King County Metro (KCM) prepares to update their bus routes for the upcoming Federal Way Link Extension (estimated opening 2026 Spring). View their website www.southlinkconnections.com and take the survey by February 2025.
Sound Transit for the Federal Way Link Extension will add three new Link stations: Kent Des Moines, Star Lake and Federal Way Downtown.
Overall summary:
New service: 164, 166, 186, South Auburn Metro Flex pilot, Federal Way Metro Flex pilot
Improved service: 181, 183, 631, 903, A Line
Revised service: 156, 162, 182, 187, 193
Removed routes: 165, 177, 901
Removed routes (that are currently suspended/not operating): 121, 122, 123, 154, 157, 179, 190, 197
Below will go into each route changes in more detail (going from north to south). Relevant ST express bus routes will be briefly covered as well.
ST Express 2025 Restoration
In 2023 there were ST Service Level Reductions for the ST Express routes to Federal Way and Tacoma. The reductions suspended Route 590 service between Tacoma Dome and downtown Tacoma, suspended Route 580, and reduced frequency on many other ST Express routes.
In September 2024, the operator of Routes 580 and 590, Pierce
Transit, notified Sound Transit that they identified the resources
necessary to restore the temporary service reductions, including
the potential major service changes to Routes 580 and 590, by
March 2025. (from page 14 of 2025 Service Plan)
The 2025 Service Plan recently published that Route 580 and Route 590 will have their service restored.
ST Express 2026 (maybe) Restructure
Sound Transit has not yet released their draft proposals for a Federal Way Link Extension restructure. An new article will be posted once Sound Transit has published their ST Express restructure proposal.
In past plans such as Metro Connects 2050 and the Federal Way FEIS, Sound Transit has usually proposed truncating ST Express buses from Pierce County to end at Federal Way Downtown Station instead of downtown Seattle. This would mirror similar restructures for Lynnwood Link Extension and East Link Extension. The truncation and passengers transferring would allow for more frequent buses on some routes. Though transit riders from Tacoma, Auburn and others may face comparably longer end-to-end transit times using Link versus the express buses when there isn’t traffic on I-5.
Burien and SeaTac Changes
For Burien DART Route 631 will have slightly improved service. For SeaTac Route 156 will run earlier and later.
DART Route 631 (Burien): increased service
DART Route 631 would have slightly increased service, no routing changes
Route 156 (Tukwila, SeaTac, Kent Des Moines Station)
Route 156 from Southcenter to Highline College has some minor routing changes and span of service slightly increased. The route in SeaTac is slightly simplified to solely use S 164th St (instead of using S 170th St eastbound) and continue to stop at SeaTac Station. The route is extended from terminating at Highline College to terminate at Kent Des Moines Station. The earlier trips starting from 4:30 am will help airport workers reach SeaTac.
Kent Changes
For Kent the largest KCM bus route change is splitting the Route 165 into a north-south Route 166 from Burien to Kent and east-west Route 164 from Kent to Green River College. Route 183 from Kent to Federal Way would have slightly improved service. Route 162 (peak only) express bus would have decreased service.
Route 166 (Burien, Kent Des Moines): formerly north part of Route 165
The existing Route 165 from Burien via Kent to Green River College ran every 30 min frequency. This route would be split into two routes (1) a more frequent east-west Route 164 (Kent Des Moines Station to Green River College) and (2) the same 30 minute frequency north-south Route 166 (Burien to Kent Des Moines Station).
Route 166 would run from Burien to Kent Des Moines Station north / south along 1st Ave S. It would mostly continue to run every 30 minutes but would newly run on Sunday and slightly expanded hours of service running earlier and later.
Route 164 (Kent Des Moines, Kent, Green River College): frequent 15 minute
Route 164 would run every 15 minutes from around 6 am to around 7 pm on weekdays. The bus would run from Kent Des Moines Station via downtown Kent and Lake Meridian to Green River College.
This greatly connects downtown Kent, Kent Sounder Station and Green River College to the Kent Des Moines Link Station with 15 minute frequent bus service. Those traveling between Burien to Green River College will now need to transfer at Kent Des Moines Station adding some extra travel time.
Route 183 (Kent, Star Lake, Federal Way): new Sunday service
Route 183 from Kent Station via Star Lake Station to Federal Way Downtown Station has the same alignment. There will be some added stops at the newly opened light rail stations. Additionally, there will be new service on Sundays with 30 minute frequency.
Route 162 (Kent Des Moines, Kent, Lake Meridian)
Express peak-only Route 162 from Lake Meridian Park via Kent Station to downtown Seattle would have the earliest and last trip removed.
I-5 and SR 99 Corridor
The I-5 and SR 99 corridor’s largest change is the addition of the Federal Way Link Extension.
| Start | SeaTac | Westlake | UW |
| Kent Des Moines | 8 minutes | 45 minutes | 55 minutes |
| Star Lake | 12 minutes | 49 minutes | 59 minutes |
| Federal Way Downtown | 18 minutes | 55 minutes | 62 minutes |
The new Link stations will connect to downtown Seattle with 40~50 minute travel time.
I-5 Express Bus Removals
As discussed earlier, the suspended peak-only KCM routes in South King will be formally removed. Routes 121, 122, 123 (Burien to Seattle), Route 154 (Federal Center South to Tukwila Station), Route 157 (Lake Meridian to Seattle), Route 179 (Twin Lakes to Seattle), Route 190 (Star Lake to Seattle), Route 197(Twin Lakes to U District).
Additionally, currently running peak-only express Route 177 from Federal Way via Star Lake will also be removed in favor of transit riders using Federal Way Downtown Station or Star Lake Station. (Route 193 to First Hill will no longer stop at Star Lake).
As discussed earlier, Sound Transit is evaluating ST Routes 574, 577, 578, 580, 590, 592, 594, and 595 and will likely truncate most or all of them at Federal Way Downtown Station.
RapidRide A: No Changes
RapidRide A would have the same frequency and span of service. The line will continue to run every 10 to 12 minutes from 6 am to 10 pm.
While the popular bus route runs parallel alongside Federal Way Link Extension, the Link’s I-5 freeway alignment rather than along Pacific Highway S means most will still need to transfer to the RapidRide line for their final destination.
Route 193 (Federal Way, First Hill): peak-only skipped stops
Peak-only (around 8 trips) Route 193 would begin at Federal Way Downtown Station and end in First Hill. Route 193 would no longer serve S 320th St Park & Ride, Star Lake, nor Kent Des Moines. It’s approximately a 0.4~0.6 mile walk from the park & ride to the Federal Way transit center depending on where one parked their car.
The express bus during peak traffic takes around ~60 minutes the same as Link, but during off-peak takes around ~40 minutes or ~20 minutes faster than using light rail.
Federal Way and Auburn changes
The largest bus change is the Route 181 increase to 15 minute service. Secondly are the removal of DART Route 901 replaced with new Route 186 and modifying Route 187‘s alignment. Route 182 is rerouted to Twin Lakes P & R creating a minor transit connection there. Other local routes have slightly increased frequency while peak-only express routes have had removed stops and frequency.
Route 186 (Lake Hills, Federal Way)
Route 186 would take over the south leg of Route 187 and run through the removed DART Route 901. The route starts in Twin Lakes (near Twin Lakes Elementary) and detours south to SW 342nd St near the QFC before heading north and eventually ending at Federal Way Downtown Station.
The bus would run every 30 minutes all week.
Route 187 (Lake Hills, Federal Way): Straightened alignment
Route 187 would be simplified and straightened to run solely on 320th Street providing faster travel between Twin Lakes and Federal Way. The bus in west Federal Way will through-run and become Route 186
Frequency would be increased to 30 minutes and slightly increased hours of service.
DART Route 903 (Federal Way): Increased weekday frequency
DART Route 903 would increase to 30 minute frequency midday on weekdays from 60 minute frequency. The DART route currently runs from Federal Way Downtown Station to Twin Lakes predominantly on SW 336th St/SW Campus St.
It’ll provide greater access to the commercial corner at SW 336th St & 21st Ave SW and the townhouses and apartments along SW Campus Drive.
Route 182 (Twin Lakes, Federal Way): changed routing
Route 182 from Federal Way Downtown Station to west Federal Way would no longer serve NE Tacoma and stop at Twin lake P&R. There would be slightly more frequent bus service to 30 minute frequency from 6 am to 7pm and then reduced further in the evenings.
Route 181 (Twin Lakes, Federal Way, Auburn): increased frequency
The existing Route 181 would have it’s frequency increased to 15/20 minute frequency from every 30 minute. The increased frequency will greatly connect Twin Lakes, downtown Auburn, and Green River College to each other and to Link light rail service.
15-minute bus routes
With 15-minute frequency on both the new Route 164 and improved Route 181, South King will now have two new frequent east-west bus routes. The two routes together would both provide 15 minute frequency service from Green River College to a light rail station. This would give students much easier access to and from the college.
The east-west routes combined with the three existing north routes of Route 150, Route 160, and RapidRide A will form a new frequent local bus grid.
Conclusion
The Federal Way Link Extension bus restructure will provide quick and easy access for Federal Way, Auburn, Kent and SeaTac throughout their cities and to Seattle. New Route 164 will provide downtown Kent with 15 minute bus service to Link. Increased 15/20 minute frequency on Route 181 will connect Twin Lakes and downtown Auburn to Link. Green River College will be connected with both lines to Link light rail service. A couple infrequent 30 min frequency routes will start running on Sundays as well.
Route 193: “The express bus during peak traffic takes around ~60 minutes the same as Link, but during off-peak takes around ~40 minutes or ~20 minutes faster than using light rail.”
Except, the bus is marked as “peak-only”. So, the ability to use this bus to actually save time over Link is largely conditional on leaving very early in the morning (service starts at 5:15 AM), taking the very last trip of the evening (service ends at 7:45 PM), or riding on one of those holiday-adjacent weekdays that typically has left traffic (except, bus ridership is usually low on those days, too).
Link will also be much more frequent than the 193, so passengers will spend less time waiting and will get to their destinations sooner.
Additionally, Link will be much more reliable than the 193. And reliability is just as important as frequency.
I think bus will be reliably faster than the train at 5:15 in the morning. But, at the times with highest ridership, it won’t. Which is the problem.
Route 193 should be deleted; its hours, buses, and operators would yield greater value is used to improve local service.
Link will also be crush loaded during rush hour. ( depending on how much Sound transit bus service gets truncated at Federal way.)
I agree just wanted to compare the travel times for people using the bus.
RossB: is there an Emerson phrase similar to consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds?
Route 162 should also be deleted; its hours, buses, and operators would provide more benefits if used on local service; Sounder provides 20-minute headway, better reliability, and is faster. The local network should be able to connect riders with Sounder and Link.
Retaining the 193 does not surprise me. Metro has done this sort of thing all over. The idea is to connect to First Hill and not force another transfer. I am not saying it is worth it, but it is understandable and consistent.
In contrast, keeping the 162 is unusual. I don’t think Metro has ever done this. To be fair, it does not just run from the future station to downtown. The 177 does that and it is being eliminated. But it is remarkably like buses that were truncated or eliminated in that it doesn’t make any stops between a station and downtown. Thus it is like the 41, 71, 72, 73, etc. — all buses that no longer go downtown.
The fact that it only runs during peak makes the case for it weaker, as was mentioned. If the bus ran midday then it would be considerably faster than the train. But during peak this is the only time that the train is competitive with the express bus. Of course if we did the right thing and changed the lanes from HOV-2 to HOV-3 then the bus be faster (even during peak) but that doesn’t look it will happen anytime soon. It is a surprising decision by Metro. Again — I don’t think they have ever done anything like that.
The thing about the 193 is, it sounds nice to say that people should have a one-seat ride to First Hill, without an additional transfer. But, a one-seat ride from where? For instance, why does Federal Way deserve a one-seat ride to First Hill, while neighborhoods much closer to First Hill (e.g. Fremont, Queen Anne, West Seattle) don’t? Even South Lake Union, the one-seat ride to First Hill is peak-only, and is coming all the way from Kenmore in rush hour traffic, and is probably too unpredictable for anyone living in South Lake Union to actually use.
My guess is that the assumption behind the 193 is that its riders are driving to the bus from all over the South King/Pierce County areas, and Federal Way was chosen simply because it has unused parking capacity, and because it’s generally easier to get people with cars to consider riding the bus if the distance is long, due to the overhead of accessing the bus being a smaller portion of the total trip time. But, it still feels like a red carpet for people with a very specific commute.
@ asdf2:
Yes the effort to reach First Hill is ridiculous for us residents within Seattle! The only one-seat ride from SE Seattle is Route 9X which almost never runs.
Meanwhile, Routes 7, 106 and 14 will get you to 4th and Jackson along with Link 1 line and soon Link 2 Line.
It’s crazy how someone can stand on Rainier at Judkins Park station and see First Hill just a mile away but only has a handful of buses that will get there as a one seat ride — while several bus routes provide one-seat rides there from places far away.
The only one-seat ride from SE Seattle is Route 9X which almost never runs.
The same is true of the 193. I’m not saying it is the right approach, but it is consistent.
Just to back up here, folks in Rainier Valley have a fairly good two-seat ride to First Hill. In many other cases you are looking at a three-seat ride. For example assume I’m trying to get from Lake City to First Hill. I can take a bus to Link, take Link to Capitol Hill (or downtown) and then take another bus. Or I can take the 322 right there.
Some of these routes made more sense before the pandemic. The 312 and 522 used to run every every three minutes to downtown (during peak). The only reason they ran this often was because of crowding. Some of those riders were undoubtedly headed to First Hill. Thus the 309 (to First Hill) relieved crowding on the other buses while providing riders with a one-seat ride to First Hill. The bus really didn’t cost much (or they cost very little).
Now things have changed. Buses like the 522 aren’t particularly crowded, nor frequent. Link also changed the dynamic. Express buses to downtown are gone. So now the argument for a bus like the 322 (which is similar to the old 309) is that it avoids not one, but two transfers.
It is a reasonable argument but given service levels I think it fails. Metro is caught trying to thread the needle and they can’t. They can’t justify frequent service on these buses. Without frequent service people just take three-seat rides. These buses win on speed but lose on frequency.
Which brings up another issue. How much time does this actually save riders? This is where it gets really complicated. In the case of the north end running at peak is advantageous. Buses can get into the HOV-Express lanes, which are considerably faster than any other time of day. This isn’t true in the south end.
If you are going to have a route like this then it makes sense to maximize speed while also service areas that are away from Link. For example the 322 should probably just go down Lake City Way (and not connect to Roosevelt Station) since that is probably the fastest way to get on the express lanes. But in the case of the 193 it seems to fail on both counts. By running only during peak it is quite possible it is no faster than Link. More importantly, it largely just serves the station areas. The one exception is Tukwila Park and Ride. But that means the bulk of the riders have only saved one-seat, while delaying the bus. It would make more sense to just send the 162 to First Hill. That could save plenty of riders two transfers.
But as with the rest of the system I think the best thing to do is improve frequency on both ends, even if it means people make two transfers. I do think express buses have their purpose, but mainly when they are considerably faster than Link, not as a way to avoid two transfers.
I think the second part of the sentence intended to say the current off-peak expresses (577 and 578) are 20 minutes faster than Link is expected to be.
It feels like they are doing everything to avoid the Dash Point Road in front of Marine Hills. Why is there such a gap there?
I suspect (with zero firsthand experience in that neighborhood), the Metro wants to serve Boys & Girls club. Hence the reason why route 901 does such an awful zig-zag through the Dash Point area. Judging only by a map, it would make more sense to have the 901 enter Dash Point via Pac Hwy, run along Dash Point and then head down 21st Ave. It would then continue along 21st and terminate at 348th & Pac Hwy or travel along 320th back to the transit Center.
All-in-all, there’s much more to be done to serve Federal Way and the current restructure is extremely underwhelming.
There won’t be a bus route connecting Pac Hwy & 272nd and Star Lake Station?
Nope. Because such a route would potentially cut into RR-A ridership.
Sigh Lazarus you don’t need to make up some fake conspiracy against buses everytime
Deviation the A line to the Link station would be a bad idea, as it would slow the bus down for people just making local trips along Pac highway. Nor is it a priority, since the A line connects to Link in other places, anyway.
Yes, this. You don’t need to serve every station if you are running the same general direction. It is fine to skip one (or two).
I think the bigger question is why the station is not at the highway. There is more there, there is a lot more potential for TOD there and the A is there. (It isn’t like the A is new — it has been there a long time.)
The Pacific Highway segment south of KDM does have Fred Meyer and other retail destinations. While reachable from RR A, it seems that the segment could benefit from having a second route between KDM and 272nd. An extension of the new Route 166 or new Route 164 down Pacific Highway to 272nd and the Star Lake station seems simple and strategic to me now that Metro is splitting Route 165 if the funds and demand are there.
That said, it’s hard to have two bus routes on one highway and I have no idea where riders going to the retail district are coming from. So while it may look great on a map, the demand may not be there.
Of course, if King County closes Redondo Heights park and ride and uses the site for a new major destination the gravity of that could change bus demand quite a bit. That’s not planned here so I’d put that in the “someday” category.
There isn’t quite enough density on 272 for an east west route
Exactly. The problem is there isn’t much at Star Lake and there isn’t much around Star Lake other than along the highway. The highway already has frequent service with Link connections to the north and south.
In contrast Kent/Des Moines has the college (a significant destination). Federal Way Transit Center is a major connection point. Not only for regional bus service, but for local routes that have relatively high-density corridors.
Relatedly, I’m expecting Star Lake to have terrible ridership. The only way it will exceed 1000 boardings a day is if the garage fills up. But with other stations having garages I don’t expect that to happen. I don’t see walkup riders or bus transferring riders to be more than 200 daily there.
A few years ago, ST gave STB ridership estimates that said 3,000 boardings at Star Lake by 2040. I’m quite skeptical that will ever exceed 1.500. There’s just not enough walkable land to develop near there.
And if you think that’s off, the EIS said 4,000 boardings by 2035 with over half coming via “transit” or buses! Not with this bus restructure!
PDF page 29 here:
https://www.soundtransit.org/sites/default/files/34_FWLE_Appendix_G1_TranspTR_Ch4-9.pdf
The RR A shouldn’t deviate off Pac Hwy to the Federal Way Transit Center either. It should go to 348th along Pac Hwy, at the absolute minimum.
Maybe after Link is extended to South Federal Way. Right now PT’s 500, 501, & 402 cover service south of FW TC; those routes want to get to FW TC to connect to the regional network, and since 500 is running along Pac Hwy it might as well be the route to cover those spots. (I’m curious, does KCM partially fund PT for that service?). With the RR-A terminating a FW Station, makes sense for it to turn off into a TC for layover, etc.
Once Link opens at South FW, PT could truncate 500 & 501 (402 probably still goes to FW TC), opening up a gap for RR-A to be extended; it is a 10 minute walk (0.4 mile) from FW Station to Pac Hwy, so I suspect the RR-A will turn into the station even if it does not terminate there.
No idea if they kick PT some cash to serve what King County Metro should be serving. I would doubt it. I do know they are PT drivers, which is more of a limiting factor to providing service than money, at this particular moment in time.
All those routes are hourly (except for 500 Saturday service), serve very different parts of both Counties, and their their span isn’t great either.
Also, their are 8 very long blocks between 316th and 324th where Pac Hwy, in the middle of one of the densest retail corridors in the entire city, has absolutely no service at all.
This is appalling on so many levels. It should be fixed yesterday.
“does KCM partially fund PT for that service?)”
Probably not, because its primary benefit is for Pierce County residents to access Federal Way’s retail and regional transfer point.
“Probably not, because its primary benefit is for Pierce County residents to access Federal Way’s retail and regional transfer point.”
I don’t think this is true. It’s hard to be sure, but residents of Federal Way may be more likely to frequent Tacoma, than visa versa.
And business owners in Federal Way would love to entice the relative wealth in Tacoma up to Federal Way. That’s a King County benefit that feeds King County coffers.
Metro needs to step up. The lack of equity comparing the skeletal service in the poor South King to wealth of redundant services in the far richer North Seattle and North King is starting to become stark.
I’m not sure exactly how agencies handle cross-county service. I would guess they communicate, but I don’t know if they subsidize routes or agree to swap coverage. It would be an interesting subject to cover, but I don’t know how they handle it (other than I know they occasionally talk to each other).
I would extend it, but after a deviation to the transit center. There is enough development to justify an extension. That would also make it much easier for those riders to not only get to other places along the corridor, but to Link. You really do not not want your buses to end at the station. You want them to serve it and keep going. It is a bit awkward to do so in this case, but all current riders would come out ahead. Even if riders south of the station don’t like the detour it is better than the situation now (where you have to transfer from a very infrequent bus).
But it should definitely detour to the station. Not only because that gives people the connection to Link but because it gives people the connection to other bus routes as well. There are express buses and local buses that intersect at the station. Even if you are coming from Tacoma it would likely make sense to take an express bus to Federal Way and then backtrack using the RapidRide A versus the (slower and much less frequent) 500. This is another argument for the extension — it would get plenty of one and two seat riders.
Is it time to shut down the FW 320th and the Redondo Heights park and ride lots? Those parcels could be more useful as something else — now that ST has built new parking garages next to Link stations close by.
I thought there was a land swap in plan between the Mark Twain elementary & the Redondo Heights P&R? The district was going to build a new elementary building, and then ST was going to take over the old school parcel as construction staging and then TOD. I guess that ended up not going through, but like the general idea – the school is not transit orient (the kids arrive from within the station area, not from elsewhere on the Link line), so swap land with KC to create TOD.
I agree, it would have been a good solution.
Of course had FW Link been in the 99 median south of KDM it could have instead been the South OMF site.
Oh well.
Just by looking at bus network as a whole, connection at Star Lake just seems a little bit underwhelming unlike Federal Way and Des Moines where there are bus routes going far east.
I guess that’s fair since S272nd/S 277 is just middle of nowhere between Auburn and Kent.
Yeah the 272nd/277th corridor is bland low-density residential , warehouse areas and open space for its entire length.
The only thing that Star Lake Ststion has going for it is a parking garage for 1100 cars and a few nearby apartments and condos.
Sooo….no mention of the 574, 577 or 578?
I’m assuming those routes would be truncated at Fed Way Link. Though I think slogging on Link would be slower than the bus to Downtown Seattle during off peak. Much like the 194 between Seattle and the airport (pre-Link).
KCM is usually better at developing and discussing service changes with public input than ST is, unfortunately.
It is however odd that the ST Express service changes aren’t here. They should be included.
Eliminating the 194 was ok. In theory, it was faster than Link. In practice, inferior frequency, long boarding times due to passengers with luggage, and traffic congestion at the airport squandered this advantage, even when I-5 was free-flowing.
The old 194 also used to run to Federal Way, so eliminating it was necessary to allow an all-day Federal Way-downtown express route that bypassed the airport to be justified.
The 577 is a bit different. It’s longer, and skips the airport, so the only delay opportunities are I-5 and downtown streets.
The counter argument is that it’s a lot of service hours, and not running it could be used to fund other all-day express routes, such as Kent to downtown Seattle or Federal Way->Kent->Bellevue. This gets into a general problem with the whole south king area. It’s so spread out, the only way to really get good travel times is to spread service very thin with express routes that go long distances with very few stops and not that many riders. Metro is trying to do what it can, but the potential is limited.
We don’t know what ST Express will do yet. See the “ST Express 2026” section.
This is the first time ST Express hasn’t participated in a Metro-led Link restructure. It may be because Metro started the process two years early, or Pierce Transit being on a different timeline. Some of the affected ST Express routes go into Pierce County or are operated by Pierce Transit, so any ST Express changes would have to be coordinated with PT.
Community Transit was eager to truncate its Seattle expresses to boost local service, so it planned its restructure in time for ST to announce joint ST Express changes in both King County and Snohomish County at the same time. That doesn’t seem to be happening with Pierce County, for whatever reason.
Most likely all ST Express routes will be truncated at Federal Way except the 574. That’s what previous planning stints leaned toward. But no final decision has been made yet. The January 2016 scenarios terminated at KDM because ST3 wasn’t assembled or approved yet. The Metro Connects 2016-present scenarios are all truncated, with Metro picking up some of the expresses (Federal Way-downtown, and an Auburn-Kent-downtown express). That has been watered down to Metro’s current restructure proposal. Metro Connects assumes additional funding and no driver shortage, both of which don’t exist now.
All the scenarios kept the 574 to SeaTac. The board mused in the 2010s about extending it to Westwood Village to replace the part of the 540 that Stride 1 will abandon.
So you can see where future debates are likely to go when ST publishes its first proposal. There’s likely to be more opposition to truncating the 57x and 59x than there was in Lynnwood or the Eastside, because of Link’s relatively slower travel time. That slowness is due to the longer distance, the 12-minute Rainier Valley overhead, and Link’s maximum speed being 55 mph while I-5 is 65 mph. Will larger opposition materialize this time? Will Sound Transit bend to it? We don’t know. Those decisions are in the future.
I thought it was pretty clear: We have no idea what ST will do.
I can understand the confusion though. This is unusual. I can’t ever remember a restructure where Metro did it long before ST.
There is another issue. ST had planned on running buses from Tacoma to Seattle every fifteen minutes, all-day long. But like the service reductions that were mentioned, this didn’t happen because of the driver shortage. Technically it wasn’t a reduction, but for someone who was looking forward to this level of service it was. Just as some of the (relatively minor) reductions are being restored, hopefully they will provide that level of service.
Running the 594 every fifteen minutes would be huge. The bus does not end at the Tacoma Dome but runs through Downtown Tacoma. Thus you would have a bus running from Downtown Seattle to Downtown Tacoma every fifteen minutes, all day long. If this were to finally happen, it would represent a high point in intercity travel between Tacoma and Seattle*.
If the buses are then truncated it would be a major deterioration. It is easy to assume that they could make up for the slower travel time with better frequency, but that would be impossible, as the train is more than fifteen minutes slower. This means that if you were to just miss your bus and the train is about to leave, it is still faster to wait for the next bus. Truncating all the buses at Federal Way would be a major degradation.
The good news is that they wouldn’t have to. The agency can save a considerable amount of money (and driver time) by truncating some of the buses. Even at today’s service level there is enough savings to provide fifteen minute service, just by doing this:
1) Eliminate the 574 and 577.
2) Truncate the 578 at Federal Way.
3) Run the 574 every fifteen minutes all-day long, but have it stop at Federal Way Transit Center along the way.
This would cost nothing. Yet it would be a way to provide very good service between Seattle and Tacoma.
*Of course during peak you have Sounder. Sounder is faster than Link. Since it runs during rush hour it is often faster than a bus. But outside of rush hour the bus is faster than both Sounder and Link.
Whatever bus service change Sound Transit will propose should be simpler than KCM’s South King service change and takes shorter time to decide. Yet they haven’t released anything yet.
Maybe they are spending extra time working with Pierce County because their service change will impact Pierce County?
I don’t think it is that simple. Yes, there is a lot less coverage and a lot fewer bus stops. They don’t have to decide which street to go down or any of that. But there are still plenty of tricky decisions to be made, even at a high level:
1) Should they truncate all buses at Federal Way or continue some to Seattle.
2) Should they run express buses to Seattle from Sounder locations (e. g. Puyallup/Sumner/Auburn/Seattle).
3) Should they run new buses to Federal Way or run peak buses (Gig Harbor) all day.
4) How does the driver shortage effect all of this.
I wrote this a while back sketching out what I would do. But I forget to mention night owl service to the airport (which is really important). I also wasn’t quite sure what to do for the Sounder locations (that is the part that was particularly sketchy).
Furthermore, I would say that the ST choices are bound to be a lot more controversial than this Metro proposal. If they truncate all the buses at Federal Way (as many fear) then a lot of people will complain. That is a much bigger change than any of the ones Metro is proposing. The station won’t be done until 2026. By then there will be a new head of the county and thus a new head of the Sound Transit board (and many new members). They may be waiting for the new board to get here.
They may also be waiting to see if the driver shortage gets any better. If they run the 594 every fifteen minutes (as is the plan) then it would give them a good idea of the ridership potential there, and one more argument for keeping it (or not).
ST had to delay this project at least a year because of the unforeseen soil stability difficulty and subsequent redesign at 259th St. ST has had ample time.
I suspect that tradeoff will be between frequency and northern destination. Is it better to go further to SeaTac or Downtown or to stop at Federal Way and run buses more often?
How good is the restructure proposal?
Oh man. I am not too familiar with South King. I looked at these route maps and I was wondering: why are these routes zigzagging all over the place? Is it that there are not that many crossings of the river?
Then I looked at a street map of the area. There are plenty of relatively straight crossings of the Green River. The problem is I5! The roads to the east of I5 do not line up with the roads to the west of I5. What a planning disaster. I guess Metro is doing the best they can, given the constraints.
There are some significant elevation changes too. That’s why many streets and routes appear circuitous near I-5.
There isn’t a giant mountain but some blocks can get steep!
Yup, I used to ride the 166 (Burien to Kent via Des Moines/Highline College) a lot when going to/from to Highline and the route would have some tricky spots. The intersection of Reith Rd and Military Rd was tricky to cross as a bus because of the incline, alongside Reith was decently steep getting up or down the hill. Another steep section is the part going down from Seatac to Southcenter on Klickitat Dr near Crystal Springs Park on the 156.
The primary routes (like the 164 and 181) are connecting the pockets of density, which aren’t always in a straight line. The most squiggly routes (like the 183 and 186) are secondary coverage routes, serving areas the primary routes don’t. They turn so much because they’re trying to do different things in each half of the route.
The 183’s northern half connects Kent West Hill (Reith Road) to downtown Kent on one end and Star Lake station on the other. The southern half connects northeast Federal Way to Star Lake station (closest northbound Link station) and Federal Way station (its own downtown). I don’t know if the part west of I-5 serves another community, or is just because of the street constraints and not wanting to duplicate RapidRide A.
The 186th eastern half serves north Federal Way, while the western half serves southwest Federal Way. I don’t know if there’s a retail area in the middle both are serving.
I also don’t understand why the western end of the 181 turns south, while the 187 serves the western part of 320th that the 181 doesn’t. Why not swap the tails? But maybe the 181’s north-south segment is higher density or has more retail, which is appropriate for a more frequent route.
Since we don’t know whether Sound Transit will truncate some or all ST Express service at Federal Way station, does that affect your feedback on Metro routes? This restructure is revenue-neutral, so it’s reallocating existing service hours. In other words, more service to downtown Seattle means less service within South King County. Does this proposal have the right amount of Metro express service, too much, or too little? Would losing the 577 and 578 change your answer? What if the 577/578 ran only peak hours, or only off-peak?
Hard to say. A lot depends on what ST ends up doing. For example ST could run all-day express buses from Sounder locations to downtown. If that happened the 162, 164 and 183 look great. On the other hand the 156 falls short of the connection to Sounder/ST Express. You would want that bus extended a bit.
Most of the existing ST Express buses largely serve Link destinations. One exception is the 574. Someone could take a Metro bus and transfer to the 574 and take it to South 188th St & 42nd Ave. But hardly anyone does that and the 161 (which I believe is unchanged) covers the area anyway. I don’t see how this changes Metro routes either way.
Sound Transit has all sorts of options when it comes to truncating. If it retains service from Federal Way to Seattle (and I think it should) then Federal Way is a more important spot (than the other stations). Likewise if they truncate the buses but run additional routes to Federal Way (e. g. an all-day 595 to Federal Way) then again Federal Way becomes a more important location. Either way I expect Federal Way Transit Center to be more important as a regional center. Just looking at the Metro plans it seems to incorporate that idea. Not every bus connects to it, but those that don’t are pretty far north.
I feel very strongly that ST should continue to run express buses from Federal Way to Seattle in the middle of the day. But if they don’t run it, I can’t see Metro doing that. Metro could restore the 177, but that is highly unlikely. That is the one time that Link has a chance of beating an express bus and that particular express just runs from station to station (unlike the 594).
I think ST Express service is very important but I don’t know if it will actually alter the way people view the Metro network. It is more about how they view transit in general. ST has the opportunity to make major improvements in the network. But they could also blow it and send a lot of people to their cars.
“I think ST Express service is very important but I don’t know if it will actually alter the way people view the Metro network. It is more about how they view transit in general. ”
It directly affects people who travel from all parts of Federal Way to Seattle, Auburn to Seattle, etc. It’s not just a philosophical question for them (“how they view the Metro network”); it affects their travel time, how many activities they can do in a day, and whether they can recommend transit to their friends who might have similar trips.
It directly affects people who travel from all parts of Federal Way to Seattle, Auburn to Seattle, etc.
Yes, obviously. The ST choices definitely effects riders. But I don’t think it effects this proposal. Metro is running lots of buses to Federal Way. This means that it will work if:
A) Metro truncates the buses and doesn’t make any significant improvements in the network.
B) Continues to run express buses to Seattle.
C) Truncates the buses but runs more express buses to places like Auburn or Gig Harbor.
But despite this Metro proposal working just fine for every option, there is a world of difference for riders. That is what I mean by “how they view transit”. For decades people viewed transit in this city as “good for getting downtown, but not good for much else”. This was a common thing people would say to those that just arrived. That is because we had a very strong trunk and branch system and not much else.
But that has changed. We have more of a grid now. But it is full of holes and weaknesses. Thus people view it as “it works for some trips, doesn’t work for others”.
This would be the case if ST chooses one of those options. People may say “It is quite good for getting downtown” or “It is really slow for getting downtown, but you can get to Tacoma fairly easily”. That sort of thing. But my point is that the Metro restructure plan is the same either way.
The two agencies should be working together and put one complementary network before the public for comment. It is not acceptable for them to be separated. They are supposed to be well integrated at all levels: elected officials, management, planning, operations, information. The East network was simultaneous but seemed disjointed; same with Lynnwood.
Agreed. But in this case I don’t see it as being that big of a deal. Metro isn’t going to run express buses from Federal Way Link stations to Seattle in the middle of the day. They have a handful of runs during rush hour (to downtown and First Hill). They seem specifically crafted to work whether ST truncates everything or runs buses to Seattle.
I’m guessing that ST is being cautious and doesn’t want to rush things while Metro figures they might as well start working on it. It is worth noting that the Lynnwood Link restructure had some major changes as it went along. Metro may figure they want a similar amount of time to correct this restructure (although to my eyes this one seems to be much better). It is easy to criticize the express buses to Seattle but they aren’t spending that much in service hours for them. The rest of it looks OK (to me). But I also don’t know the area that well.
“Metro isn’t going to run express buses from Federal Way Link stations to Seattle in the middle of the day.”
It was suggested in Metro Connects. Express routes, defined as “half-hourly all day until 7pm”, included Federal Way-downtown, Auburn-Kent-downtown, and a handful of others. When I asked a Metro rep about these at the time, he said it wasn’t decided yet whether all of them would be all-day or some would be peak-only. That could suggest either replicating the 577 or keeping a 17x route (as in this restructure).
Mike Orr: Metro Connects did not have much of a budget constraint; this project may only use the hours, buses, and operators in the current budget.
Yes, I said that earlier today, so I didn’t want to be redundant by repeating it. Metro Connects is based on fully funding an “optimal” service level. This restructure has only the currently-available funding of the existing routes.
It also makes more sense as an ST route. Consider some ways in which the stations could be covered:
1) Express buses from a Link station to downtown. This is not ideal, since people (from other places) have to transfer to the bus. You lose one of the big advantages of running a bus from the south end (you get to cover more places than just the three stations).
2) Auburn or Kent (or both) to a station and then on to Seattle. This works, but it isn’t the most direct way to get to Seattle. It is possible that you would get plenty of extra riders along the way (e. g. the 164 could simply be extended to Downtown Seattle, much like the 41 was back in the day) but I still think you would get the most riders with the following:
3) Tacoma to Seattle (with a stop at Federal Way). This is a route with plenty of existing riders. The problem is, it doesn’t make sense for Metro to run it — ST should run it.
The retail center at 348th & Pacific continues to be under-served. Unless you’re coming form the Federal Way TC, there’s no good options for Federal Way residents to access this commercial area. Route 181 should be extended to terminate at 348th, giving a lot of Fed Way residents access to this area without having to connect at the transit center.
I like the idea of extending the RapidRide A down to 348th (as Cam suggested above). But extending the 181 might be a cheaper way to achieve almost the same thing. If it could be timed to run opposite the 182 you could have good frequency along that corridor. That would still mean a transfer to the RapidRide A, but the connection to Link would be almost as good.
I would like to see restoration of some 121/122/123 service. Burien doesn’t particularly benefit from the FW Link extension, at least pertaining to access to Seattle. The H Line is a good improvement on the 120, but I still think there is a justifiable case for express service between Burien and downtown Seattle. Aside from the H Line, the alternative is F Line –> Link, which is also significantly slower than the 121-3.
I was wondering that. Burien doesn’t have good access to downtown Seattle. The H takes fifty minutes; the F+Link probably takes longer. That’s not very good when Burien is so close. the 150 takes 20 minutes to Southcenter, the 101 takes 40 minutes to Renton, but there’s no comparable route to Burien.
I still think there is a justifiable case for express service between Burien and downtown Seattle.
I agree. The tough part is money. ST has it, Metro doesn’t. ST is spending money on other things. If Metro ran an express bus from Burien to Downtown Seattle then some bus somewhere would have to be cut and things are pretty much cut to the bone right now.
Yes I do feel like Burien to Downtown riders got thrown under the bus. They don’t quite benefit from South Link, and how the survey is worded doesn’t even provide much space for people traveling between the two points to comment on the changes.
Burien has always had poor service:
– The express routes only ran during rush hour, even when they did run.
– The rest of the time, there are three local routes to downtown, but they all take an hour, it’s just a question of which milk run you want to do along the way. (The H is fastest but has maddening detours to go closer to Westwood Village and further from White Center).
– The Seattle-bound buses don’t even really serve much of Burien, just a transit center that, I guess, people are supposed to drive to.
I suppose if you have a car and the reason for riding the bus is simply to avoid parking downtown, the fastest option might be to drive to Tukwila P&R and catch the 150, or (if I-5 is backed up) drive to TIBS and catch Link. Neither are exactly short drives, but the fact that they exist leads to apathy, and no sense of urgency to fix the underlying transit problem.
What is there along the following route segments? Just houses? Apartments? Retail? Warehouses? Institutions?
156-A. What’s along the 156’s northern third? (Southcenter to SeaTac station.)
156-B. What’s along its middle third? (SeaTac station to 216th & 24th.)
156-C. What’s along its southern third? (216th & 24th to KDM station.)
183-A. What’s along the 183’s northern half. (Kent Sounder Station to Star Lake station.) I know that, just low-density houses on Reith Road; I saw it on a predecessor route.
183-B. What’s along the 183 west of I-5? (Between 277th and 288th).
183-C. What’s along the 183 east of I-5? (288th to 310th.) Does this area deserve a bus detour?
183-D. What’s along the 183 south of 310th?
186-A. What’s along the 186’s eastern half? (Star Lake station to 21st SW & 320th.)
186-B. What’s along the 186’s western half? (21st SW to 47th SW.)
181-A. What’s along the 181’s western tail? (21st Ave SW)
182-A. What’s along the 182? (Vaguely L-shaped along the eastern and southern edge of Federal Way.)
903-A. What’s along the 903? (V-shape in south Federal Way.)
Does anyone know what these route segments are like, and how important it is to serve these particular streets?
Mike Orr, yes, Route 156 needs attention. Why does it ignore the Angle Lake Link station? There is a long transfer seam at the airport Link station.
The new bus turning loop at FWTC actually opens in March:
https://www.soundtransit.org/blog/platform/winter-update-link-projects-under-construction
Also, Link LRV’s on the floating bridge in Q1 of 2025, and self powered testing in Q2.
Progress.
I really do not think South King County is going to benefit from all this.
Why not? What specific routes or gaps do you think are problematic? Or is it all about safety at bus stops, which is a separate issue from this restructure?
Because, based on personal experience, Metro doesn’t care about South King County. I know that i am losing the Route 166, which is the second most Route i use and am not sure if the replacements will be better. They usually are not.