King County Metro is recovering from recent winter storms and facing reduced workforce availability across our system. Metro will operate more than 90% of scheduled service, however an increased number of trips will be canceled through Jan. 21.
Before traveling, please allow for additional travel time and use Metro’s real-time travel tools to confirm whether your trip is operating or canceled. (See “Trip planning tools” below.) For Access paratransit users, please plan your travel around expected delays in service
While some specific trips will be canceled, nearly all of our 160 bus routes on weekdays and weekends will continue. The exceptions during this recovery period are that routes 162, 177, 304, 320, and 330 will not run on weekdays, and route 125 will not run on Saturdays.
Whether you are taking an earlier or later bus than usual, or are making an alternative travel plan, we apologize for the inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience as our fleet is repaired and our workforce stabilizes.
To address ongoing workforce challenges, Metro continues to hire, train, and promote bus operators. Thirty-seven new part-time operators graduated from training in the past three months, and two new training classes of part- and full-time operators begin Monday, Jan. 10. MV, our contractor for Access paratransit, is also hiring and training additional operators to meet mobility needs.
Trip planning tools
Planning in advance:
- Visit “Service Advisories” for information about your route.
- Sign up for “Transit Alerts” for route-specific and system-wide updates by email or text.
Real-time updates that show whether a bus trip is operating, when it’s due to depart, or if it’s been canceled:
- Use Text for Departures. Text your bus stop number to 62550 and receive the next bus trips headed their way or a cancellation notice. (Tip: Save 62550 in your phone in advance.)
- Go to “Next departures” on the Puget Sound Trip Planner webpage or the Puget Sound Trip Planner App. Check to see whether your trip is reporting its position and its estimated arrival time.
- Follow @kcmetrobus on Twitter to see the latest service information.
- Metro’s customer service call center at 206-553-3000 is open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for assistance with trip planning and general information, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for ORCA support and customer comments.