Details on the changes in Metro bus service, effective February 6th, are available online. New red timetables and a special rider alert brochure will soon be available. The changes are now live on the Trip Planner and timetables will be posted online on February 5. This is a major service change, with over 80 bus routes affected. Highlights are:

  • New Route 156 to replace part of Route 140 service in McMicken Heights and will serve Southcenter, SeaTac/Airport Link, and Tukwila Sounder stations.
  • Route 194 replaced by Link light rail and expanded service on ST Express routes 574, 577, and 578.
  • Route 140 now serves Tukwila International Blvd station via Southcenter Blvd. It no longer serves McMicken Heights (use Route 156), the airport (use Link), and Air Cargo Rd (use Route 180).
  • ST 560 and 574 will be the only routes serving the Sea-Tac Airport terminal stops. All other routes will serve SeaTac/Airport Station (including ST 574)
  • Routes 76, 77, 216, 218, and 316 move to the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel
  • Long-term construction reroutes for 73, 77, and 316 373 in the Northgate area.
  • More frequent service on routes 8, 9, 36 and 60 to improve connections to Link
  • More trips on routes between West Seattle, SODO, and downtown Seattle as mitigation for Viaduct construction.
  • Trip reductions on approximately 40 Metro routes

Previously covered: Sound Transit service changes, also on Feb 6.

90 Replies to “Metro’s February Service Change Now Online”

  2. Lots of Sunday cuts in the early AM/late PM – hourly service will be the norm on a lot of routes in those time periods.

    Also, I seem to remember this being discussed before, but why again is the 79 not moving to the DSTT while the 76/77 are? After the 1 PM trip is cut in this service change, only 4AM/3PM trips remain, so it can’t be a capacity issue, can it?

    1. The 76 and 77 currently use (and need) D60HF coaches, the ridership on the 79 is pretty light so even the 40′ Gilligs have plenty of empty seats. You could put the 79 in the tunnel but it would be a waste of DE60LF resources.

      1. Heck, just run the Gilligs through the tunnel!

        It’ll be just like when the MAN Americanas and the occaisional MAN Artic went throught the tunnel when the Bredas started conking out enmasse.

      2. The current ventilation system is not designed to handle emissions from those.

        The hybrids are unique with their Hush mode; between 0 and 15 MPH it’s 100% electric, and between 15 and 25 it’s a combination of diesel and electric designed to reduce emissions.

      3. They kinda did that during last year’s Snowpocalypse when the artics were parked. My bus was overcrowded and loading took forever. Tunnel stinked of diesel fumes and the cold air made me dizzy. Not a recipe for the long term attractiveness of transit.

      5. Heck, I’ve done the 79 on 35′ Gilligs couple of times, when the route moved from North to Central base last year. You still had empty seats.

        By the way, speaking of the 35′ Gilligs….(3185-3199), after this shakeup is over next Friday, they will be gone. Except for the two Center Park coaches, 3198,3199 I believe. They will be retired from what I understand, because we just don’t need them anymore. So if anyone one wants to see them, ride them , or take pictures of them, you have a week. That also means ALL Vashon service will use the 40′ Gillig now rather than just some of the Express trips.

      6. What if I want to buy one and live in it? I saw an old articulated MAN bus painted in Metro livery with curtains and a stovepipe and the whole nine yards on I-5 once.

  3. Can you clarify the routing of 574 and 560? So the 574 will go first to Link and then loop around to the terminal on its way back to Tacoma? And the 560 will only serve the terminal? Will signage clearly reflect this?

    1. From the KCM Website:

      Beginning Saturday, Feb 6, Metro routes 140, 174 and 180 will no longer serve the bus stops at the Sea-Tac Airport main terminal. ST Routes 560 and 574 will continue to serve the bus stop at the airport main terminal in both directions. New Route 156 and routes 174, 180 and 574 will serve the SeaTac/Airport Station bus stops at International Blvd/S 176th St.

      At the Sea-Tac Airport terminal, Bay 1 will be permanently closed, and Bay 2 will remain in its current location but without a bay designation.

      Since they are going to close Bay 1, I suspect that signage will be altered to represent this.

      3. Grrrrrr… I don’t like that at all, actually.

        When I flew back the other day, I took Link into Downtown and transferred to a West Seattle bus because it’s usually faster (or at least time equal with wait & transfer) for me to get to my home in West Seattle.

        I was hoping with the service change that the 560 would move out to Airport Station so I could choose which is faster. Now I’ve got to try to gauge schedules and which completely opposite end of the airport I want to head to?

        *SIGH*

      5. Since Link runs every 10-15 minutes, you don’t really need a schedule.

        But yes the 560 will be at the opposite end of the airport from other transit service. The Port needs to improve signage at the airport. At present many of the signs are very unclear as to where to go. Once Feb 6 comes they should direct everyone towards the Link airport & nearby bus stops unless they are headed for ST-560.

      6. does anyone know why the 560 is not moving? aren’t they going to all move anyways or will it stay there forever?

      7. IMHO the 574 should have served TIB first (Via going north on I5 to 509 than exit at intl blvd, than proceed south to serve the airport and layover, alternaitvly you could serve the airport than TIB. I think skipping TIB entirely on this route is a mistake (although not the first) that ST is making. although it will stop both ways at the sea-tac airport station now. Of course if ST was on the ball with this, the 574 would have been serving TIB the day LINK opened.

      8. I’m not sure this makes sense. There is direct Federal Way to Seattle service (ST 577/578) and lots of Tacoma-Seattle service. The function of ST574 is to serve SeaTac airport. Since it connects with Link at the Seatac Airport station, there is no need to connect a second time at TIB

      9. I don’t know Ben. The eastbound exit and westbound entrance to SR-518 is pretty far from Tukwila Int’l Blvd Station. Not only that, but for folks going from the airport to Bellevue would have to take Link one station and transfer. Do you think people would do that?

      10. To Z-
        If that change was made, you’d have to serve the airport first. There are stops on 188th that are served by the 574 and 194. Since the 194 is going away, the 574 should probably keep them.

      13. Since Zach didn’t get his question answered, I’ll do so, belatedly. The 560 will serve Airport Station, both ways.

        Now, the travel time between the station and the busstop below the station is at least a couple minutes. You can wait down at the busstop, then head upstairs when you see a train coming. I am hoping an elevator down to the bus stop on the west side of the highway will be added in the near future, but it might not be cheap. A shelter would be much appreciated.

        Anyway, thanks to Metro and ST for getting all the airport bus routes to serve the station.

  4. So still no all-day connection from Tukwila-Sounder-AND-Cascades station to the nearby international airport?

    Brilliant!

    Well, I guess when Cascades moves to Freighthouse Square, then finally there will be a viable train to ST574 to airport connection for those coming from the south.

    1. actually the connection to tukwilla station isnt all day from what i understand. further you’ll have to transfer at tib to go to the airport. WSDOT/Amtrak should work with metro to expand all trips to serve the tukwilla station full time, and go all the way to the airport. i know it would duplicate link, however it would provide a one seat connection. Ticking wise metro could work an agreement with Amtrak to accept a valid amtrak ticket for that connection on that route only. Either that or WSDOT/Amtrak simply funds a seperate bus for their purposes, which might be better in the long run to meet all the trains at tukwilla.

      1. Or take the 156 to SeaTac/Airport Station. It might be quicker to take the 140 (runs more frequently) and transfer to Link.

        One of the problems with having the 140 serve Tukwila Station all day if I recall is the road across the Boeing property is not open during the day.

  5. This is terrible news for people who take the 76 and 316 and work at the south end of downtown, since we will have to go through all of downtown rather than be the first stop off the freeway, and, in the morning, the bus will have to stick to the west side of the express lanes rather than the faster lane that feeds to 5th Ave. Also, we’ll have to walk to the bus tunnels. I’ll take bets that this will add ten minutes to our commute. This is a move in the wrong direction.

    1. Wait until the schedule comes out before you jump on the complain train. Recall that
      a) The express lanes are generally faster than the normal lanes
      b) There is a dedicated offramp from I-5 to the tunnel
      c) It takes exactly ten minutes to get from Convention Place Station to International District station. You never have to wait for pedestrians.
      d) You’re not the only one riding the bus; there are others that actually like the tunnel better.
      e) The tunnel is protected from the elements much better than any stop on the surface. If it’s raining, you can dry out. If it’s hot, it’s cooler in the tunnel by at least 10 degrees. If it’s cold, it’s a little bit warmer than it is upstairs.

    2. Wait! I know what you’re talking about here as a Metro Driver…..all those who pile on a 5/James before the bus hits the freeway.

      BUT…..how long do you have to wait for a late bus somedays?

      I know some nights on Mariner nights, traffic is horrible. First of all, the 76,77,316 start at Fred Hutch….These buses can become very late depending on if you can get through the light at Stewart/Eastlake/I-5 off Ramp. Then the bus has to come down Stewart, which can be bad. Then 3rd Av, which is normally great, but when the Viaduct backs up Columbia, and 3rd Av buses can’t turn down Columbia, it backs up the other buses. So by the time your bus gets to 5th/James, how late is it some nights?

      So keep that in mind! Your bus should be to pick you up ontime everynight. And if Pioneer Sq Station is your new stop, its only 8 minutes longer. 10 from Int’l Dist Station.

      Don’t forget too, if the routes is in the tunnel, you are guaranteed an Air Conditioned bus. Thats always good when summer rolls around.

  6. I appreciate your thoughts, and don’t like to complain for it’s own sake. This is just plainly a net loss for my cohort. I have plenty of experience riding the tunnel on the 71, 72, 73, 74, which I stopped taking because of these very issues, and instead started driving to the park and ride to take advantage of the sterling service on the 76 and 316, which was generally a 25 minute commute door-to-door.

    You are right that others may like it better, but I limited my complaint to the people who work at the south end of downtown — for us, we currently already enjoy the use of the express lanes on the 76 and 316 (a), and we have our own dedicated exit onto 5th Avenue (b), whereupon large crowds get off on the very first exit (i.e., this is a ten minute net add to our commute (c)). For every marginal minute you add, it makes it harder to justify taking Metro. I live 4 or 5 miles from work at the south end of downtown, and it takes me 40-50 minutes door-to-door if I take buses that go through the tunnel. It’s hard to justify that.

    1. It would be even harder to justify parking downtown.

      If on the very rare occasion I do park downtown, I always feel trapped – i can’t go to happy hour or do anything after work downtown because I’ll go past the ‘early bird’ rate of around $16 to $32 – no thanks, I’m a happy 26 rider.

    2. I have to agree. I moved south of the ship canal and away from Ravenna partly due to the ever-increasing length of my Metro commute, and I work on Pine St downtown.. In 1994, the 71 trip was 30 minutes or less, even on a Breda. By 2000 I had switched to the 76, even though I was the last passenger to get off at 5th and Olive because the 71 had bogged down in the UDistrict and again on I-5 approaching the exit to the tunnel. Autos cross left to right in front of busses from Mercer St southward and then slow or stop in the bus lane to ease their way into the long line waiting to get off at Stuart St. Meanwhile, over in the left lane we zipped right by on the 76, made the loop at Yesler, and came north on 3rd with few problems, especially after 3rd became transit only. This change is not a clever idea.

  7. Lots of peak only trips are being added to the tunnel. Is that a good idea? IT seems to me like there will be vary little buses running in it off peak hours and a ton during peak hours. Why don’t they put in routes like the 545, 554, 522 and possibly the 510 and 511 in instead? That would mean higher use in the tunnel at all times.

    1. First off…..there aren’t enough ST Hybrids to run another route through the tunnel for the 522,545,554. 510,511,513 can’t go through the tunnel because they are not operated by Metro and the operators are not tunnel trained.

      Second……it’s not a big deal because looking at the number of trips of the 174,194 that were taken out in Sept 09, and Feb 2010, versus the number of 76,77,216,218,316 was only a total gain of 3 maybe 4 trips in each direction. I can’t remember exactly, because I can’t find the post I explained this in a few months ago. And I only looked at peak hour 174/194 trips, because these new tunnel routes are only peak hour. So over a 4 hour period(3-7pm), thats only 3 or 4 trips added in each direction with the new tunnel routes. (And commuter buses load/unload faster than a 174/194 would. Less wheelchairs, and no luggage with the 174/194 gone)

      1. Okay, when I figured seeing a couple trips added in the tunnel, I was using current service levels. So now after looking at Metro Online, I see that 1 trip is being discontinued on each of the routes 76,77,316 and 3 trips of route 301, so northbound peak PM direction, 76,77,316 replace the 174/194 perfectly. Southbound will still be a 3/4 trips total gain during PM peak, but I don’t see that being a problem.

      2. But all those added trips will be peak hours only. The tunnel will be vary empty on off peak hours.

        Also, isn’t the 545, 554,and 522 operated by ST?

      3. All ST routes are operated and maintained by either Community Transit(510,511,513,532,535), Metro(522,540,545,550,554,555,556,560,”564,565…soon to be 566″ and 577) or Pierce Transit(574,578,590,591,592,593,594,595,599)….just as Sounder is operated by BNSF and maintained by Amtrak.

        So yes, 522, 545, 554 could use the DSTT….but there aren’t enough ST hybrid to put another ST route in the tunnel. You may see hybrids on the 545 or 522 sometimes, by that it’s because they either are some of the spare hybrids or that bus will at some point during the day will operate a 550 trip.

        Yes there is capacity to add routes for mid-day & evening service, but 522, 545, and 554 all operate during peak hours too, even with added service during peak hours. So then you would be way over capacity during peak hour. Just won’t work.

        If you can find a route that runs only at off-peak times and the routing would be somewhere near an entrance to the tunnel, and would requuire a 60′ bus, then yes, it probably should be in the tunnel, but I can’t think of any.

      4. I wonder why Metro didn’t return the former tunnel routes like the 306 and 312. They are using Convention Pl Station to access the express lanes already (b/c Link construction). Instead they chose other routes. I guess it had to do with scheduling.

        Actually the 554 has less service during peak hours because Metro has a ton of service to make up for it, most of it already in the tunnel like the 212, 216, 217, 218, 225, 229.

      5. 306 & 312 didn’t return to the tunnel, because they want them to stop at all the same stops as the 522. I remember when the ST took over the old route 307, the 522 was planned to go in the tunnel, but I don’t know what happened to that. Probably for the same reasons other routes don’t go in….the coach. The 522 didn’t need 60 footers when it first started, so mabye they saved the Breda’s for other routes. Now I think it should be down there, along with the 306/312, but again…..not enough ST Hybrids and not enough capacity for all that service.

        So 306/312/522 have same stops downtown. I used to ride those routes before the tunnel closed in 2005, and it was a pain because they stopped in different places. It’s less confusing to keep the 306/312 up with the 522.

        What I want to know though, is why choose the 316 for the tunnel….that route doesn’t need artic’s. I think currently, 1 trips in the AM and 1 in the PM uses 60 footers and the rest are Gilligs. They should have choosen the 355 instead. Most all 355 use 60 foot buses, and it comes in the same routing as the current (76,77,79,316)

      6. +1 on the 355.

        Nor do I know why the 355 sometimes get connected to the 197, or why the 197 got moved back to Central from South. Connect it with the 181 and then you’re only running empty from FWTC to South.

      7. The 355 and the 197 never are connected. That would make a long route. They might be on the same run or tripper though. It will happen more often this shakeup. I think more than a few coaches finishing rt 5’s at Northgate will go do a 197 for the last trip. And one of the one’s I picked for Friday will finish a route 5 at Shoreline, then go do a 197. And yes there is a run that does two S/B 197’s then a 355, 5 and 55, but they aren’t connected….just on the same run together.

    2. Metro gets first priority in adding/removing bus service in the tunnel and Sound Transit is limited to the number of buses (10 per hour per direction) it can put through by the agreement they made with Metro and the city to share the tunnel with trains.

      So theoretically, ST can put one more route in the tunnel.

      1. Actually, with Route 550 at six minute service at times, wouldn’t that be 10 buses per hour?

  8. Picaroon,

    I agree its worse in the morning but its better in evenings for me since I get done with work at about 6-6:30. Its allows me to catch either the 316/76 expresses or the 71/72/73 all from the the same place where before I would have to guess whether I would catch one of the last expresses or go tunnel. Also, I’ve been taking the 70’s in the mornings more often and the back up on the right hand lanes hasn’t been that bad of late. May get worse if/when the economy picks up

    1. The last 71/72/73/74 Express leaves IDS at 6:38 so that’s cutting it close for you sometimes.

      I think that’s pretty dumb, because the 70’s last two trips depart 3rd & Pike (essentially Westlake Station) at 6:40 and 6:55. So the first local of the night should be leaving Westlake at 7:10, not 6:44.

      I hate the locals.

      1. I hate driving the locals. I think the 70 should run later and the Expresses should go until 8pm. I once had a run, the 72 inbound was the first local of the evening, except I followed a 70 right down Eastlake. It didn’t make sense at all. That trip should have been an Express and the next 711 or 73 should have been the first local.

  9. Has anyone seen a breakdown of where the trip reductions are happening? Looks like a lot of weekend late night cuts in Seattle and then scattered reductions in the City and elsewhere. I can’t find anything on the Metro site that indicates whether these are “reductions” or “suspensions.” Anyone else have any luck?

    1. They’re not suspensions. If you read through the page Oran linked to you can see where and when they’re cutting trips.

  10. So i’m confused. at the airport link station It is clear where the northbound buses on intl blvd stop (right at the curb by the elevator) … but where will the southbound buses stop?

      1. Anyone know if a shelter will be installed on the southbound bus stop for 180? It looks like one could get a good soaking from cars there on a rainy day.

      2. That location will be a RapidRide station so expect the full RapidRide treatment to be installed there by the end of this year: a large shelter with seats, ORCA reader, and a next bus display.

      4. The route from the airport or Link station to the southbound stop is convoluted. You have to cross Int’l Blvd on the skybridge, go down to street level, then wait for the light and recross Int’l Blvd at street level.

        It would be nice if a stairway could be added to street level on the west side of Int’l Blvd. I hope ADA doesn’t prevent adding stairs, since otherwise everyone has to make the street crossing.

      5. I was thinking about that, and I don’t think ADA would prevent stairs, as disabled users can go across the ped bridge and use the elevator.

      6. this is retarded … they should loop the buses through that lot by the stairs / elevator on the east side of INTL BLVD

      7. There are lots of reasons why that is a bad idea. It would add as much as five minutes to the bus ride. The bus would have to make 3 left turns. There is a transit lane on the right side of Int’t Blvd there. The bus would have to get out of the transit lane, across several lanes of traffic to turn left. Better solution is to provide stairs to the Link station.

  11. I’m excited for the 140 change. It should run much faster now since it doesn’t have to cut through MckMicken Heights. It should make it much easier to get to Southcenter from Burien Transit Center. It used to be so slow running up the big hill and through the airport terminal. I could ride an alternate route with my bike and it would take about the same amount of time as riding the bus. Can’t wait. And with the closure of Bay 1 at the terminal, there won’t be as many people loitering around like there is now.

  12. I wish the could add some ST express bus service between Kent Station and Seattle to fill in the times that Sounder doesn’t current serve. 8:30 am is just too early to stop running…and the 150 is too much of a milk run.

    1. That’s what more Sounder service is for. I know it’ll be a while, but it’s coming.

    2. Why do we still run buses like 157, 158, 159, 161 and 162 from Kent neighborhoods directly to downtown Seattle during the same hours that Sounder runs? These must be extremely costly routes to run with one bus plus operator making only a single trip in a shift. Instead, a portion of those service hours should be used to provide buses that are timed to meet Sounder trains. The balance can be saved – or used to provide offpeak service

      1. Because riders don’t like to transfer twice. Sounder saves about 20 minutes to KSS from Kent, but waiting 5 minutes to catch it in Kent after you get off the Easthill Buses, then catch a bus to Westlake, eats up most of the time saving. Once you get you butt-warmed seat going, it’s just as easy to sit back and snooze.
        Also, Sounder is $3.50 and you only get credit for the base fare on a transfer, so that’s not any incentive either.

      2. We are having to cut bus service due to budget shortfalls. Routes that can only make one trip in a shift, but are scheduled for almost 90 minutes, are expensive to serve, and maybe we can’t afford to give them a one-seat ride anymore, especially since the marginal cost of Sounder capacity is almost zero.

        As to the fare – you are making the point that we should have a seamless fare structure. Why should we penalize you for using Sounder – cheaper to operate – than a bus. The bus price is probably too cheap, too.

      3. Wait, with ORCA you get full credit for what you paid on the first leg of the trip. So it’s $2.25 one-zone peak + $1.25 difference = $3.50 Sounder fare. Metro two-zone peak fares are creeping up towards Sounder fares. Next year the difference will be just 50¢.

      4. See, there’s zero reason to operate those buses to Seattle while the Sounder is running…they should all terminate in Kent.

        However…until we get more Sounder trains, there is every reason to shift the schedule of at least one of them, so that Express service from Kent to Seattle continues after 8:30am.

        It should cost much less to reduce the 4 different express bus services to zero for rush hour, and keep one operating during some of off-peak (I would have it run at least every 30 minutes, 8:30am to 3:30pm (when Sounder resumes) and then 7pm to 10pm.

        It would simply go from Kent to Seattle directly on I-5.

  13. So Seattle is becoming the land of one-hour buses on Sundays and evenings. When I was growing up in Bellevue, buses always came once an hour. I was stunned when I saw that the 2 and 14 went every 20-30 minutes. No more waiting an hour for a bus. Now the 60-minute disease is spreading into Seattle, it’s sad. We should be increasing these routes to 15 minutes or better at all times, then more people would ride them.

    Are these reductions because of the big revenue hole or are they separate from it?

      2. That’s why I take the 255 in to Seattle and do everything there. Instead of trying to rely on my local buses 236 & 238, which are slow milk runs, runs every 30(M-F)-60 minutes (weekends) , and stop running after 8 on weekdays and after 6 on weekends.

        Or I walk 15 minutes to the nearest Safeway, library, bank.

      3. “Or just avoiding going anywhere whatsoever.”

        I’m SO glad I don’t live on Queen Anne anymore. Sunday evenings are going hourly on the 2, 13, 3/4, AND 17. It would literally NEVER be worth leaving my apartment on a Sunday, lest I get stuck returning in the nightmare-schedule hours.

        Metro should be ASHAMED to be doing this just after raising their fares into most-expensive-system-in-the-country territory.

  14. Also, the Pierce Transit service changes for febuary are out as well. Nothing terrably special, some service trimming and a couple of minor routing adjustments, The new Canyon Road BUS PLUS route (replacing exisiting mid-county service).

  15. As a commuter between First Hill and Capitol Hill, I am glad to see increased service on the 60.

    I do hope that Metro someday staggers the northbound runs on the 9 and the 60, like they did a few years ago. Back then, on my way home, if I missed the 60, I could walk a few blocks and catch the 9 in a few minutes. Now, they run at the same time, running nose to tail up Broadway. If I miss one, I miss them both.

  16. I think Metro should have looked harder at truncating commuter express routes into Linking routes, before shortening hours of service on the regular routes.

    I don’t understand why ST added more runs to the 577, when that route competes with 574 + Link. The conspiracy theorists positing that ST is trying to force people to ride Link are wrong. ST is wasting a lot of money providing duplicate service competing with Link.

    I’m not trying to force more people to ride Link, except that we’re in a recession, and non-duplicate service runs are being cut while some duplicate-service runs are being increased. The 577, the continuance of the 590s to downtown instead of SeaTac, the 121, 122, 123, 150, etc, are gold-plated trips that would get more bang for the buck increasing frequency on these routes to Link (instead of all the way downtown), or using the money to keep all routes running earlier and later, or expediting light rail extension.

    I can see why the 590s and 577 would still be wanted during the morning commute, but at midday, and on the weekends, the trip time could be reduced, on average, by eliminating the duplicate-head (i.e. the portion of bus routes traveling past SAS and TIBS to downtown, instead of offloading their passengers to Link) and folding the scavenged bus hours into more frequency. In the case of the 577, frequency could be doubled, and still leave leftover bus hours to shift elsewhere.

    1. “I don’t understand why ST added more runs to the 577, when that route competes with 574 + Link”

      Because it would be significantly slower. Between downtown to the airport, the 194 is slightly faster than Link only under the best conditions, while it’s the same or worse when there’s traffic. But Link has the added benefit of being much more frequent and making five more stops along the way.

      But the further south you go, the more an express bus gains. If you imagine Link when it reaches Tacoma someday, Link will be competitive down to around Des Moines. But beyond that — Federal Way to Seattle, or Tacoma to Seattle — ST Express will be faster. So they can’t eliminate those buses without degrading service. Link already takes 37 minutes to get to SeaTac, so it would be around 50 minutes to Federal Way and over an hour to Tacoma. And Link+174, or Link+Rapid Ride A, will be slower than Link all the way. The only solution to improve Federal Way-Seattle and Tacoma-Seattle service would be a nonstop express train on I-5, and nobody is willing to pay for that at this time.

      North Link won’t have that problem because it’ll be pretty speedy, so the Snohomish County buses can meet Link at Northgate or Lynnwood and still improve travel times. And maybe south of the airport will be like North Link.

    2. The 577 is not a duplication of 574 + Link, here’s why:

      Link from Westlake to SeaTac: 36 minutes.
      574 SeaTac to FWTC: 20 minutes.
      Total time: 56 minutes assuming there is no wait for the transfer.

      577 from 2nd & Pike to FWTC: 36 to 45 minutes, depending on the time of day.

      Second, the 577 is in no way a continuance of the 590s.

      Third, they do not go past SAS or TIBS. By the logic you’re using, they also go by Renton TC and Eastgate P&R, so they might as well pick people up there.

      Fourth: Scheduled travel time between KDM freeway station and SeaTac, Bay 2 is 16 minutes. Google Maps says 12 minutes. It only takes 3 minutes to get from KDM to 188th/Orillia. The rest of the time you’re spending on 188th and International Blvd and then the 170th ramp and airport expressway. The ramp and expressway take only a couple of minutes.
      Actually, let me tackle this a different way. Travel time from the 188th exit to SAS Kiss & Ride is 6 minutes. People use the stops on 188th and Int’l Blvd, so let’s say that it takes about 8 minutes to get there. Had the bus not taken that exit, 6 minutes later it’d be mid-Boeing Field, and 8 minutes later it’d be at Swift/Alboro.

      The 194 was already a combo route. It got people between Federal Way and Downtown, and it got people from Federal Way to the airport, and it got people between Downtown and the airport. The latter two have been replaced with the 574 and Link, respectively. So now you need to serve people between Federal Way and Downtown. The 577 and 578 do that. And they do it well. Also, look at Sound Transit’s reports–the 577 is one of the best performing routes revenue-wise. This is all commuter service, so I don’t think weekend service can compete. And one last thing–the 577 didn’t get expanded on weekdays, it just added weekend service. And the 578 is also providing some replacement service for portions of the 565 and 582.

    3. Also, take a look at the timetable for the 600. I used it Friday for the first time and it is truely amazing. Tukwila doesn’t really compare to Federal Way, but look at those travel times. 20 minutes later we’re in downtown. You can really fly on I-5.

      So yeah, maybe they do slightly duplicate some service, but not the same type of service.

  17. Will there ever be a day when a resident of WSea can ride the bus directly to other parts of the city (such as SLU or U dist) without having to go downtown and transfer up to 3 times? I think we have this type of service to Ballard via Interbay and Capitol Hill(?) However, I would chance a greater number of people work in SLU/Udist, or will when Amazon moves. I certainly would utilize the bus much more often if it could efficiently be used to reach many parts of town.

  18. Pingback: Metro Service Change Retires Route 194 - Seattle Transit Blog

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