Metro Transit is making its largest single addition of new service since 2001, which comes at a time when the King County system’s ridership is nearly 7 percent higher than last year.
The new service includes two new bus routes and additional service on 20 existing routes.
The new schedule began last Saturday, though many of the changes for weekday commuter routes didn’t take effect until Monday, Metro officials said.
The new bus routes include Route 157, providing weekday peak-commute service to areas east of Kent. The service connects the Lake Meridian Park-and-Ride near Covington and downtown Seattle with stops at Kent East Hill, Glencarin, South 212th Street, and Interstate 5.
The other new service, Route 215, will serve North Bend and Snoqualmie residents during peak-commute times.
Of the 20 expansions of existing routes, four are in the south King County area on Routes 143, 153, 164 and 915. There are also service additions on 11 routes in Seattle and five in the Eastside area.
Metro’s ridership has risen to about 400,000 boardings each weekday and is expected to increase this fall.
“We’ve listened to riders, cities and businesses, and are pleased to have these improvements hit the road as ridership continues to climb and more service is needed,” said County Executive Ron Sims. “So many more people are taking the bus that Metro is among the fastest-growing large transit agencies in the nation.”
Most of the additional service for the September service change is funded through the voter-approved, countywide Transit Now initiative. The expanded service represents more than 48,000 new annual hours of bus availability, according to Metro.
By the end of this year, Metro will have added a total of 110,000 hours in Transit Now-funded service to increase service and relieve overcrowding, officials said.
Metro updates its routes and scheduling three times a year. Bus riders can find all the September changes detailed in the Special Rider Alert brochure available on Metro Online. New orange timetables will be available on buses and in Metro information racks. The information is also in the online Trip Planner.
In addition to buses, Metro offers Rideshare esources for carpooling, vanpooling or vansharing. Additional information is available at (206) 553-3000.
