402,532 | 104,275 | -74% |
| 4/21/2020 | 420,503 | 98,176 | -77% |
| 4/22/2020 | 424,733 | 93,881 | -78% |
| 4/23/2020 | 418,512 | 100,304 | -76% |
| 4/24/2020 | 399,920 | 103,447 | -74% |
| 4/27/2020 | 411,029 | 103,657 | -75% |
| 4/28/2020 | 430,829 | 100,959 | -77% |
| 4/29/2020 | 422,600 | 104,234 | -75% |
| 4/30/2020 | 420,083 | 103,820 | -75% |
| 5/1/2020 | 405,511 | 114,059 | -72% |
| 5/4/2020 | 415,942 | 108,526 | -74% |
| 5/5/2020 | 431,041 | 109,176 | -75% |
| 5/6/2020 | 429,353 | 106,030 | -75% |
| 5/7/2020 | 423,637 | 109,253 | -74% |
| 5/8/2020 | 403,057 | 111,661 | -72% |
Key affected King County Metro routes – Average weekday ridership
*Unofficial ridership estimates are preliminary and based on samples and extrapolations
Week of May 4-8
| Route | Baseline (2019) | Current (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 11,523 | 5,590 | -51% |
| 8 | 8,884 | 2,123 | -76% |
| 36 | 9,750 | 3,470 | -64% |
| 40 | 12,973 | 3,005 | -77% |
| 44 | 9,779 | 2,140 | -78% |
| 120 | 9,194 | 3,980 | -57% |
| RapidRide A Line | 10,245 | 5,475 | -47% |
| RapidRide C Line | 11,554 | 2,743 | -76% |
| RapidRide D Line | 14,351 | 4,314 | -70% |
| RapidRide E Line | 17,827 | 7,542 | -58% |
King County Metro bus ridership by time period
*Unofficial ridership estimates are preliminary and based on samples and extrapolations
Morning (5-9am)
| Day | Morning (2019) | Morning (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 4 | 113,826 | 18,387 | -84% |
| May 5 | 117,221 | 18,149 | -85% |
| May 6 | 115,624 | 17,849 | -85% |
| May 7 | 115,795 | 18,514 | -84% |
| May 8 | 102,823 | 18,636 | -82% |
Midday (9am-3pm)
| Day | Midday (2019) | Midday (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 4 | 118,708 | 42,701 | -64% |
| May 5 | 120,991 | 41,946 | -65% |
| May 6 | 126,581 | 40,541 | -68% |
| May 7 | 121,063 | 42,142 | -65% |
| May 8 | 122,641 | 43,041 | -65% |
Afternoon (3-7pm)
| Day | Afternoon (2019) | Afternoon (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 4 | 140,953 | 29,905 | -79% |
| May 5 | 146,166 | 30,488 | -79% |
| May 6 | 140,110 | 29,765 | -79% |
| May 7 | 139,748 | 30,118 | -78% |
| May 8 | 128,195 | 30,348 | -76% |
Evening (7-10pm)
| Day | Evening (2019) | Evening (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 4 | 30,200 | 11,543 | -62% |
| May 5 | 33,705 | 12,401 | -63% |
| May 6 | 32,387 | 11,940 | -63% |
| May 7 | 33,592 | 12,826 | -62% |
| May 8 | 33,786 | 12,938 | -62% |
Late Night (10pm-5am)
| Day | Late Night (2019) | Late Night (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 4 | 12,254 | 5,990 | -51% |
| May 5 | 12,958 | 6,191 | -52% |
| May 6 | 14,651 | 5,934 | -59% |
| May 7 | 13,439 | 5,653 | -58% |
| May 8 | 15,612 | 6,699 | -57% |
King County Metro Water Taxi ridership
| Date | 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 |
| April 6 | 80 |
| April 7 | 102 |
| April 8 | 71 |
| April 9 | 81 |
| April 10 | 85 |
| April 13 | 83 |
| April 14 | 90 |
| April 15 | 78 |
| April 16 | 81 |
| April 17 | 72 |
| April 20 | 108 |
| April 21 | 81 |
| April 22 | 92 |
| April 23 | 83 |
| April 24 | 54 |
| April 27 | 95 |
| April 28 | 88 |
| April 29 | 109 |
| April 30 | 95 |
| May 1 | 70 |
| May 4 | 101 |
| May 5 | 109 |
| May 6 | 97 |
| May 7 | 110 |
| May 8 | 72 |
I received an email from Metro regarding non-destinational riders. Per this email:
“King County Metro granted Transit Security Oficers (TSOs) the authority to address Unlawful Transit Conduct” on transit property. In support or operators, TSOs will temporarily be deployed to specific routes that have been identified to have overcrowding, an increase in non-destinational riders, and security related issues. If an operator has a safety/security concern with any riders on their coach, and a TSO is present, they can request the officer to assist with mitigating their concerns after contacting the TCC. TSOs will make contact with the person(s) of concern and may instruct them to cease their actions or request them to depart a coach/leave transit property. TSOs are trained to resolve most situations without having to use physical means to gain compliance.”
Well, that sounds good in theory, but it does NOT work in real life!! I ride the route 70 bus to my job in Eastlake but I have NEVER seen a TSO on this route even though the route has had a significant increase in the numbers of homeless non-destinational riders ever since Metro eliminated fare collection. Not only that, many of them are also either mentally ill or drug addicts who disturb other riders. Route 70 really needs more frequent trips, more security, and more emphasis on keeping non-destinational riders off. Several of my coworkers also use route 70 but start their shifts at different times than I do; and they’ve also had the same issues despite riding at different times.
If you don’t do more to address the security issues and insufficient service on the routes essential workers are using, you’re going to end up losing a lot of the white-collar commuters after the COVID-19 shutdown ends. Service is getting so bad that a lot of the people who have the option of working from home, driving, or using UBER to go to work won’t return to Metro because you’ve made it so inconvenient and unsafe. You’re reinforcing the stereotype about public transit is only for poor people because you’re not addressing the many complaints you’ve had about overcrowding; unsanitary conditions, and infrequent service!
I received an email from Sound Transit about upcoming service changes starting on June 1. Per the email, Link will be returning to service every 20 minutes and will have a $1.00 “recovery fare” available at the ORCA ticket machines or phone app. The “recovery fare” doesn’t allow transfers, but per ST, if you pay with an ORCA card, you’ll be charged full fare and be able to use the card for transfers. Also, per ST, fare enforcement officers will be checking Link riders for proof of payment, but will only make non-paying riders get off at the next stop and won’t issue citations.
Didn’t Metro coordinate with ST before ST implemented this policy?? Paying for Link with an ORCA card doesn’t make sense because Metro still isn’t collecting fares. All this means is that people using ORCA cards will be paying a higher fare but not getting any additional benefit in return. Also, the lack of citations for non-payment means people kicked off Link will probably just hop on the next train or walk to a bus stop and ride Metro for free. All ST’s policy does is shift the numbers of homeless joyriders on Link over to Metro buses instead! I’ve also sent a complaint to ST about this.