On May 31st the County Council adopted the fall service changes which we’ll see shortly. Included at the end of the press release was a handy summary of the service changes, detailing the change in service hours and how it relates to other changes.

The largest changes are coming to the Eastside with the launch of RapidRide B Line and the associate restructuring. Other changes include increased mid-day service on the 54 (RapidRide C Line as of next year), additional service across SR-520, and some TransitNow partnership service.

Check out the table below the jump.

Route Location Hours Description
RapidRide B Bellevue Transit Center to Redmond Transit Center via N.E. 8th Street, Crossroads, and Overlake Transit Center 55,000 Implements second Transit Now bus rapid transit service corridor.
211 Issaquah, Eastgate, South Bellevue, Mercer Island, Union Station, First Hill (Transit Now Partnership Route) 2,300 Extend route so all trips begin and end at Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride; add two morning and two afternoon trips so all Seattle/Tacoma Sounder trips will have connecting trips to First Hill.
212, 225, 229 Eastgate Park-and-Ride, Downtown Seattle 212 +3,000 225/229
-5,500		 Discontinue Routes 225 and 229; trips on Route 212 to provide replacement service to and from Downtown Seattle. Routes 221, 226 (formerly 233), 245 replace portions of 225 and 229 north and east of Eastgate Park-and-Ride
221 Redmond, Redmond Town Center, Overlake, Crossroads, Southeast Bellevue, Bellevue College, Eastgate 0 Route changes delete service to Overlake Transit Center, 148th Avenue N.E./S.E. between N.E. 8th Street and Bellevue College vicinity; new service on N.E. 8th St. between 148th Avenue and 164th Avenue and on 164th Avenue in Southeast Bellevue
222, 241 Eastgate, Southeast Newport Way, Factoria, Downtown Bellevue 222
-15,600 241
+16,000		 Delete Route 222; replace with Routes 241 and 249. New Route 241 is same as deleted Route 222 between Eastgate Park-and-Ride and South Bellevue Park-and-Ride; then serves Bellevue Transit Center via 108th Avenue S.E. The Route 249 serves Enatai and Beaux Arts on a route that includes part, but not all, of the deleted Route 222 segment in this area
226, 233 Bellevue, Bel-Red Road, east Bellevue, Crossroads, Bellevue College, Eastgate, Overlake, Redmond 226 +24,000 233
-11,100		 Delete Route 233; replace part of Route 230 east of 156th Avenue N.E. with new Route 226; new Route 226 serves Bel-Red Road from Bellevue Transit Center to 156th Avenue N.E., plus service through southeast Bellevue to Eastgate Park-and-Ride
230, 235 Kingsgate Park-and-Ride, Totem Lake, Kirkland, Bellevue, Crossroads, east Bellevue, Overlake, Redmond 230
-40,500 235 +21,000		 Delete Route 230; portion east of Bellevue Transit Center replaced by Rapid Ride Line B and Route 226; Kingsgate-Bellevue Transit Center service replaced by new Route 235 and Route 249
234 Kenmore, Juanita, Kirkland, Bellevue 0 Revise route from Kirkland Transit Center to South Kirkland Park-and-Ride to follow State Street and Lake Washington Boulevard N.E., eliminating service on 6th Street and 108th Avenue N.E.; new route matches Route 235 and provides more frequent connections between Kirkland Transit Center and Bellevue Transit Center
238 Downtown Kirkland 0 Revise route to serve State Street and N.E. 68th Street between the Kirkland Transit Center and 108th Avenue N.E. instead of 6th Street S. and Kirkland Way; replacement service would be available on routes 245 and 255
240 Bellevue 0 Revise Route 240 between Factoria and the Bellevue Transit Center to serve the Eastgate Park-and-Ride, Richards Road and 112th Avenue SE. Replacement service between Factoria and the Bellevue Transit Center via South Bellevue Park-and-Ride and 108th Avenue SE next to Surrey Downs on Route 241; eliminate portion of route from Bellevue Transit Center to Clyde Hill’ for this portion of route, replacement service on Route 246
245 Kirkland, Houghton, Overlake, Crossroads, Bellevue College, Eastgate, Factoria 4,000 Revise route to eliminate service on 148th Avenue S.E., Lake Hills Boulevard, 156th Avenue S.E.; replacement service on Route 226; instead serve 145th Place S.E., 140th Avenue S.E., and Main Street; improve frequency to every 15 minutes between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
246 Eastgate, Somerset, Factoria, Woodridge, Bellevue, Clyde Hill 0 Revise route to connect Factoria and Woodridge via Factoria Boulevard S.E. and Richards Road, and terminate at the Eastgate Park-and-Ride. Revise north end of route to connect the Bellevue Transit Center with Clyde Hill via N.E. 8th Street and 100th Avenue N.E.
247 Overlake, Crossroads, Eastgate, Factoria, Renton, Kent -2,800 Delete Route 247; replacement service available on Routes 226 and 240 connecting with Sound Transit 560 and 566 at Bellevue Transit Center; vanpools may be an alternative for some riders
249 Overlake, Bel-Red, South Kirkland, Bellevue, Enatai, Beaux Arts 11,100 Revise route in Overlake area, delete 116th Avenue N.E./N.E. 10th Street segment in Bellevue, replace with service on Bellevue Way N.E. between South Kirkland Park-and-Ride, and the Bellevue Transit Center; add service between the Bellevue Transit Center and the South Bellevue Park-and-Ride on 108th Avenue N.E., Main Street, Bellevue Way S.E., 104th Avenue S.E., S.E. 34th Street, and 112th Avenue S.E.
250 Redmond, Overlake, SR 520 0 Revise route to start at Overlake Transit Center, run on N.E. 40th Street, West Lake Sammamish Parkway, N.E. 24th Street to Overlake Park-and-Ride, revision in Overlake area to serve 148th Avenue N.E. between N.E. 36th Street and SR-520
253 Redmond, Overlake, Crossroads, Bellevue -26,500 Delete Route 253; replacement service RapidRide Line B, Routes 221, 248, 249, 269, Sound Transit 545
255, 256 Totem Lake, Juanita, Kirkland, Overlake, Bel-Red, South Kirkland, SR-520, Downtown Seattle 255 +6,200 256
-3,300		 Delete Route 256; replacement service on Route 255 with South Kirkland Park-and-Ride connections with Route 249 (or routes 234 and 235 as far east as 116th Avenue N.E.); add Route 255 service to include 10-minute frequency during morning and afternoon peaks, 30-minute frequency on weekday evenings (up from 60 minutes)
261 Overlake, Bellevue, Clyde Hill, Medina, downtown Seattle -4,200 Delete Route 261; replacement service on Rapid Ride Line B, Sound Transit 550, Route 271
265 Redmond, Overlake, Old Redmond Road, 148th Avenue N.E., Rose Hill, SR-520 0 Revise easternmost part of route to delete service east of 148th Avenue N.E. via Old Redmond Road [replacement service on RapidRide Line B, Route 221, Sound Transit 545]; add new segment between N.E. 70th and Overlake Transit Center via 148th Avenue N.E. and N.E. 40th Street
266 Redmond, Overlake, SR-520 -4,800 Delete Route 266; replacement service on Rapid Ride Line B, Routes 221, 250, 265, 268, Sound Transit 545
271 Issaquah to University District via Eastgate Park-and-Ride, Bellevue College, Bellevue Transit Center 7,500 For service in the part of the route between Eastgate Park-and-Ride and the University District, add three westbound trips in the morning peak, three eastbound trips in the afternoon peak, and improve midday frequency to 15 minute service
272 Eastgate, southeast Bellevue, N.E. 8th Street, University District -5,600 Delete Route 272, serving the University District, SR 520, N.E. 8th Street in Bellevue, 164th Avenue N.E., and S.E. Lake Hills Boulevard, 148th Avenue S.E., Eastgate Park-and-Ride, and part of the Eastgate neighborhood south of I-90. Replacement service is available on Routes 221, 226, 271, RapidRide Line B, and Sound Transit 556; Routes 271, 277, 542, and 556 would connect at Evergreen Point freeway station
303 Shoreline, Northgate, First Hill (Transit Now Partnership Program) 2,000 Add two morning and three afternoon trips in the peak direction
309 Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, Lake City, North Seattle, South Lake Union, First Hill (Transit Now Partnership Program) 1,200 Add two morning trips and one afternoon trip in the peak direction
926 Eastgate, southeast Bellevue, Crossroads -5,100 Delete Route 926; replace by revised Route 221
54 Westwood, Fauntleroy, Alaska Junction, Downtown Seattle 19,000 Improve off-peak frequency in Rapid Ride C corridor before implementation of Line C in Fall 2012; adds 15-minute frequency 9:00 am-3:00 pm weekdays and Saturdays until 7:00 pm

29 Replies to “Fall 2011 Service Changes Details”

  1. This is going to improve service on the eastside. With route 54 going to every 15 minutes Monday thru Saturday, what’s going to happen to route 55 untill Line C starts?

      1. The 55 will be a stand-alone route starting next shake up. Hopefully that will mean better on-time performance for those heading home from the CBD to West Seattle.

      2. So, the 5 and 54 will be through-routed full-time?

        What happens when RRC starts, then? Do the 5 and 55 get through-routed again? Or do they both become stand-alone routes? (Not that you know the answer…)

      3. The only rumor I have heard is that RR C and D will be through routed during off peak hours. I have no idea what will happen to the 55. For my own selfish reasons, I’d like to see the 55 travel via SODO so I can take it to/from work.

      4. That reminds me of another rumor I heard, which is that, once the Spokane St Viaduct work is completed, all West Seattle buses will be consolidated on 1st Ave S. So who knows what will happen then.

  2. Having trouble with the math here.
    RR-B costs 55,000 hours of service.
    230 saves 40,500
    253 saves 26,500
    261 saves 4,200
    266 saves 4,800, for a total saved from cancelled routes of 76,000
    That’s different from the 23,000 hours added to RR-B in the ref.link.
    What did I miss?

    1. There’s also 21,000 added to the new route 235, replacing half of the 230 (the half from Bellevue to Kirkland), as well as 11,100 added to 249 (picking up some of the slack for neighborhood circulation), and 12,900 added with the new 226. Add that up, and you get — what do you know — an extra 24,000 hours.

      1. Thanks Alex. I saw all the adds in other areas, but was trying to see if RR-B added service hours to the corridor it is serving, or if the routes cancelled due to RR-B used those hours for other improvement to the Eastside overall.
        I know it’s a new sum gain, for all of the East, and am not critical of that approach.
        The other RR routes should be so lucky as to gain hours from their respective roll-outs.

      2. I was going off of Adams previous post of Jun 24th where he said ” Most importantly, besides the additional 23K platform hours to the B-Line,…”
        That sounds like B line got an additional 23,000 hours over the service it is replacing, which appears to not be the case.

      3. It’s important to remember that the B line is significantly shorter than the lines it’s replacing. I haven’t done the calculations, but simply from looking at the estimated frequencies, you can see that there will definitely be more service hours allocated to the RRB corridor than there currently are for the relevant parts of the 230 and 253.

      4. Haven’t had time to sit down and actually add/subtract everything. I got the 23K figure from Jack Whisner which from my understanding is the total additional service hours the east subarea got.

      5. So why are we adding hours when only a few nights ago the system was at risk of loosing some 50,000 hours and we are not totally out of the woods yet?

      6. @Z

        You’re off by a factor of 10… actually a factor of 20. Without the CRC Metro could have cut 600,000 service hours. This whole change only added an additional 23,000 hours which has been in the works since TransitNow passed in 2006. Please do some fact checking.

      7. Z, it’s adding hours that it’s taking from other routes, plus the money from Transit Now. RapidRide has a federal matching grant, so if we don’t implement the routes we don’t get the matching funds.

      1. Thanks – that map is useful. Too bad it doesn’t include the dash showing the 255 is 15-min as well. On the whole definitely a more rational service plan for the Eastside.

        A couple of things that jump out. Bellevue Way north of NE 8th St has very poor service, esp. considering that there are plenty of apartments/condos/multi-unit dwellings. I guess this will get fixed when the 271 is re-routed onto Bellevue Way – maybe that is why it was planned that way. It must slow the 234/235 from Kirkland to make the trek up Northup way, though. Not sure this is really well thought-out yet.

        The 249 seems like a hopelessly indirect route almost everywhere. Is there anything worthwhile being served on the 140thNE/NE29th/148thNE/NE33rd/152ndNE jog or is this all about the political correctness of service the old Overlake P&R because housing was built there and so it shall get service? What about building a stairway up to 156th Ave instead, and letting RRB have a direct route on 156th Ave and eliminate some lights and turns? And simplify the 249?

      2. I used to live on north Bellevue Way. I was dismayed to see it get only hourly service and to be truncated at SKP&R. I’m surprised that 12th-124th-Northup Way would have more ridership than Bellevue Way-Lake Washington Blvd. But if that’s true I wouldn’t complain, especially since I no longer live there.

      4. From Overlake P&R on westward, the 249 follows the standard backup route that connector buses take when traffic on 520 is really bad. Having a regular bus route that does this is has the potential to be useful for Microsoft commuters, who gain the option switch from the 542/545 to the 249 (with a transfer to 255 at south Kirkland P&R) if the traffic report is bad enough (this typically happens at least a few days a year). The 256 used to fill this role, but with the 256 axed, the 249 takes over it instead. The 542 and 545, themselves, can’t switch over to the backup route because that would require skipping the NE 40th St. freeway stop, where lots of passengers get on the bus.

      5. @Carl

        The 255 is actually does not meet the 15 minute standard. In in the reverse peak direction during peak periods the 255 actually goes to 30 minute headways because service is split between it and the 256.

        I see you noticed the 249 as well. It certainly is hopelessly directly but what it does it is allows the other core routes, the ones connecting major destinations, travel directly between those points without diversion. It’s essentially a “feeder” route for the rest of the system. If you’re taking it you’re likely going to one of the transit centers were you transfer to the route that will actually get you to where you want to go.

      7. @Bellevue Resident

        It will actually be 10 minutes peak/15 minutes off peak minimum in both directions. Am I’m very excited because I take the reverse peak trips.

  6. The list misses another “transit now” partnership change. That is Route 193 being extended to Federal Way TC and S. 320th/23rd P&R and 2 later trips added in the PM peak.

  7. Despite dozens of people writing in against it, 261 is deleted. Claiming the 271 and 550 are alternatives is ridiculous to West Bellevue, Clyde Hill and Medina residents. It’s a long walk to the 550, a mile or more, from any of these locations. How is that an alternative? Changing to the usually-late, sometimes-very-early 271 when outbound is problematic at best, and no faster than walking from Evergreen Point at worst. Inevitably you miss a 271 because it was early, and then the next one is so late the one after it is right behind it, never mind the Evergreen Point station on SR520 outbound has got to be one of the worst places to wait in the entire system. At a minimum this change should be delayed until after the new lid and transit stop is completed at Evergreen Point.

    1. Variable tolling on 520 should improve the reliability of the 271. I just rode the 261 yesterday and very few got off west of Bellevue. That’s just my one off experience though. 261 also takes significantly longer than the 550 to get to Bellevue. My concern is that the 545 and 550 are already crowded and ST needs to add trips to pick up the additional riders. Or maybe the 255’s new service will.

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