COVID-19 ridership update: Masks required as region uses transit for essential trips
Ridership on King County Metro continues to remain steady at just over 100,000 daily trips across our reduced service network. We’re in the first week of a new directive to wear masks or face coverings in King County and on public transportation, and by wearing a mask you are helping support and protect drivers and customers who are using Metro to make essential trips.
Metro analyzed preliminary extrapolations to create an unofficial estimate of weekly ridership, which remains substantially lower compared to a year ago.
Highlights
- From May 11-15, the average weekday bus ridership was estimated to be about 110,000, compared to 416,000 for the same time in 2019, or a 73.5% drop.
- Similarly, an estimated 74% fewer passengers used Metro’s Access paratransit service from May 11-15 compared to a year ago. Water taxi routes also are seeing significantly reduced ridership, with 95% fewer riders during the same weekdays.
- During the morning and afternoon commutes last week, estimated ridership has dropped about 75-84% compared to last year. Midday and evening ridership was down about 60-67%, and late-night ridership is down an estimated 53-57%, depending on the day of the week. (More detailed tables are below.)
Metro has identified and increased service on routes where current demand led to full buses and made it hard for riders to maintain social distancing. Those routes – RapidRide A, D and E lines, and routes 7, 36 and 180 – have supplemental midday trips using 18 buses. Night service on route 7 and the RapidRide A and E lines also have additional trips using 6 buses to help spread out and reduce the number of riders on each bus.
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% |
| 5/11/2020 | 411,566 | 108,348 | -74% |
| 5/12/2020 | 417,666 | 109,114 | -74% |
| 5/13/2020 | 431,341 | 111,375 | -74% |
| 5/14/2020 | 420,577 | 107,576 | -74% |
| 5/15/2020 | 400,239 | 114,122 | -71% |
Key affected King County Metro routes – Average weekday ridership
*Unofficial ridership estimates are preliminary and based on samples and extrapolations
Week of May 11-15
| Week | Route | Baseline (2019) | Current (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11-15 | 7 | 11,014 | 5,759 | -48% |
| May 11-15 | 8 | 9,036 | 2,187 | -76% |
| May 11-15 | 36 | 9,651 | 3,554 | -63% |
| May 11-15 | 40 | 13,522 | 3,191 | -76% |
| May 11-15 | 44 | 9,254 | 2,215 | -76% |
| May 11-15 | 120 | 9,266 | 3,462 | -63% |
| May 11-15 | RapidRide A Line | 9,913 | 5,490 | -45% |
| May 11-15 | RapidRide C Line | 12,058 | 2,713 | -77% |
| May 11-15 | RapidRide D Line | 14,343 | 4,423 | -69% |
| May 11-15 | RapidRide E Line | 17,197 | 7,821 | -55% |
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 11 | 111,601 | 18,287 | -84% |
| May 12 | 117,394 | 19,284 | -84% |
| May 13 | 118,675 | 19,406 | -84% |
| May 14 | 115,420 | 18,729 | -84% |
| May 15 | 103,296 | 18,505 | -82% |
Midday (9am-3pm)
| Day | Midday (2019) | Midday (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | 116,839 | 41,886 | -64% |
| May 12 | 114,447 | 41,049 | -64% |
| May 13 | 127,661 | 41,882 | -67% |
| May 14 | 120,541 | 39,307 | -67% |
| May 15 | 121,436 | 44,100 | -64% |
Afternoon (3-7pm)
| Day | Afternoon (2019) | Afternoon (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | 139,420 | 30,778 | -78% |
| May 12 | 141,641 | 30,837 | -78% |
| May 13 | 139,431 | 31,174 | -78% |
| May 14 | 138,562 | 31,103 | -78% |
| May 15 | 127,826 | 31,595 | -75% |
Evening (7-10pm)
| Day | Evening (2019) | Evening (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | 30,578 | 11,486 | -62% |
| May 12 | 31,032 | 11,793 | -62% |
| May 13 | 31,710 | 12,769 | -60% |
| May 14 | 32,332 | 12,544 | -61% |
| May 15 | 32,211 | 12,919 | -60% |
Late Night (10pm-5am)
| Day | Late Night (2019) | Late Night (2020) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | 13,128 | 5,912 | -55% |
| May 12 | 13,152 | 6,151 | -53% |
| May 13 | 13,865 | 6,144 | -56% |
| May 14 | 13,722 | 5,893 | -57% |
| May 15 | 15,471 | 7,004 | -55% |
King County Metro Water Taxi ridership
| Date | Riders |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| May 11 | 108 |
| May 12 | 104 |
| May 13 | 103 |
| May 14 | 104 |
| May 15 | 118 |
Looking for any confirmation that any political or other official has Constitution authority to block lawful right to any public or private service, I found this local transit page.
Washington RCW is very specific that without the exact medical license to do so, no one can lawfully deny any lawful access to any public service or business.
To do so places everyone who acts on behalf of any agency or individual, including Gov. Inslee, is an unlawful felony, chargeable in lawful Washington court.
Worse, the CDC in late July 2020 released its research proving masks of the best medical materials and professional fitting cannot block virus passage. That is backed by honest health science the world over.
Since Metro is playing with unlawful and criminally-chargeable and factually dangerous unlawful demand to wear masks or be denied lawful access to public transportation, what was minimally tolerable requests to wear useless masks now is cause for charging every transit employee demanding mask wearing with unlawful practice of medical advice, denial of lawful transit access, and obeying rogue leaders who flaunt lawless conduct without regard for anyone’s Constitution rights or proven health safety.
Does Metro still choose to behave outside the law?
I’m on a 193 to First Hill right now, still more than 15 miles from downtown and the driver just announced we’re skipping the stop in Tukwila where 6-8 healthcare workers get on every morning because “we’re at capacity” aka “more than half the seats are blocked off by their stupid little signs.” Stop screwing essential workers, Metro. Your service is GARBAGE.
BEST PUBLIC TRANSIT IN AMERICA! sure, if you’re allowed to ride it. Even then, not the case. You’re shooting yourselves in the foot, forcing people to drive. Do you expect them to come back after this shoddy service? This will just result in more and more cars on the road and Metro bellyaching in the media about funding. Well guess what? We’re all going to vote all of your proposals and levies down because we now see how you handle things. POORLY.
You can’t make this stuff up. It’s Tuesday 5/26 @ 5.04 am and there is NO information on the KC Metro web page telling us about what if any reduced service is being offered this week.
All the info on service available is for Sat/Sun/Labor day.
So here it is Monday 5/25 at 7.36 PM and Metro has still not posted it’s service for Tuesday 5/26-5/29.
Who the heck is running this place.
Guess I’ll go to bed without any idea what buses are running tomorrow.
Hard to believe things could be this lame.
It’s Monday May 25th (Memorial Day) Why is there no information on the reduced schedule for May 26th to May 29 on the KC Metro web page?
Is anyone home here?
WTF
Metro really needs to resume fare collection and start restoring the cancelled bus routes. The northbound route 70 trip that leaves 5th Ave/S. Jackson St. at 5:47 AM is routinely at or over capacity by the time it gets to the 3rd Ave./Pike St. stop. The Jackson St. stop is the first stop, but it routinely gets approximately 10 people boarding there because many of the construction workers going to SLU are transferring from the inbound Sounder train to catch the northbound route 70 bus. Also, this trip routinely has groups of homeless people who get on at the Columbia St. or Pike St. stops and who just loiter at the bus stops instead of actually going to a specific location after getting off. In addition, the southbound route 70 trip that leaves Eastlake Ave,/E. Lynn St. at approximately 2:22 PM is also at or over capacity before it reaches downtown because the SLU construction workers get off work around this time, plus a lot of homeless joyriders get on at the 9th Ave/Stewart St. stop. Most of the route 70 drivers aren’t monitoring passenger loads at all and keep letting people board no matter how full the bus is. Just within the past week I’ve had 2 separate incidents of different, mentally ill homeless women boarding the northbound route 70 bus who started screaming at random and where the drivers did NOTHING even though other passengers were obviously uncomfortable being around them Having security on the buses would help a lot with this kind of problem. We can’t report these people to the drivers because of the social distancing rules making it impossible to get close enough to talk to them.
I think Metro is going to end up losing a lot of riders once the COVID-19 shutdown ends because of how poorly they’ve managed the service cuts, passenger limits, mask rules, and homeless joyriders. As Jason pointed out, former Metro riders who do have the option of driving or using UBER to get to work are doing that instead because so many trips have been cut that using Metro isn’t feasible. Many of the essential workers are going to blue collar jobs where they don’t have the option of changing their start times based on their commute, so the ones who don’t/can’t drive are being forced to use earlier buses that are more crowded than usual so they won’t be late for work, and the ones who can drive or use UBER are doing that instead to avoid the unsafe conditions on the buses.
Check the camera’s on buses since requiring masks to be worn.No enforcement means drivers still being exposed by “essential” riders not wearing masks. Bureaucratic doublespeak is nonsense that is putting employees at risk of death. How many have to die before you protect drivers?
Many workplaces have remained open throughout the stay at home period, reflecting the steady 100,000 trips per day. Metro is able to maintain the narrative of nobody riding public transit with their low ridership statistics due to the fact that lots of people are now forced to drive to work because there are no buses to take now that more workplaces are reopening. This is reflected in newest Seattle mobility rates nearly 75% of normal. See the correlation, Metro? People are going back to work but they are driving because of the lack of public transportation. Please resume fare collection on June 1 and give us back some of our bus routes!