Metro and Sound Transit Bus changes effective February 5

February 5, 2011

Summary

Story

The month of February brings bus chagnes to both Metro Transit and Sound Transit. Metro Transit updated its bus service, strating February 5. This includes additional bus service on State Route 520, routing and bus stop changes for approximately two dozen bus routes from various areas of the county that pass through downtown Seattle, and a new express route connecting Kenmore to First Hill with stops in Lake City and South Lake Union. The Sound Transit Express Regional Bus also made bus changes that were effective beginning February 5. Major changes include more trips added to Route 522 and stop changes in downtown Seattle for most of the Sound Transit Express routes. Continue reading for additional information.

Metro Bus Changes

Website for new routes effective Feb 5, 2011 - https://metro.kingcounty.gov/

Highlights of February Metro changes by area

Downtown Seattle

1^st Ave

· Routes 15, 18, 21, 22, 56 and 57 will move to 3rd Ave between Broad St and Edgar Martinez Dr. Route 81 Night Owl will move to 3rd Ave between Broad St and Pike St; it will continue to operate on 2nd Ave south of Union St. All of these routes, except Route 81, will serve the yellow/red bus stops northbound and the blue/red bus stops southbound on 3rd Ave.

· Route 99
Click and drag the map to reposition the window in your browser.
Other formats: Zoomify map | PDF Map The Route 99 Waterfront Streetcar Line will operate northbound on 1st Ave between S Jackson St and Broad St instead of Alaskan Way. Southbound routing on Alaskan Way will not change.

· Routes 10 and 12 will continue to operate both directions on 1st Ave between Marion St and Pine St.

2nd Ave

· The bus stops south of University and Spring streets will close. Also, the bus stop south of Seneca St will be served by different routes.2nd and 4th Ave. Boarding Locations
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· Routes 111 and 114 will operate on 2nd Ave serving the bus stops at Stewart, Seneca and Cherry streets.

· Routes 143, 157 and 161 will operate on 2nd Ave serving bus stops at Pike, Marion, James and S Jackson streets.

· When the transit tunnel is closed, routes 101, 102, 106 and 150 will serve bus stops at Pike, Marion, James and S Jackson streets. Metro routes 212, 216, 217, 218, 225 and 229, and ST Route 550 will serve bus stops at Stewart, Seneca and Cherry streets.

· The existing red alternating stops have changed to orange.

· Seattle Transit Tunnel Hours are from 5 am to 1 am, Mon. – Sat., 6 am – midnight on Sunday

3rd Ave

To maximize use of the bus stops on Third Avenue, Metro is expanding its alternating-stop system on that street. Bus routes skip every other stop, and some will be grouped differently at these stops than they have been in the past. Metro is using color coding at the stops to help bus drivers. Some riders may find these colors useful for quick reference, but always check a sign at the stops to make sure your route number is listed there. Do not identify your bus stop only by color code, because they could change throughout the year.

Northbound on Third Ave

The yellow/red bus stops are on Prefontaine Pl S south of Yesler Way and on 3rd Ave north of Pike St and south of Columbia and Seneca streets. Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 25, 49 and 70 serve this alternating stop pattern. Routes 301 and 316 will also serve these bus stops when the transit tunnel is closed.

The blue/green bus stops are on 3rd Ave north of Pine St and south of James, Madison and Union streets. Metro routes 5, 11, 16, 26, 28, 66, 306, 308, 312 and 358, and ST Route 522 serve this alternating stop pattern. Routes 41, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76 and 77 will also serve these bus stops when the transit tunnel is closed.

Southbound on Third Ave

The yellow/green bus stops are located north of Pine and Marion streets and south of Union and James streets. Routes 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 23, 27, 34, 35, 36, 39, 82 Night Owl and 124 serve this alternating stop pattern.

The blue/red bus stops are located north of Pike St and south of Seneca and Columbia streets. Routes 21, 22, 54, 55, 56, 57, 79, 84 Night Owl, 113, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 304 and 355 serve this alternating stop pattern.

· Route 111 to Lake Kathleen and Route 114 to the Renton Highlands have moved from 3rd Ave to 2nd Ave serving the bus stops at Bell, Stewart, Seneca and Cherry streets. These routes also serve the bus stop westbound on Bell St just west of 4th Ave and eastbound on S Washington St just west 4th Ave S.

· Route 143 to Black Diamond has moved from 3rd Ave to 2nd Ave serving the bus stops at Bell, Pike, Marion, James and S Jackson streets. It also serves the bus stop westbound on Bell St just west of 4th Ave.

· Route 157 to Lake Meridian P&R and Route 161 to East Hill have moved from 3rd Ave to 2nd Ave serving the bus stops at Bell, Pike, Marion, James and S Jackson streets.

4th Ave

· The existing red alternating stops have changed to orange.

West & South

On weekdays, trips will be added to Route 54 between Seattle and White Center to increase the service frequency to every 10-15 minutes between 3:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

East Side/ North

There are routing and bus stop changes for approximately two dozen bus routes from various areas of the county that pass through downtown Seattle, including Rt. 114 that serves South Bellevue and Newcastle. The downtown changes are designed to keep people moving during the long-term construction along the Seattle waterfront and SODO area;

Two morning trips on Route 219 serving Factoria will be deleted;

There are more trips on routes 255 and 311 as part of the additional bus service for the State Route 520 corridor to provide more alternatives to driving when bridge tolling begins this spring. Both serve the 520 freeway stops in Bellevue;

In Overlake, routes 247 and 269 return to previous routing on Northeast 31st Street and 152nd Avenue Northeast. Other parts of the current routing will be deleted;

Route 342 southbound trips from Aurora Village at 6:24 a.m. and 6:49 a.m. will end at the Wilburton Park-and-Ride instead of continuing to Renton, and the northbound trip to Shoreline Park-and-Ride at 4:37 p.m. will originate at the Wilburton Park-and-Ride

New Route 309 will connect Kenmore with First Hill via Lake City and South Lake Union with commute-time express service; and

On Feb. 26, routes 230, 234, 236, 238, 245, 248, and 255 return to the rebuilt Kirkland Transit Center, existing reroutes continue until that date.

SR-520 bridge

Metro and Sound Transit have added about 130 trips each weekday to bus route crossing the SR-520 bridge, including new service on routes 255 and 311. More buses mean more alternatives to driving and paying the bridge tolls that begin in spring 2011.

Sound Transit Bus Changes

Website - www.soundtransit.org/stexpress

Check website for Bus route information.

Highlights of February Sound Transit changes

ST Express

Route 522: New trips added; stop changes in downtown Seattle and

minor schedule changes

Route 540: Service returns to Kirkland Transit Center; minor stop changes

in Kirkland

Route 554: Stop changes in downtown Seattle

Route 577: Stop changes in downtown Seattle

Route 578: Stop changes in downtown Seattle

Route 590-595: Stop changes in downtown Seattle

Route 511, 513 and 532: Please note that when the Mountlake Terrace

Freeway Station opens in spring 2011, schedules will change for ST Express

Routes 511 and 513, which will begin serving that station. You’ll also

have more travel options with new trips added on routes 511 and 532.

For the most up-to-date schedule information, sign up for e-mail alerts at

www.soundtransit.org/subscribe

Sounder

No changes

Tacoma Link

No changes

Central Link

No changes