King County Metro adding more than 900 weekly bus trips, improved 2 Line connections
Service starts Aug. 30; new Metro Flex coming to Bellevue Sept. 15
SUMMARY
Another boost in King County Metro bus service begins Aug. 30. New and improved routes will better serve Eastside communities and help facilitate connections to Sound Transit’s 2 Line light rail stations. Metro also is adding bus service in Seattle on Route 106 funded by the voter-approved Seattle Transit Measure. On-demand service Metro Flex is expanding to Bellevue on Sept. 15.
STORY
Metro is enhancing bus service to better connect riders with the light rail stations on the 2 Line and throughout Seattle. Starting Aug. 30, there will be more frequent access both on the Eastside and in Seattle. Full details are on Metro’s Service Change webpage. Riders can review the route updates on Metro’s web page in English, 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese), Русский (Russian), Español (Spanish) and Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese).
“We’re delivering what riders and residents asked for: more frequent bus service, better evening and weekend options, and improved connections to Sound Transit 2 Line stations on the Eastside,” Executive Braddock said. “With 900 more trips per week across Metro’s system, regional travel options keep improving.”
Following a comprehensive review of bus service across 21 cities on the Eastside and parts of Seattle, Metro is rolling out service improvements in phases as part of the Eastside Link Connections project. Extensive engagement from Eastside communities and the thousands of riders who rely on public transit guided Metro’s plan, which was approved by the King County Council this past spring.
“You’ll be seeing more Metro bus service, meeting the needs of riders and providing new, faster connections every day, all day,” Metro General Manager Michelle Allison said. “Some of these upgrades are laying the groundwork for the further expansion of the 2 Line coming next year and we invite everyone to explore the new places you’ll be able to go on transit.”
Highlights of Aug. 30 service updates
New bus routes improve connections
- Route 203: Connecting Issaquah Highlands, North Issaquah, Issaquah Transit Center, Newport Way, Factoria and the 2 Line at South Bellevue Station.
- Route 222: Connecting Overlake, Idylwood, downtown Redmond, Education Hill and Cottage Lake, and the 2 Line at Downtown Redmond and Redmond Technology Stations.
- Route 223: Connecting Eastgate, Lake Hills, Overlake and 2 Line service at Downtown Redmond Station, with more frequent 20-minute weekday service.
- Route 256: Direct peak-only service connecting Woodinville, Brickyard Park & Ride, Totem Lake, Kingsgate Park & Ride, Yarrow Point Freeway Station, Evergreen Point Freeway Station, South Lake Union and downtown Seattle.
More frequent buses on weekdays
- DART Route 224 between Duvall and Redmond will improve to service every 60 minutes.
- Route 226 in Bellevue will provide peak service every 20 minutes connecting Downtown Bellevue, Lake Hills, Bellevue College, Eastgate and the 2 Line at South Bellevue Station.
- Route 240 will improve to service every 20 minutes during peak and midday times on a revised pathway connecting Downtown Bellevue to the South Bellevue Station, Factoria, Newcastle and Renton.
- DART Route 249 will improve to service every 30 minutes on weekdays with hourly service added from 7 to 9 p.m. connecting Redmond Technology Station, Overlake, downtown Bellevue, and South Bellevue Station.
More frequent Route 106 service in Seattle
The voter-approved Seattle Transit Measure (STM) is funding 30 new bus trips per week in early mornings and mid-day on Route 106, which connects Chinatown-International District in Seattle to Mount Baker, Rainier Beach, Skyway and Renton. These 30 new trips mean that Route 106 buses will now arrive every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Prior to this investment, buses arrived every 20-30 minutes. These investments will support better access to services along this route, and to the new Judkins Park Link light rail station when it opens next year on Sound Transit’s Line 2.
STM was approved by voters in November 2020 and is funded by a 0.15% sales tax through early 2027. The Seattle Transit Measure supports transit access and frequency across Seattle.
“Seattle Transit Measure investments are a testament to our commitment to equitable and accessible transit for all,” SDOT Interim Director Adiam Emery said. “We are supporting our King County Metro partners’ regional service investments with more service on Route 106, ensuring that our neighbors who depend the most on transit have more frequent, reliable connections to essential services and new Link light rail stations in the future. These improvements reflect the power of collaboration and the voices of our residents. They are part of a set of bold investments we’re making as a City to enhance transit for everyone.”
Enhanced Eastside service that launched in June will continue
- Route 204 (Mercer Island): Metro launched all-new Sunday service, providing 10 round trips and matching the number of trips provided on Saturdays. Riders can request off-route trips in the DART service areas northeast of I-90 and on the south end of the island.
- Route 930 (Kirkland, Redmond): Metro added evening trips to create steady hourly service from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. Riders can request off-route trips in the Route 930 DART service areas along Willows Road.
- Route 931: (UW Bothell, Woodinville, Cottage Lake and Duvall): This reinstated and revised weekday peak-only DART route launched in June. Service runs every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Riders can request off-route trips in the Route 931 DART service areas in Bothell and Duvall. Reservations can be made via phone (1-866-261-3278), TTY (1-800-246-1646) or online form.
New Metro Flex coming to Overlake in Bellevue Sept. 15
Metro Flex’s upcoming service area in will allow riders to connect to and from 2 Line service at Overlake Village Station. Metro Flex is your on-demand neighborhood transit service. With one simple app or booking by phone, a vehicle will take you anywhere in the service area, all for the same cost as a bus trip. Metro Flex is convenient, fast, affordable transit at your fingertips. Metro will pilot electric vehicles in Bellevue. Details and the service area map will be available soon on the Metro Flex webpage.
More details and help for riders online, via customer service
Riders can review the route updates on Metro’s web page in English, 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese), Русский (Russian), Español (Spanish) and Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese). Additional languages are available by using an online translation tool. Bus trip schedules will be updated across most bus routes, and new orange timetables will soon be available on buses and at popular transit locations.
Metro’s customer information office can answer questions from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at 206-553-3000. Also, Metro’s Trip Planner will be updated before Aug. 30 so riders can plan future travel. Update: In areas where bus service will no longer operate, Hyde Shuttles provides free on-demand van service within Bellevue for adults 55 and older and people with permanent disabilities. Service operates 8 am to 4 pm on weekdays. Reservations should be made at least 3 days, or up to 30 days, before your ride, and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit Hyde Shuttles to learn more.
Fare changes coming Sept. 1
As Metro has previously shared, fares are increasing to $3 for its buses, Metro Flex, and Seattle Streetcar starting Sept. 1, 2025. King County Water Taxi adult fares using an ORCA card will increase by 25 cents, and ORCA LIFT discounted fares on water taxis will be reduced to $1. Riders are encouraged to update their ORCA card autoloads and monthly PugetPass. Reduced fare options are available for riders with lower incomes, and for seniors and riders with disabilities.
Relevant links
- King County Metro home page
- King County Metro service change web page
Moronic! The 223 route no longer stops at the Overlake Village light rail station. One must leave the covered station bay, walk a 1/4 mile up a hill to the bus stop and stand in the rain. There is a 100 foot dropoff behind you to the tracks and the 520 freeway and on the other side of the road is an impassible drainage ravine with a vacant office building on the other side of it. There is literally nothing here! Then you hop on the south bound 223, drive back down the hill and right past the train station without stopping. The bus stop serves absolutely no one. No one except those who have to hike from the Overlake Village station only to be driven right back by it. Don’t know what the thinking is here
Why shorten the 249 route? Now there’s no buses that go near the Park 140 and Evan’s plaza area! The walk from either Bel-red station or Overlake Village station are 35 minutes long. That’s crazy to think someone would walk that far to and from work everyday? And there’s no buses that take you closer than .7 miles away. Plus those buses only run every half hour! How is that an improvement to get to the 2 line? Everyone is going to start driving if it’s not convenient. A suggestion could be to have a smaller shuttle drive by the evergreen plaza, Evan’s plaza (near the park 140 area), go up toward Overlake square, and to the Overlake Village Station. It could even go through Microsoft and pick more people up. Just a thought if you actually wanted to help get people to the 2 line.
The response from metro about adding 257 back, “Due to the impact a change may have on our ridership and other service routes, staff must complete a thorough study of a request prior to implementation.” Did you do the same before you remove 257 and 311?! You pushed us to our car and I can even see the traffic situation is getting worse and worse! We hope you reconsider the situation!
I concur with the comments regarding the new route 256 (replacing the 311). You have almost doubled the commute time to the Brickyard Park and Ride. In addition – dropping off on 2nd Avenue and Pike in downtown Seattle will force me to find another way to work, as the area does NOT feel safe when it’s dark. As a loyal rider in the past, these changes are dissapointing and frustrating. You have lost one rider – and are pushing us to our cars. Please reconsider this decision and listen to your riders.
The new route 256 did not show up at Virginia st&6th Ave on sep 2. Sent many feedback to metro and all they said is delay, which is incorrect.
The driver of the new route 256 from Kingsgate park ride to Seattle dt at 8:07 exit 405 HOV immediately after it went on it. My commuting is now 53 mins, it was 30 mins maximum with 257. Most ppl still get off at the existing bus stops instead of the new added ones.
Metro – we pay tax and you pay this back to us? Is this what you want?
By eliminating the 257 and 311 and replacing with the 256 you are losing riders! I am one of them. It was already hassle enough taking Metro to work with the decreased and unpredictable service on the 257 and 311 over the last 4 years. Adding 20-30 minutes each way to the commute and having to walk by and through more drug users because the stop is on 2nd Ave instead of 5th Ave is just not worth it to me.
You keep saying overcrowding will be solved by having 60 foot buses. We already had a 60 foot bus and it was always jammed packed. Your service planners need to be riding these routes on a regular basis and getting input directly from those of us on these routes before making such huge changes. Although with more riders leaving Metro, like me, maybe there won’t be overcrowding anymore, there will just be more cars on the road.
And the info you feed to the press is also frustrating. Telling them you added 900 buses without mentioning the ones you eliminated. You are counting the 256 as a new route, without mentioning the two eliminated routes it is replacing. I’d like to know where all these new buses were added, just in city limits of Seattle? It certainly isn’t helping any of us in the Bothell/Woodinville/Kirkland area.
The 4:44 pm trip from Seattle to Woodinville (route 256) on 9/2 did not follow the scheduled route. Instead of stopping at bus stop #82700 for Brickyard P&R, the driver stopped at bus stop #2150 Brickyard Freeway Station. This change added 10 minutes walking time for the riders who parked at Brickyard P&R.
The published route map lists stop #82700 as the evening route bus stop for Brickyard P&R. The driver was extremely rude when passengers pointed out he made a mistake.
The driver claims the route map is incorrect. Can you please rectify this situation and ensure your drivers are following the published route.
Commuters using the new 256 route are already experiencing a longer commute time, due to the route change (vs retired 311/257 routes). Allowing this driver to make further alternations to the route, is making a bad commute even worse. Metro customers deserve better.
Metro – For additional clarification the driver skipped two stops (Bus Stop #82700, I-405 & Juanita Woodinville Way NE) and (Bus Stop #70310 Juanita Woodinville Way NE & 115 Ave NE).
Instead the driver only stopped at Bus Stop #2150, I-405 & NE 160 Street also called Brickyard Freeway Station. The driver claims the two stops closer to the Brickyard P&R (82700, 70310) are not on the evening 256 route.
The driver’s statement contradicts the published 256 route map.
Trips to/from Kingsgate area are about 30 minutes longer now. 256 is a mess every day so far.
There are many reasons this is a failed idea and we all warned you about it with the (very little) notice we had.
No improvements to Sammamish Valley and Woodiville-Redmond Road?
The recent service change—discontinuing routes 257 and 311 and replacing them with the new route 256—Marks a reduction in accessibility and convenience for local transit users.
Instead of encouraging bus ridership, this change is inadvertently pushing more people back into their cars due to decreased convenience and efficiency.
I’ve been commuting on routes 257 and 311 for years. Over time, we’ve seen service frequency reduced, buses become overcrowded, and schedules change repeatedly—making commutes increasingly unpredictable and difficult to rely on.
These route changes aren’t just minor adjustments—they significantly impact people who’ve built their daily routines around these services. The current decision by King County Metro gives the impression that the needs and concerns of commuters are being ignored.
What would truly help is more transparency. Riders deserve clear, honest communication about how ridership data has changed and what specific reasoning led to this decision. If the change is genuinely for the better, Metro should be able to clearly explain why—and more importantly, show us, with evidence, how it will benefit riders in the long term.
Adding to the frustration, the new route 256 takes significantly longer than the discontinued 257, especially during peak hours. By diverting through Mercer Street and Virginia Street—areas not covered by routes 257 or 311—commuters are now facing an additional 20–30 minutes of travel time each way.
On top of all this, the Park and Ride lots are now full by 8:30 a.m., leaving late-morning commuters with no reliable parking options. This only further discourages the use of public transit and creates more pressure on people to drive instead.
The new service change that removes routes 257 and 311 and introduces route 256 is a huge step back for the people in that area.
Instead of increasing bus ridership, what this change is encouraging is for people to use their cars.
I’ve been commuting on both 257 and 311 over the past years. Over time, the service frequency is reduced, resulting in overcrowding on the bus, and the schedule also frequently changes.
Please remember that changes in bus routes significantly affect people in an area who have planned their entire lives around the bus schedule. The current change is clearly King County Metro turning to deaf ear to the needs of commuters.
What would instead be helpful is for King County Metro to be transparent about how ridership has changed over time and tell us exactly why you are making the decision. If there is truly a great reason, you should be able to explain it to commuters and make them understand ‘why;’ this is better. Instead of ‘saying’ this is better, ‘show’ them that this is better by presenting clear evidence.
Also, sounds like you are increasing access to folks in South Lake Union by routing the 256 via that area. But you are removing access to folks in Kenmore/Kingsgate area. Why is that? Folks in SLU can easily walk to Olive way which is a 5-6 min walks but folks in Kenmore/Juanita, their walk is 40 mins!
Why benefit one area which is already well served by other routes while reducing access to folks in Kenmore/Juanita which is already very underserved. It doesn’t make any sense.
This is similar to how the Admiral District is. Last service change it lost more direct service and they said they were going to reinvest it in other routes which made me so furious! Now instead of 4 56’s in the morning, now there are only 3. King County clearly doesn’t care about equity like we want them to. They care so much more about route performance, which is understandable, but not acceptable if this bus system is the result of it.
Cannot agree you more! This really sucks!
Route 256 does not replace some of the Kingsgate area service that 257 covered. My bus stop suggests using the 231 to the 255 to the 256, effectively replacing 1 route with 3 which adds a lot of time and frustration to riders commutes. It seems metro would rather we buy cars and drive ourselves to a park and ride.
Not to mention 257 and 311 are already over full and often skip stops.
Please read these comments as there is overwhelming concern about the deletion of 257.
No updates or improvements for Federal Way? Kent DesMoines area. I live in Federal 1 bus Metro- 177 serves Federal Way, 3-4 in the morning and 2-3 in the evenings. Light rail won’t help me as i work on 5th Avenue and unable to walk up hills very well. ST 577/578 stop on 5th Ave, while 177 stops on 4th Ave.
Thank you for reaching out about service in south King County. There is an opportunity for you to help shape transit in that area. We are currently taking public comment on the proposed changes that will occur when Link light rail arrives in Federal Way to ensure that buses are still supporting riders in the community. Please take the survey by August 31 and leave your comments and concerns. https://kcit.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bD9jyRcGmowks50
May I also recommend that you reach out to our Customer Information Office to see if our time can assist you in finding a route that can help you get to work without dealing with too many hills. They can be reached at 206-553-3000 weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
These changes will make transit more complex and difficult, with increased likelihood of delays, overcrowding, and safety hazards. Could you please share what data is informing the decision to remove both the 257 and 311? Why not keep the 257 or 311 active during the launch of the 256 to assess demand?
As many others have commented, these changes are antithetical to the suggested reasoning and leave no safe route for carless Kingsgate residents like myself. Rather than add better connectivity, I will need to take three to four buses instead of one (311 or 257) from my usual stop home. You know this because you posted a sign outlining the several bus replacement at the Olive Way stop (route 545 to 255 to 239), significantly increasing commute time.
I live in Kingsgate and either take the 257, a close walk and safe option during inclement weather, or walk to Brickyard Park and Ride (20 minutes). This decision to remove both options will lead to several high-risk scenarios:
— People will more frequently cross the highway exit to walk to/from Park and Ride stops, posing significant risk of vehicles striking commuters walking to the stop due to the deletion of 257, especially during the dark months. I was almost hit by a vehicle that failed to stop at an intersection near Brickyard Park and Ride during the walking portion of my commute on a crosswalk when I had the right-of-way. This incident led me to take the 257 on dark or rainy evenings, which will no longer exist and I will have to cross this path twice daily.
— An anticipated rise in overcrowding of the 256 will lead to less social distancing, heightened frustration, and more opportunity for physical and sexual assault, particularly of female riders. I’ve seen several uncomfortable women on my commute with too-close men’s bodies touching theirs during the standing-room-only route 311 and have been that uncomfortable woman myself. By removing the 311 and 257 and replacing it with only the 256, the criminal element is more likely to prosper yet remain un- and underreported, as crowding further increases and you cannot take an alternate path to mitigate risk.
As a risk professional, woman, and daily rider, I anticipate the deletion of both the 257 and 311 will create more inaccessible and hazardous travel. As a person, this news made me tear up with frustration and fear on a standing-room-only route 311 this evening, which is typically at capacity during my daily commute — that will only get worse with this change.
Thank you for your feedback and sharing your concerns. We are routing these to service planners and facilities teams so we can continue to assess the conditions that can be barriers for riders accessing transit. Our team says that the new Route 256 will be operating with all 60-foot buses to address the rider demand, instead of the past practice that included some 40-foot buses on routes 257 and 311. Several other Kingsgate bus routes remain available and might be options worth evaluating.
• On NE 132nd St replacement service is provided by Route 225.
• On Juanita-Woodinville Way NE replacement service is provided by Route 231.
• On NE 160th St and 124th Ave NE replacement service is provided by Route 239. Route 239 has half-hour service from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and runs a similar schedule seven days a week.
We will be monitoring ridership on Route 256 and will consider whether to add trips if there is persistent crowding based on Metro’s Service Guidelines. We want to learn as much as possible about how these changes are working for people. We will be listening and monitoring performance over time. Please leave us specific comments about your needs and we will keep them in front of mind as we have opportunities to consider adjustments.
Also thank you for sharing your onboard safety concerns. Unlawful and unwanted touching is unacceptable and our Metro Transit Police support riders and investigate reports of rider misconduct. Please consider reporting the time and 4-digit coach number for any incident to either 911 if appropriate or our customer service office or Metro Transit Police for further investigation.
https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metro/contact-us
https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/sheriff/courts-jails-legal-system/police-partnership-program/partnerships/metro
The issue is that people will stop taking these routes so you may not see “overcrowding” because you have pushed people to our cars. Particularly since we bear rhe burden of the HOT rolling and the exorbitant prices, while paying a lot of money for transit that doesn’t serve us, it’s a huge blow to ridership in this area. The 257 was a bus kids used to get to JHS and this eliminates that option for families as well. I used to commute every day on the 257 (or former 252) or the 311 but I had to abandon it and drive because of overcrowding, lack of timely busses and the decreased schedule. If you make it impossible or infeasible to use, people won’t use it and then you justify the changes. But the reality is the area has grown exponentially, many offices are starting RTO, and we are very underserved for transit.
The options that you mentioned are horrible alternatives! That adds so much extra time to the commute. Some people need to leave to go to work before 6am. Not everyone starts their jobs at 9am. The 257 that used to come by the Kingsgate Safeway area arrived around 4:45 am, then at 5:45am. The first 239 bus only arrives at 5:34am. Then the one after that comes at 6:25am. That’s a 51 minute gap between the two routes! The 239 and 257 together at least gave the riders in this area options in case one of the routes got canceled or delayed. Now we’re solely dependent on the 239 just to get “closer” to Brickyard or Totem Lake freeway stations? Maybe an improvement could be increasing the number of 239 buses in the early mornings and afternoons so we can actually catch the 256 bus in time in the morning. Also the walk alone from where the 239 drops you off is 6-10 minutes. And I agree with others on here, walking in the dark is dangerous. I’ve almost gotten hit by cars while crossing the street just to get to and from these freeway stations. The sad part is I already have a reflective bag with flashing lights on it and a reflective vest, but it won’t stop tired drivers from seeing you in the dark. This change has created a hassle! I’d like to offer someone from king county metro to follow along with me to see how much harder they’re making the commute.
You have continued to screw over people in the Kingsgate area. We’ve lost the 255 through there, the 236, the 252 and now you’re taking the 257, all while you cut back times of the 239. You can’t get out of the neighborhood now.
Cutting the few routes from eastside to and from Seattle when those buses are already standing room only shows you don’t care about riders or rider safety. You’ve added nothing new to help the routes that are being cut. Whatever happened to the K line? Seriously, you are screwing over neighborhoods and people that depend on buses.
This. And when we don’t use transit because it isn’t convenient, they keep cutting us out. Meanwhile we have the privilege of paying HOT tolls and sitting in our cars while we pay for everyone else tk have transit access.
I say this as a person who used to take transit every time I could but have been forced back into my car because of lack of options
The least of my concern regarding routes 257 -> 256 is that it will increase my daily commute by 20 minutes in both directions to get to Brickyard PNR. For over half a mile of road, between 145th st and Juanita Woodinville way, there are no sidewalks and no light poles. Drivers want to travel 45 miles an hour as they get on or off the 405. Last winter I slipped on this icy pavement stretch of road twice trying to get to Brickyard at 5am, both times without traffic.
It’s not Metro’s fault that pedestrian infrastructure here is underdeveloped here, but this change appears to me to have a significant deleterious impact on transit riders in this neighborhood.
I live at the junction of NE 24th street and West Sammamish parkway and regularly use 249. While it looks like 222 is going to replace 249, it’s going to be on 180th ave, which is 15-20 minutes away. Any chance 222 could follow the 249 route? Unfortunately for me, I cannot walk for 15 minutes and this change will effectively prevent me from using the transit.
How about a DART route going along Lake Wshington Blvd.? The split between to 2 bus and 3 lines are very wide, and there is a hill coming from LWB to the nearesr 2 route.
Thank you for the suggestion, the service planning team has been notified to consider in future service adjustments.
I travel between 1st and Pine to Everett Amtrak. The 512 at 4th Ave and Pine was wonderful. You get on at 4th Ave and disembark at the Everett Amtrak Station. I use a walker. For the past 2 years I have had to taxi to King Street Station and take either a Train or Bus to Everett.
Not everyone can use Light Rail. Plus it is twice as long timewise. Hundreds of dollars spent because someone thinks all bus riders should now use Light Rail. BART did not discontinue bus services to San Francisco, just because BART had stations in the city.
Exactly. Bus service should continue. It’s a disgrace to force people who uses to have a single seat ride to transfer 2-3 times to other buses/trains to get to their destination. Adds significant time to the commute.
On top of that they’re reducing coverage of service for express routes
We need to add more trips to the route 56/57 in the Morning, afternoon, and at night.
That would be great, although it might not perform very well. It certainly didn’t when it used to run all day. Maybe they should do something like just cover Admiral Way and then start going south on Avalon or Delridge Way.
Why aren’t they serving Admiral/Alki better with more 56/57?! Seriously, I want like 15-20 of those trips added!!
Metro is failing to keep up with the demand for the 257 and 311 bus routes. Instead of increasing service to meet the needs of riders, the agency is implementing a new 256 route that will actually reduce the number of bus trips from Totem Lake to Seattle from 10 to 8. Compounding the problem, the new route through South Lake Union will increase the commute time by over 20 minutes, an unacceptable change for daily riders.
Jared, thanks for your feedback, I’ve shared it with our planning team. We will be monitoring ridership on the new Route 256 and would consider whether to add trips if there is persistent crowding per Metro’s Service Guidelines. South Lake Union is an important employment center adjacent to downtown, and we’ve received feedback that this is an important destination.
Would you also please acknowledge the lack of service in the Admiral District and Alki? We don’t have off-peak service directly to Downtown Seattle besides the Water Taxi. But that’s too far away for most of us for it to be a convenience.
There is already persistent over-crowding on the 311 and 257. I’m scared to see what it is like on the 256 with fewer buses and potentially even more riders with the route change to include South Lake Union. And it will add 20+ minutes to my commute, each way. If SLU is such an important destination, why didn’t you add a new route to accommodate SLU, rather than take away the 311 and 257? If you do consider adding additional buses due to over-crowding, would that not happen until the new schedules come out in March? Would we be made to suffer and perhaps not be able to get on buses due to no room for 6-7 months, or would you add buses before then?
Extremely confusing logic by Metro. If SLU is worth stopping, why not run a few buses there and the rest directly to downtown? It’s also not hard to transfer to the SLU streetcar from downtown. Buses don’t do well in downtown streets and should stay on the highway longer.
Metro does not care about commuter buses anymore despite that being a big chunk of their ridership. More people live outside the city than inside the city. Instead of making changes to get people off the roads and encourage suburb ridership, we are cutting critical high ridership routes that are essential to provide access to distant communities.
Reduce the service hours in other small cities outside of peak hours because they get a bus every 10 mins and it’s almost always empty. Peak hour buses should be prioritized as many rely on this service to work every day.
I 100% agree with this. I am no city planner nor do I have expertise in transportation management (if that’s a thing), but something tells me that taking away 2 routes and replacing it with only 1 actually reduces the amount of service.
Moreover, as said below, if you’re only having them come every half hour to Kingsgate and/or Woodinville, that is an absolutely absurd amount of time to allow crowds to pile up onto buses in the afternoon. I’m sure you’ve seen the numbers and that’s how you evaluate this, but I challenge you to ride those buses everyday to see what an intolerable disaster it has become in the peak hours after work.
Fun update – currently sitting on the 311 bus now which had to pass the final stop before I-5 because the bus was too full. A reminder that you’d like to eliminate both this and its counterpart, the 257, and replace it with a single bus.
Thanks Matt, and sorry for the frustration. We routed your feedback to service planners. Our team says that the new Route 256 will be operating with all 60-foot buses to address the rider demand, instead of the past practice that included some 40-foot buses on routes 257 and 311. We will be monitoring ridership on Route 256 and will consider whether to add trips if there is persistent crowding based on Metro’s Service Guidelines. We want to learn as much as possible about how these changes are working for people. We will be listening and monitoring performance over time. Please leave us specific comments about your needs and we will keep them in front of mind as we have opportunities to consider adjustments.
You’re lucky to even have that service before. I commute from Southeast King County (Fairwood area) and it’s very difficult. King County Metro does not care. It’s fairly consistent in the morning but evenings are horrific because of how late the buses run.
They run a bus to my neighborhood (148) all day but forces us to transfer to a peak hour only bus to get to Seattle. The 102 runs in peak hours but only every 30-60 minutes. Conveniently too the 148 bus leaves 1-2 mins before the transfer arrives so your forced to wait for 20+ minutes. You can’t even transfer to the 560 either. Not sure who even designed this route. Why not just run those 148 buses to Seattle more frequently via 101/102?? Those buses already continue to Rainier Beach and Chinatown through an indirect path (107) which nobody wants to go since it takes 2+ hours. Some other bus like 153 could continue to Rainier Beach instead where most commuters in 153 wouldn’t use that bus to Seattle since they have 150.
Metro loves either building buses to nowhere or buses that run 20 minutes late every day.
Must be getting close to pre-pandemic levels of service. How is the ridership?
This is the King County Metro ridership portal
https://app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrIjoiZDMwMWExOTMtOTY3ZC00MTU5LTgxMDgtODM4MTZiYTExMzJkIiwidCI6ImJhZTUwNTlhLTc2ZjAtNDlkNy05OTk2LTcyZGZlOTVkNjljNyJ9
Have you seen trains in Mumbai where they have to ride on top or risk getting trampled while piling onto the bus? That’s how ridership is right now in SLU