Share your voice on proposed transit changes in Renton
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As downtown Renton grows and evolves, King County Metro is seeking public feedback on proposed changes to a dozen bus routes and their bus stops in the Renton area.
The Renton Area Mobility Project supports the City of Renton’s ongoing changes to its downtown and will focus on connecting Metro service to the future Renton Transit Center, located near the South Renton Park-and-Ride.
Opening in 2028, the new transit center will connect Metro bus routes and Metro Flex services with the future RapidRide I Line and Sound Transit’s Stride S1 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, creating a regional transit hub with connections between Burien, Renton, Bellevue and beyond.
Take our survey by November 30 to tell us what you think about the proposed service changes. Metro will use public input to help shape decisions about the proposed network that we will share with the community in mid-2027, when we’ll ask for one more round of input.
Project overview
Metro is working closely with Renton to develop new bus routes and stop locations that support a transition to the future transit center. Maintaining access to downtown businesses, services, neighborhoods and community destinations is still a priority.
Major Metro and Sound Transit service will include:
- Metro bus routes and Metro Flex vehicles, allowing for easier transfers to the Renton downtown business district.
- The future RapidRide I Line, for fast and easy connections to Renton, Kent and Auburn.
- Stride S1 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line, providing connections between Burien, Renton and Bellevue.
Most bus stops and service will be relocated from the South Renton Park-and-Ride to the future Renton Transit Center when it opens, however, parking will remain available at the Park-and-Ride.
To line up with the opening of the new transit center and the Stride S1 Line, Metro plans to redesign new transit service in fall 2028, pending King County Council review and approval.
Project routes
The following bus and Metro Flex services are under consideration for changes:
- Bus routes 101, 102, 105, 106, 107, 143, 148, 153, 240, 907
- Please note: Route 143 was suspended during Metro’s pandemic response and is not currently operating
- RapidRide F Line
- Future RapidRide I Line (currently Route 160)
- Metro Flex zones in Skyway and the Renton Highlands
Changes will primarily focus on pathway changes in and around downtown Renton to move to the future facility.
How transit service may change
The future Renton Transit Center on South Grady Way is under construction next door to the South Renton Park-and-Ride and two-thirds of a mile south of the current transit center at South Second Street and Logan Avenue South. That facility is scheduled to be decommissioned. Moving service to the new location means some bus routes will need to change their paths.
The Renton Area Mobility Project is designed to connect buses to the future transit center and Sound Transit’s Stride bus rapid transit while avoiding or minimizing reductions in service. Most routes will use more direct paths to and from the new transit center. As a result, fewer routes will directly serve some parts of downtown Renton.
Transit network highlights
Connections
All bus services in downtown Renton will connect at the future Renton Transit Center. Riders will also have connections along:
- Rainier Avenue
- Main Avenue and Mill Avenue
- Second Street and Third Street
Multiple routes will operate along these streets, making it easier to transfer between services.
Service to downtown Renton
Downtown Renton will continue to have frequent service, including:
- East-west service: Route 101 and RapidRide F and I lines (current Route 160) on Second Street and Third Street
- North-south service: Routes 101, 105, 240 and 907 on Main Avenue and Mill Avenue
- Metro Flex: Service in Rainier Beach/Skyway and Renton Highlands
Service level adjustments
The project proposes a few changes to how often buses run:
- Trips on Route 102 that currently start and end at the South Renton Park & Ride would become Route 101 trips. This would provide 15-minute service between Renton and Seattle throughout the weekday. The total number of trips between Renton and Downtown Seattle will be the same as today.
- Route 907 would operate more hours of the day with trips earlier in the morning and later at night.
- Service levels would remain the same on all other Metro routes in Renton.
The first phase of the project runs from October to November 2026. During this time, Metro will inform the public —including riders in affected communities—about its scope and vision and work with community-based organizations and other key stakeholders to gather multi-lingual feedback on the proposed changes to learn more about community priorities and how they should inform the final proposal. We are also working closely with a mobility board of people who live, work or travel through Renton to guide the project.
We hope to hear from you as the project progresses!
Regarding the proposed route for the Rapid I Line: The buses will travel behind the Benson Plaza and there is no traffic light at the intersection of 105th PL SE and SE Carr Rd. What is the plan for getting buses across the busy two eastbound lanes of SE Carr Rd before they turn west towards VMC?
Please keep the 106 and 107 route near Downtown Renton. We use these busses to get to and from Downtown Renton from Skyway. The proposed routes would have us cross Rainier and add a 15 min walk to our commute.
Uncouple the 107 and 148…..because of the 107 portion of the route has to deal with Downtown traffic the 148 portion of the route is never on time during peak hours. Also why no Flex service to the 3rd hill in Renton? Skyway amd the Highlands do NOT have the shopping that Benson and Fairwood have. So why wouldn’t you have this service going to the biggest shopping zones in the city? As for the 101, 102 merger….you state that 102 routes will simply become 101 routes BUT that the total number of trips downtown will not change….this seems like regression not advancement. Try again
Still everything ends in the so called DT Renton. Valley Medical employees get free transit passes but can’t really use them. East-west bus doesn’t reach the Seatac airport/link.. North-south is useless cause no one in this demography would live in DT Renton or in Kent and no one will transfer to another bus. Same thing for patients. Residents of this hospital district pay taxes for it all the way to South Bellevue but no direct bus service to/from there either.. The planning of the new 160 seems like a neglect. EVERYONE knows the current 160 can’t go up or down Carr/Petrovitsky steep stretch in winters, unless line I buses will have superpowers, it’s not gonna happen on freezing days, they just gonna clog up this choking point even more if the frequency is added. I thought it would at least continue on flat Talbot and then 200th, but nope it’s the same as miserable 160 route. The worse part it terminates at DT Renton too. No regional connections to/from regional hospital. Renton City Hall with regional courts also out of reach of regional transit, yet Rainier with box stores/parking lots and gas stations gets so many buses. Same with the east-west 906 bus instead of Airport, it ends short at parking lots of Southcenter to the west and ends near 140th Ave a single family home maze with 3 car garages each. Maple Valley btw is also paying tax for this hospital district, yet no transit access to VMC… talking about neglected 906.. This whole plan seems very sloppy.. Same old DT Nothing Renton terminus for ALL as it was planned in the 1960’s..
There should be increased bus service to and from Valley Medical Center linking all neighborhoods within the hospital’s taxing district. People who don’t drive should have equal access to a hospital that they pay taxes for. Ideally, Valley Medical Center would open a smaller, satellite hospital in Maple Valley to better serve the growing population out there. But that is very unlikely, and certainly beyond the scope of anything Metro Transit could do.
There should also be increased bus service to and from Renton City Hall since it houses regional courts. Perhaps one of the routes that serves the big box stores could be rerouted to serve city hall instead?
I wanted the 143X back to turn into express all-day and remove the 907 which takes every half-hour bus and it’s too small on that bus also I think those new routed 103 & 104 should be created for those structured new bus routes, express only or all day.
Period. So what will route 103 and 104 will look like?
It’s kind of hard to get a sense of routing for the 101. It looks like part of it overlaps leaving me uncertain what part goes north and what part goes south. Will mill ave s still have stops going north for the 101?
What exactly changed besides making transfers to the 101 even harder? At least Bellevue service will be improved.
I suggest split the 101 into two routes.
102 – Fairwood to Seattle
105 – Renton Highlands to Seattle
Both routes run every 20 mins to Rainier Beach Station. Every third trip goes to SODO station skipping Rainier Beach. During peak hours, add a few extra trips to SODO. Since the SODO busway is closing and all buses go on 4th, it will be easy to transfer and continue into downtown on any bus.
Extend the Rapid I Line to Rainier Beach station. Add a peak hour bus /HOV/ right only requirement at the I-5 MLK way exit.
This will be a better experience for a lot of 101 riders who are transferring from other routes.
Also we should add a Covington-S Renton service via 132nd and 208th/108th, as well as Maple Valley-S Renton via Petrovitsky and Benson. Otherwise you’re not really adding any Stride connections.
105 really??? I just saw the 105 running on Rainier Ave S from today.
These are all good ideas. I would also consider adding direct routes from the new Renton Transit Center to Southcenter Mall and Sea-Tac Airport to further strengthen transit connections in the area.