The Puget Sound region is preparing for the warmest days of the summer, with the Weather Service predicting temperatures in the 90s for several days. King County Metro can help connect you to community cooling centers, and Public Health – Seattle & King County has tips for protecting yourself as you travel.
Riding with Metro
Stay out of the heat if you can
All Metro coaches have air conditioning, but that sometimes isn’t enough during the hottest parts of the day. We encourage you to travel during cooler parts of the day and skip unnecessary trips. If you are riding, the best way to help keep the buses cool is to keep the windows on the coaches closed to increase the efficiency of the AC.
Before you go
This extreme heat can impact roads and bridges and create potential delays. Using Metro Transit Alerts, you can find out about potential delays by email or text message. Even if you haven’t signed up for alerts, you can also find the latest alerts for each route on the RSS feeds webpage.
Real-time (while waiting for transit)
Our real-time updates can let you know when a bus trip is operating, when it is due to depart, or if it was canceled due to weather or an operator shortage:
- Next Departures information is available at TripPlanner (https://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/) Trip planner is also a great tool to use in locating routes to cooling centers in your community.
- Text for Departures is available by texting your bus stop number to 62550, and the next bus trips will be displayed with an “s” for scheduled or “canceled.”
- Follow @KCMetroAlerts and @KingCountyMetro on Twitter
Shade and water
Hot weather means that buses may be behind schedule. Be sure to pack a water bottle, stay out of the direct sun as best as you can, and be prepared for possible delays.
Staying safe in the sun
- Cooling centers: Metro is ready to get you to the cooling center in your community, be sure to check for the nearest center in your community. The King County Office of Emergency Management is compiling a list of regional cooling centers that will open during the heat event
- Forecasts and tips: The National Weather Service Seattle Forecast Office is a great resource for alerts on conditions as well as heat safety tips and resources.
- Your health during heat: There are several resources available through Public Health—Seattle and King County on ways to protect yourself during extreme heat:
- Pet safety: And don’t forget your pets need protection too! Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC) reminds you to keep your pets out of cars when it’s hot.
Transit partners: For riders who connect with Metro through our partner transit agencies, here are links to their sites to help you get the information you need during this heat event.
Metro is not waiving fares during the heat wave. However, we never make fares a barrier to people in safety situations. Operators should be collecting fares on their coaches
Interesting! That was not my experience on Tuesday.
I also heard Metro wasn’t collecting bus fare because of the heat.
I still paid because I didn’t have confirmation from Metro IE the driver didn’t make announcement, no audio announcement, to passengers, email, or even on Metro’s website
I would like to be reimbursed for these trips (I want the money put back on my Orca Card)
Busses were not collecting fares yesterday 7/26. I was told this would be the case for this week with the hot weather. Can you please confirm this?