The ORCA speedrun requires taking at least 12 buses, 5 trains, and 4 boats throughout Puget Sound.
At 9:59am last Friday, I boarded Everett Transit Route 29 at Everett Transit Mall Station. While the six other passengers on the bus were traveling to work, home, or somewhere else, for me this trip was the first segment of my region-wide ORCA speedrun. Transit speedrunning is the process of visiting every station in a transit system as fast as possible. In cities/regions with complex rail transit networks, such as San Francisco or New York, competitors look for new routes to beat the previous record. While the Link light rail system now has 3 lines across Puget Sound, the speedrun route is fairly straightforward. Our rail network is not complex enough to provide other potential routes that are faster. However, the broader ORCA network is quite complex.
One Regional Card for All (ORCA) powers transit fares for nine transit agencies across four counties in Washington. Visiting every stop in the ORCA network would take months, so the ORCA speedrun has a simpler goal: ride every mode of fixed-route transit offered by each agency in the ORCA pod, as fast as possible. This includes every type bus service, rail service, and ferry service from each of the nine agencies. For example, King County Metro offers three types of bus service: local, express, and RapidRide. Likewise, Kitsap Transit has both Fast Ferries and Foot Ferries. In total, there are 21 different modes across the nine agencies. Paratransit, dial-a-ride-transit, or other on-demand services are not included. City Beautiful and The Transit Bandit have completed similar speedruns using seven of the transit modes in Seattle.
My Route
Centered around downtown Seattle, ORCA is supported by agencies to the north, south, and west. For my speedrun, I started in the north (Everett) and planned to finish in the south (Tacoma). I shared updates in real-time on Bluesky and a full map of the run is available here.
Snohomish County
Snohomish County has two dedicated transit agencies: Everett Transit (ET) and Community Transit (CT). ET is one of the smaller agencies on the list, it just runs local bus service. CT, meanwhile, has local bus routes, Express bus routes and Swift routes.
My trip on Route 29 checked the Everett Transit box. I got off the bus at the South Everett Freeway Station and transferred to an inbound Community Transit Express Route 905. Route 905 returned to I-5 and traveled directly to Lynnwood Transit Center. As I would need to return back to Lynnwood TC to board Link to get to Seattle, this next segment required an out-and-back using both Swift and a local route. I boarded the next Orange Line bus towards Edmonds College and took it one stop to Hwy 99. Thankfully, the traffic signal at Hwy 99 & 196th St was in my favor so I could catch the Lynnwood-bound Route 166 across the street with seconds to spare.
Several comments have raised concerns that the August 29th service change shortened Link’s service day, so that it now ends earlier and starts later. This interacts with the launch of ST Express “Night Ride” routes between midnight and 4am. These theoretically can replace Link trips. But the ST Express routes bypass several high-ridership Seattle Link stations. This can force trips that were on Link in the midnight hour or 11 pm hour or 4 am hour to an ST Express or Metro route, turn a 1-seat ride into a 2-seat ride, and the bus routes are less frequent than Link was.
I wanted to know, did the spans really change on August 29? What is the current situation on weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays? What kinds of trips at what hours are newly 2-seat rides? Where is the best place to live to have the earliest or latest Link service? Which can you go to on those lucky runs?
I looked at the new 1 Line and 2 Line schedules to quantify the current situation and changes. To reach these pages from Sound Transit’s website, use the schedule form on the home page to get to the interactive charts. To get a PDF of the schedule, go to the bottom of the page and press the “Full Schedule PDF” button.
I tried to make a consolidated list that would organize the first/last runs in different areas and days. But it was an insanely difficult job, and after a few hours I gave up.
Several transit agencies have their twice-yearly service change today or this week. South King County and Pierce County have the most extensive changes to coordinate bus service with Federal Way Link. East King County implements the almost-last phase of its East Link bus restructure. North King County and Snohomish County have some route restructures too. Two ST Express night owls start from downtown Seattle: a route 597 south to Lakewood, and a route 547 east to Bellevue and Redmond. A planned route north to Everett is delayed until 2027.
Are you doing a first-day ride today? Or tomorrow or next week? Which route(s) do you want to do first? Is it because they’re so different, or a trip you make regularly?
After 27 years, Route 550 will run its last trips across Lake Washington shortly after midnight tonight.
Transit agencies around Puget Sound are updating their networks this weekend. This service change is more significant than most with restructures in south King County and Pierce County,east King County, and north King County and Snohomish County. In addition to the local transit agencies, Sound Transit is revising its ST Express routes to reflect the several Link extensions over the past few years. While the new routes and overall network are a better use of each agency’s limited resources, Puget Sound transit passengers will be losing several routes that have transformed the region.
There are a few organized events to bid farewell to some routes. In Issaquah, Rep. Zach Hall and Councilmember Kelly Jiang are hosting a Celebration of Life for routes 271 and 554. The ceremony will take place at Issaquah Transit Center at 6pm today.
Thank you to everyone to joined Seattle Transit Trivia on Monday. After a competitive game, top scores are:
Henry Horenstein: 19 points
Aaron Gu: 17 points
Scooby Doo and the Goblin King: 16 points
If you are one of top scorers, please check your email for information about the prizes. This post will share the correct answers for all 39 questions. If you missed the game on Monday but want to test your Seattle transit knowledge, check out the questions from Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3.
The final phase of the Lynnwood Link restructure will take place in north King County on August 29. These changes are in response to the improved frequency of the 1 Line and 2 Line between Seattle and Lynnwood and the upcoming opening of Pinehurst station. In Snohomish County, Community Transit is opening the Cathcart Park & Ride and adjusting the early-monring/late-night trips for several routes. The Fall 2026 restructure also includes routes in south King County and Pierce County, as well as east King County.
Sound Transit is dramatically expanding its night service network with new routes between Seattle-Redmond and Seattle-Lakewood. Unfortunately, the planned night owl route between Seattle-Everett has been delayed until 2027.
Update: Thank you for playing Seattle Transit Trivia! We will share the answers and announce the winners in an article later this week.
Welcome to Round 3 of Seattle Transit Trivia! Answer each question below with a comment on this post. There are still a few questions from Round 1 and Round 2 that have not been answered correctly. Each question below is worth 3 points. Good luck!
What is the shortest (by round trip distance) all-day bus route ever operated by King County Metro? (route)
In 2025, which Washington State Ferries route carried the most vehicles? (route)
Excluding Trailhead Direct, Shuttles, and school routes, which Metro stop serves both directions for the most routes (excluding the first and last stop for each route)? (stop)
For example, stop 30453 (VA Medical Center) serves one route in both directions (Route 50). Identify the stop that serves the most routes in both directions.
At the end of the Fall 2025 service change, how many bus stops in Seattle served King County Metro’s fixed route buses? (number)
Which Link station on the 1 Line or 2 Line has the highest elevation above sea level? (stop)
Rank the following transit agencies/services from highest to lowest based on their June 2026 bus ridership: Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro, Pierce Transit, ST Express (order)
Long before the 2 Line, a King County Metro route provided service between Seattle and Bellevue via I-90. What route? (route)
How many parking spaces are available in park & rides served by at least one Sound Transit route? (number)
Rank Kitsap Transit’s ferry routes from highest to lowest in terms of ridership on July 6, 2026: Annapolis Foot Ferry, Bremerton Fast Ferry, Kingston Fast Ferry, Port Orchard Foot Ferry, Southworth Fast Ferry (order)
What is the name of the only Link station that has permanently shut down? (stop)
How many miles did the first Link LRV need to travel during testing? (number)
How many mariners are needed to operate the Wenatchee each day? (number)
Which Link station is shown in the picture below? (stop)
Where was this picture taken? Description: Grey panels near exposed concrete
