Metro’s Next Stop: King County Metro moves people

ByJeff Switzer, King County Metro
Graphic with text Metro's Next Stop with images of a family taking a selfie, trailhead hikers and a bus driver waving

Public transit plays a critical role in helping people get to essential places and connect to opportunities.

As the region’s largest public transit agency, we know that the choices made now will shape economic opportunity, affordability, quality of life and how people move in our communities for decades to come.

King County is growing and Metro must evolve as the needs of its residents and visitors change. To guide this growth, Metro worked with riders, community partners, cities, and employers to shape Metro’s Next Stop, the agency’s roadmap to 2038. (Read more: Metro’s Next Stop Executive Summary PDF; Metro’s Next Stop Full Report PDF)

Throughout the county, we heard the same message: people care deeply about high-quality transit service they can trust to bring them to their destinations safely, quickly and reliably. We listened.

Metro’s Next Stop outlines the investments needed to:

  • Create a safer, more welcoming transit experience
  • Improve speed and reliability of trips
  • Expand service and access to transit
  • Modernize customer information tools
  • Transition to lower- and zero-emission vehicles

Together, these investments will help build a transit system that better serves the people of King County today—and generations to come

Metro today

For over 50 years, Metro has provided public transit service throughout King County. Every day, people in King County take over 300,000 trips on Metro services.

While buses, operators and stops are the most visible parts of the system, behind the scenes Metro is supported by thousands of employees and critical partnerships, and built through years of planning, responsible budgeting and rider input.

What’s next?

Metro is creating a world-class, integrated public transportation network that connects our diverse and growing communities across the region. By 2038, King County is expected to have almost 244,000 more residents than today and 231,000 more jobs. This growth will increase the need for safe, reliable and affordable ways for people to get around and stay connected to jobs, education, healthcare, recreation and each other.

Transit supports growth.

Growth brings new opportunities, stronger communities and increased demand on the region’s transportation systems. Metro continually works with community organizations, cities, employers and regional partners to improve mobility in ways that reflect the needs of our riders.

Investment in transit also strengthens the regional economy. Studies show that every $1 invested in public transit generates approximately $5 in return through increased economic activity, job access and community development.

Investing where needs are greatest.

For Metro, mobility means the ability to get where you need to go, when you need to go. Metro’s approach prioritizes investments in communities with greater transit needs while supporting affordability, mobility and climate goals.

Community feedback is the foundation of Metro’s Next Stop.

Metro regularly engages with community to determine service improvements, future investments and plans, and programs and policies. Members of the Equity Cabinet, representing groups of people historically left out of decision-making, also helped identify priorities and guide investments, and Metro worked with community partners, agencies, cities, employers and institutions to help align plans across the region.

Top priorities identified by our engagement:

  • Adding new bus service, and service that runs more often.
  • Improving safety and security on all parts of our system.
  • Making trips faster and more reliable.

Getting to Metro’s Next Stop

Metro’s Next Stop is designed to make everyday trips faster, safer, and more reliable, no matter where people are traveling in King County.

By 2038, Metro’s Next Stop would deliver:

  • Up to nine new bus routes and four new RapidRide routes
  • More routes running every 15 minutes or better
  • Targeted corridor and intersection improvements to move buses faster
  • Trained behavioral health professionals and increased security presence, and better incident reporting options

These investments support:

  • A 12% increase in Metro service by 2038
  • Improved transit access, with up to 90% of jobs and 71% of King County residents within a quarter mile of transit
  • Transit travel time improvements of 4% to 8%, saving about 3 to 5 minutes per trip.
  • Increased transit ridership of 52% on weekdays, 56% on Saturdays and 78% on Sundays.
  • Improved safety response and visibility across the system.
  • Metro plans to replace 80% of its bus fleet by 2038, with 1/3 of buses operating as electric vehicles.

Metro will also improve the rider experience through cleaner vehicles, upgraded stops and stations, better lighting, real-time arrival information, improved trip-planning tools and continued investment in lower-emission vehicles.

Moving Forward Together

Delivering Metro’s Next Stop will require additional funding, strong and innovative regional partnerships and continued coordination with cities, employers and community organizations.

Metro’s Next Stop prioritizes investments that deliver the greatest community benefit while working to minimize impacts on households already facing economic pressures.

To maintain existing service and support future growth, Metro is exploring a combination of partnership funding, additional local revenue options and increased flexibility from the state to maintain existing service and support future growth.

Come along for the ride.

To get there, we need you—our community, our cities and towns, our partners and riders—to join us. Thanks for being part of our journey.

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