King County Metro’s RapidRide B Line travels inbound from Redmond to Bellevue via Overlake and Crossroads. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In January 2025, the B Line had 4,531 average weekday boardings.
The data shown in the plots below were collected between March and September 2024. Sound Transit’s Link 2 Line started operating on April 27, 2024 and runs between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology. The B Line and Link 2 Line intersect at Downtown Bellevue and Redmond Technology stations. This likely resulted in some ridership pattern changes; however, overall B Line ridership remained fairly consistent month to month around the time of 2 Line opening. Sherwin Lee discussed the initial 2 Line ridership data in August 2024.
Average Ridership Per Trip
The plots below show the average weekday ridership by stop in each direction, color-coded by time of day. For a more detailed breakdown of how the plots are set up, please refer to the How to Read the Plots section of the article discussing Route 70.
The B Line ridership patterns show a route that connects a few significant destinations, separated by areas of low ridership. Some observations:
- Redmond Transit Center has moderate ridership all day. The transit center is located near several apartment buildings and is near the center of downtown Redmond. Redmond Transit Center is a Park & Ride facility with 377 spaces and also serves routes 221, 224, 250, 930, and Sound Transit routes 542, 545.
- West of downtown Redmond, the B Line stops in Rose Hill and Grass Lawn have minimal use. Overall, this segment tends to see a few passengers board inbound trips and alight outbound trips. The land use around this segment is almost exclusively single family homes.
- South of NE 51st St, the land use around 148th Ave NE changes. The west side of 148th Ave has garden apartment buildings, multi-family housing, and the Pro Club fitness center. The east side is populated by a small shopping center and office buildings. The office buildings are primarily occupied by Nintendo and Microsoft. Ridership at the two stops in this area is minor, with just a passenger or two boarding each inbound trip and alighting each outbound trip. Stops along this segment also serve routes 221, 225, and 269.
- On the other side of SR 520, the B Line stops at Redmond Technology Station. Inbound (to Bellevue) morning trips pick up and drop off an even number of passengers. Throughout the day, ridership at this stop shifts to more passengers boarding and fewer passengers alighting. Afternoon inbound trips pick up more passengers than any other time of day. Outbound (to Redmond) B trips drop of 2-3 passengers per trip at all times of day. These trips pick up fewer passengers, except in the afternoon when 3-4 passengers board each trip. This station is located in the center of Microsoft’s campus and is a Park & Ride with 323 spaces. In addition to Link 2 Line, passengers can transfer to routes 225, 245, 249, and Sound Transit routes 542, 545, 566. Most of Microsoft’s private Connector bus routes stop here.
- South of Redmond Technology Station, the B Line detours off of 156th Ave to better serve Overlake. While the B Line passes directly next to the Overlake Village Link station, it’s closest stop is located about 700 ft away at 152nd Ave & 36th St. This stop has minimal use.
- The B Line has two stops that serve Overlake: Overlake Park & Ride and 156th Ave & 24th St (inbound)/ 24th St & Bel-Red Rd (outbound). These stops are busy through out the day. The stop at Overlake Park & Ride has an equal number of passengers boarding and alighting each trip, in both directions. This stop is located about a block west of the P&R and is next to many shops and restaurants, as well as a few apartment buildings. Overlake P&R has 203 spaces and also serves routes 221, 249, and 269. The other Overlake stop pair is split around the triangle formed by 156th Ave, 24th St, and Bel-Red Rd. This stop pair is also located near shops, restaurants, and apartments. Throughout the day, passengers primarily use this stop to board inbound trips and alight outbound trips.
- South of Overlake, the B Line stops at 156th St & 15th St. This stop is surrounded by garden apartments and multi-family housing, which explains the stop’s unique ridership pattern. Trips in both directions primarily pick up passengers in the morning and mid-day, and primarily drop off passengers in the afternoon, evening, and night.
- The B Line stops outside of Crossroads shopping center at 156th Ave NE & NE 10th St. Inbound (to Bellevue) trips generally pick up more passengers than they drop off and are busiest in the mid-day and afternoon. Outbound (to Redmond) trips primarily drop off passengers at this stop and are busy after 9am. In addition to Crossroads mall, this stop is surrounded by various other shops, restaurants, and small apartment buildings. This stop pair is also served by Route 245.
- Between Crossroads and downtown Bellevue, the B Line travels along NE 8th St. Most stops along this segment have minor ridership. The stop at 140th Ave has a strong commuter ridership pattern with a few passengers boarding each morning and mid-day inbound trips and a few passengers alighting each afternoon, evening, and night outbound trip. This stop is located near a few shops and a large apartment complex.
- Passengers can transfer between the B Line and Link 2 Line at Wilburton Station with the B Line’s stops at 8th St & 120th Ave (inbound)/8th St & 116th Ave (outbound). Despite the B Line passing directly in front of Wilburton Station, the inbound stop is located 650 ft east of the station. The outbound stop is located across the street from the station and passengers can transfer using Eastrail’s 8th St overpass.
- Bellevue Transit Center is the busiest stop on the route. Inbound trips drop off 10-20 passengers per trip in the morning, mid-day, and afternoon, while outbound trips pick up 10-25 passengers per trip after 9am. Bellevue TC is located walking distance to many office buildings, Bellevue Library, and Bellevue Square. The 2 Line’s stop at Downtown Bellevue Station is adjacent to the Bellevue TC. Bellevue TC also serves routes 226, 240, 241, 246, 249, 250, 271, and Sound Transit routes 532, 535, 550, 560, 556, 566.
Daily Totals per Stop
The average daily total boarding and alighting counts show a similar pattern to the per trip data. Unsurprisingly, ridership is higher in denser neighborhoods such as Crossroads and Overlake.
Looking Ahead
The current B Line routing is far from permanent. To prepare for the Sound Transit’s Downtown Redmond Link Extension opening on May 10, Metro will slightly adjusting the B Line’s route the same day. This change will extend the route from Redmond Transit Center to Downtown Redmond Station. Additionally, the Overlake detour will be removed. Instead, the B Line will stay on 156th Ave NE between Crossroads and Redmond Technology Station with a new stop at 156th Ave & 28th St.
Later this year, Metro will implement its East Link Restructure when the full 2 Line opens across Lake Washington. The B Line does not have any further changes in this restructure, through the overhaul of Metro’s Eastside routes and the full 2 Line opening will certainly impact its ridership patterns.
Longer term, Metro has proposed splitting the B Line into two RapidRide routes: an east-west route from Crossroads to the University District and a north-south route from Redmond to South Bellevue Station.
This chart almost begs the question why the Microsoft-Redmond section of the route is RapidRide at all, as Microsoft-Bellevue looks like where almost all the ridership is. Furthermore, the 542/545 is a faster way between Microsoft and downtown Redmond (the only big destinations of the north section), plus the section on 148th Ave. is duplicated with the 221.
From my reading of the chart, about 1/3 of riders are riding north of Microsoft. Most of those seem to come from Redmond transit center though, so perhaps many of those will switch when Redmon Link opens.
I agree. There are a lot of riders from Redmond Transit Center (even if there aren’t that many between there and Microsoft). Furthermore it appears like most of those riders are getting off on 156th as it moves farther away from the freeway (and Link). It seems like the one thing you would want to do is make the route a bit faster and avoid the back and forth to Overlake Park and Ride (even though you lose a few riders in the process). Turns out that is what they are doing.
I looked at the plans to split the B line into two lines with these ridership numbers in mind. I would have thought many Microsoft workers would come from the NE 8th st segment, which would mean lots of those commuters having to transfer if the line was split, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Only about ~150 riders board going west before 9am.
Another group of riders who would be hurt are those between Crossroads and Overlake who are going to Downtown Bellevue, who would have to transfer. Those North of Microsoft are able to transfer to Link to get downtown in a similar or shorter time, and those boarding at 156th/10th might just walk down to NE 8th, but a significant number are boarding at 156th/ NE 15th.
If the line was split, would it be make sense for the East/West route to still turn at crossroads up to 15th for those riders? Or would it make more sense to keep going on NE 8th? Probably fewer people live around 156th/NE 10th than East of crossroads mall on NE 8th, but on the other hand continuing East allows transfers with the 226’s new routing which will soon be running up 164th. What do y’all think?
I’d lean towards making the split at Overlake Transit Center. After seeing the ridership data, I think the north part of the B still deserves some service, but part of route 221, not RapidRide. Particularly if the 221 could be made to run every half hour during the periods where it’s currently just hourly.
The north-south segment could absorb the south part of Route 245. It will be a non trivial issue to find a layover, turnaround loop, and comfort station for the east-west leg near the Crossroads Mall. The long range planning group discussed hooking it with Route 270.
I’m not sure it makes sense to split the line. But if they did it would probably make sense to do another big restructure, as it would likely set off a bunch of other changes. To answer your question I think turning at Crossroads gets you a lot more than than just ending there or continuing on NE 8th. But that costs money. You are overlapping with the other bus. If you ended at 15th there wouldn’t be much overlap — the challenge would be turning around and laying over. If you kept going (e. g. to Overlake Village) you introduce more overlap and more issues with a restructure. I’m not sure the best option — I think it depends a lot on what you did with the other buses and nothing in the area strikes me as being a great option (unlike some parts of Greater Seattle). I commend the planners who believe they have a good solution for the East Side — I find the region highly problematic. There are definitely little areas I would fix and modify, but without spending a lot more money (on buses) I don’t think it would be great.
In general the RapidRide B is a good bus route but not an obvious RapidRide bus. The A runs on a major north-south corridor (which tend to be fast around here). Several major destinations in the area are right along there, while it connects to Link for trips farther away. Ridership per hour of service is extremely high (as you would expect). The C, E and H all have similar elements combined with an express to downtown. These are all straight-shots. The G is a short, very-urban, straight-shot as well (with ridership to match). The D is a bit different in that it serves both Ballard and Queen Anne (it isn’t a straight shot from Ballard). But the D gets a ton of riders — it makes sense to give it things like off-board payment and a lot of right-of-way. That really leaves the B and F as outliers. Neither are very straight (the F is especially squiggly) and neither gets that many riders. Too late now (of course) but it might have made more sense to just try and focus the various buses (and frequency) on where it was likely to get the most riders (which then allow more flexibility in the future).
I’ve been wondering for a while how impactful losing the B’s turn in Crossroads would be, and I don’t really know. I can imagine there might not be a lot of Microsoft workers or Overlake shoppers along 8th.
The turn in Crossroads seems pretty valuable to me.
Perhaps the east-west 270-B could truncate at Microsoft, and a new north-south 245-B could end at Eastgate (Factoria or South Bellevue might also be options). The 245 would truncate at Microsoft and the 245-B would take over the tail
It certainly makes sense to overlap on 156th between Crossroads and Overlake. I ride the 245 between Redmond Tech and Lake Hills, and it fills up between 24th and 8th in the afternoons even though it overlaps with the B there.
Wow….this might be enough data to suggest shortening the route between Overlake and Bellevue. And if anyone wants to go to Redmond from BTC, they can take Link.
Not gonna happen but it’s clear the bulk of riders only travel between downtown Bellevue and Overlake/Crossroads.
Wow….this might be enough data to suggest shortening the route between Overlake and Bellevue.
I don’t see how you are concluding that.
it’s clear the bulk of riders only travel between downtown Bellevue and Overlake/Crossroads.
Overlake/Crossroads are two different places. Start with Overlake Park and Ride. For an inbound bus 1,156 riders board before Overlake. 1,322 board after (and at the park and ride). So a slight majority board north of there. But don’t forget: It takes longer to get from Overlake to Downtown Bellevue. It is actually split fairly evenly in terms of boardings per hour.
Now consider Crossroads (8th & 148th). Almost all the riders board north of there (about 2,117 versus 429). Truncating there would leave a RapidRide with very few riders.
if anyone wants to go to Redmond from BTC, they can take Link.
But clearly that isn’t the only place they are going. 960 get off the bus before it gets to Crossroads. Another 1,569 ride it west of there. So while Downtown Bellevue is certainly an important stop, it doesn’t dominate to the level you are suggesting. It is really the combination of trips that is the key to the route. If it was truncated early you would force a lot of riders to transfer even though they clearly contribute a lot to the ridership.
[Note: I’m looking at a spreadsheet (which is why I can add up the numbers fairly easily). But the data should match that of Micheal’s, since we got it from the same place.]
“Overlake/Crossroads are two different places.”
And “Overlake” is a vague term. It can mean 40th, 36th, 24th, and probably more. Still, Jordan’s “Overlake/Crossroads” makes sense if you interpret it as 8th to 24th or 8th to 40th. It’s a continuous retail/apartment area even if the name changes.
Right, but no matter how you interpret it the idea is flawed. I think folks are not reading the chart correctly. It is easy to be swayed by one big bar. But often times it is more about a lot of little bars. It is one of the weaknesses in how the data is presented (even though I couldn’t do it any better). The idea of chopping this in half (or 2/3) because some stops have a lot more than others misses the point. Doing so would destroy the value of this route.
To be clear, I’m not saying we shouldn’t go with the future crossing RapidRide lines. But in that case you are trading one thing for another. You are connecting much of Redmond to the college instead of Downtown Bellevue. But that is a different idea from just truncating the route for no good reason.
So, an overlap of UDistrict-Bellevue-Crossroads-Redmond Tech and Redmond-Crossroads-Bellevue College-Eastgate would be similar to the existing B/245 overlap. And as I said, the 245 gets crowded in the afternoons between 24th and 8th even though it overlaps with the B. So there’s a ridership justification for overlapping RapidRides right there. Even if two RapidRide lines would have higher capacity than the existing situation, there’s a reasonable hope that total ridership would increase with it, and fill some of that capacity, because the biggest thing dampening ridership is the inconvenience frictions on the transit network.
The B-245 could be frequent instead of RapidRide if branding/funding is an issue. I think it would be a strong but not outstanding route.
“Despite the B Line passing directly in front of Wilburton Station, the inbound stop is located 650 ft east of the station. ”
This still amazes me that an inbound stop wasn’t added at the Wilburton Station. My guess is that there were concerns about buses getting stuck in traffic if there was a stop so close to 116th.
My guess is that there were concerns about buses getting stuck in traffic if there was a stop so close to 116th.
It seems like it wouldn’t be a problem to just change one lane. It is over 450 feet from the intersection to a potential bus stop. I’m sure traffic builds up in that right lane but probably not that much.
My guess is they just don’t care. It is only an extra 650 feet. Note that it is not great going the other direction either (https://maps.app.goo.gl/GyThtQPpuC8CTDmLA). It would make more sense for both stops to be in the middle and have a mid-block crossing. Does the pedestrian bridge connect to the station or it is as ridiculous as the UW-Station (going up to an underground station)? In this case it would mean going up and down then back up again.
It is worth noting that the transfer at Bellevue Downtown is not trivial either. Thus (in the future) if you are riding the train from Seattle and are headed to somewhere on NE 8th it makes sense to transfer to the B at Wilburton instead of downtown. You are on the train longer. The problem is that the transfer is made needlessly more difficult.
Maybe we are overreacting and it is simply a matter of time. I don’t know the long term plans for the area.
“Thus (in the future) if you are riding the train from Seattle and are headed to somewhere on NE 8th it makes sense to transfer to the B at Wilburton instead of downtown. ”
Yes! Why would a rider keep riding the several more blocks past Wilburton on RapidRide B — waiting through several more long signals, only to get off the bus at BTC and still have to cross 110th to get to Link. At least getting off at Wilburton Station westbound would mean no street crossing would be needed and it would save a rider several minutes.
How does the group feel about the end points? I understand how drivers can take breaks at the Link stations so that makes them desirable end point. However modest extensions to take the routes just a little further at either end could serve an additional type of rider: the shopper. I’m thinking to Bellevue Square and Old Bellevue at one end and Fred Mayer and Target in Redmond at the other. It just seems that connecting to more retail would be advantageous for RapidRide demand
That would make sense. I’ve already suggested extending it to the Redmond Fred Meyer or Bear Creek P&R, and I’ve also thought about extending it west to Bellevue Square. It’s odd that it terminates at the eastern end of downtown Bellevue and there’s no always-frequent route to the retail core of downtown Bellevue. It’s just part of the “everything meets at the transit center” type of thinking. But if the east-west RapidRide interlined with the 270 goes through, then that would get it to Bellevue Way at least.
I think the biggest issue is Downtown Bellevue. It would make sense for this bus (and several others) to keep going *through* downtown instead of ending as soon at it gets there. The 550 does this. It gets about 250 riders at 110th NE and NE 10th.
But I think it is the exception. Most of the buses just end at the transit center, which is at the eastern end of things. If the bus is coming from the east that is fine. But for a bus like the B Line it forces trips of this nature: https://maps.app.goo.gl/RYCEFLKbNRSV11Us8. This is a trip from the transit center to a block containing skyscrapers. Note that I put in 8:30 AM on a Monday — a typical time for someone wanting to get to work in a place like Downtown Bellevue. Yet the best option is to just walk (over ten minutes). Everything else will take longer. This wouldn’t be a big deal except for the fact that so many buses come from the east (or the freeway) and just end there.
It is the exact opposite of Downtown Seattle. Almost all of the buses go through downtown. Not only that, but if you end up taking Sounder (which ends at the south end of downtown) there are a lot of buses running frequently on Third which you can take you pretty much anywhere downtown.
Bellevue isn’t laid out like that. It is less linear. West of the freeway it is more like a square. The edges vary — some are abrupt, with low-density housing or big parking lots just a few feet from huge buildings. Others are more gradual, with apartment buildings nearby. If I had to serve Downtown Bellevue with one bus stop and could “start from scratch” I would put it at NE 6th & 106th NE. But that would still be a ways from much of downtown (https://maps.app.goo.gl/hiRy6bTjMsLVZGMj6).
Besides, we have to work with we have. The station is basically just east-central. I would add layovers (if possible) to the northwest and southwest. Of course even getting out there is challenging. It is best to consolidate as that gives you better combined frequency (you can create a “spine”). But doing so is bound to lose some coverage. A consolidated route also gives you a chance to add shared transit lanes. It isn’t ideal but I could see the future B Line, 226 and doing this: https://maps.app.goo.gl/s5qg1vQpQSgKEmFD7. The future 220, 240 and Stride buses would do this: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JJEnQsW8BADyd4248. (Note: I had to draw that as a walking direction because of construction.) The future 250 and 270 would layover in the existing transit center while the 554 would do what the 550 does (and go northeast a few blocks.
The spines would overlap routes that are going the other way, forming a spine. For example the 270 would follow the same path as 220, 240 and Stride.I’m not sure those are the best streets, but you get the idea.
But that would require layover stops (and the ability to turnaround) which is not always trivial. The buses can always just loop around back to the transit center but that costs extra service. Not necessarily a huge amount but still. If I’m not mistaken that is what the 550 does.
Meanwhile I would say that Downtown Redmond is fairly well served once this is extended to the Link station. It could keep going but there really isn’t that much to the east. There will be several buses heading that way and I think it has enough service (given the density). Any spine for Downtown Redmond should pretty much follow the pathway of the B Line.
“It’s just part of the “everything meets at the transit center” type of thinking.”
This is the overarching concept for sure. And it’s great when destinations — particularly busy ones like giant retail stores and hospitals — are close by.
However, when are they just too far? Pedestrian overcrossings can help close the distance, but some areas seem to outgrow the area that they serve.
I’ve read that people prefer to walk less than a quarter mile to get to a local bus, with half mile doable for urban rail systems. It also seems influenced by frequency, where I think people would walk further to get to a more frequent route like RapidRide.
RapidRide B is the frequent trunk for Bellevue and Redmond that seems to me to be line to be the best “trunk” route for serving the full area (as opposed to another bus route that may be less frequent or slower). That way, not only can the route provide destinations directly reachable from high density residential areas elsewhere on the route, but a transfer to regional transit seems much more effortless.
Certainly at some point a route structure in a dense area should shift from a point (transit center) to a line (transit corridor). The transition to me should seemingly begin with a RapidRide route even if all the other routes continue to go to a transit center.
Transit centers are transit depots. They are a place for the bus to layover. That is their primary purpose. But this being America we have trouble with transit. We especially have trouble with transfers and transit. So rather than address the core concerns that drive ridership (frequency, speed, linearity, etc.) we try to spiff up what we have. Rather than calling it a bus depot it is a “transit center”. It sounds enticing — something you might want to check out sometime. It is common for there to be some sort of artwork off to the side. But ultimately it is just a place for the buses to end their route.
Thus the Lake City Fred Meyer is a de facto transit center. So is the area around Seattle Pacific University. Various places at the UW have been “transit centers” over the years (Campus Parkway, Memorial Way, the Montlake Triangle). That’s fine. Wherever you can put the bus. The problem is when this messes with the network. That is the case with Downtown Bellevue. The downtown area itself lacks a cohesive set of routes for getting around. Various buses just suddenly stop as if there is nothing beyond there (I give credit for the designers of the 550 for *not* doing that). Some of the buses (including the B Line) should be extended and if possible, layover somewhere beside the transit center.
The bus really doesn’t get that many riders. It could use all the help it can get. Extending it a bit east (and north or south) would probably help.
“Transit centers are transit depots. They are a place for the bus to layover.”
That’s not what the public marketing or impression was when the first transit center was built, Bellevue Transit Center in the early 1980s. I was in high school when that happened. Before that, the routes crossed each other on different streets in a random spaghetti, and you had to check where each route pair crossed, and the transfers were untimed. And it was in a downtown, so the same stop was many people’s destination, and you dip into a business while you want or do a small errand on the way.
With Bellevue Transit Center, all the transfers moved to one place, and the routes were coordinated to depart at the :20 and :50 and arrive five minutes earlier. When some routes later became 15-minute frequent, the time-coordination and 5-minute pauses disappeared, but the ability to transfer from any route to any route remained.
So that was my expectation for all transit centers: a place where you can transfer between any route pair, and preferably in a downtown or large village center.
But then the Renton and Burien transit centers opened, with adjacent P&Rs. And then Issaquah transit center opened, in the middle of nowhere. Those felt like a betrayal of the transit center promise. The downtown P&Rs displace retail destinations, and force pedestrians to walk past them to other things. The middle-of-nowhere transit centers are a horrible place to wait. I’ve waited at Issaquah TC to transfer to Trailhead Direct (25-minute wait). I almost transfered there to the 208, but asdf2 luckily informed me that there’s a more pleasant transfer at City Hall. (You walk two blocks south to the 208, but at least it’s a park trail and there are (minimally useful) businesses around you.
The L-shaped B alignment made even more sense when it was created, because there was no full-time-frequent route in the Eastside at all, the routes around it were sparser than they are now, it was important to connect at least two sides of the Bellevue-Redmond-Kirkland triangle, and Crossroads was a major ridership/equity center.
Now with the emerging 2 Line, a better bus network, and changing trip patterns, the “L” feature may not be as important anymore. It’s hard to say how important it is now; i.e., how much the turn is a significant cross-section of the population’s total trips.
As someone who go to work in Bellevue Downtown every day, I’d say it is just very difficult to ride bus to skip 10-20 minutes walk within Bellevue Downtown like I can do in Downtown Seattle. I am fortunate that my office is right by the transit center, but it buged me on rainy days when I tried to make a lunch trip to places that is less expensive. It is probably not a top priority for transit agency given equity benefit of solving this kind issue is very low.
I think it is good for business if transit experience within Bellevue Downtown can be better. With the traffic and parking situation in Bellevue Downtown, even little thing can make transit more attractive than driving.
City like Bellevue should invest more on real transit agency rather than things like BellHop.
In hindsight it seems like a mistake that the B was never extended to Bellevue Square or Old Bellevue (Bellevue Way & Main Street). But it took time for people to recognize the benefit of this.
Metro has had through-routes in downtown Seattle for decades (e.g., 2, 7 (now 7/49), 11/125). I used to poo-poo them because (A) longer routes are less reliable, and (B) what’s the chance that more people on Madison-Pine are going to 16th Ave S than elsewhere? But as I made more trips over the years, I found it convenient that the 7 and 14 went from southwest Capitol Hill to Little Saigon, or that the 26/28/131/132 went from 4th Avenue S to north Seattle. I found it didn’t matter that the 26/28 went specifically to Latona Ave N or 8th Ave NW: I could take them to North Seattle and transfer to the 44 or 48 (now 45). And that transfer was nice because it gave me a break from the the congested sketchy transfer stops downtown.
But most importantly, through-routing all the way through a downtown to the adjacent neighborhoods allows one bus to serve many overlapping trips. E.g., south Seattle to north Seattle; either side to Midtown or Belltown or CID or Uptown. What happens is many people gradually get off the bus at those stops, and other people gradually get on. The net result is the bus becomes well-used but not overcrowded. That’s more efficient than two routes that would either overlap or meet, and each one would require street space and layover time.
The B and 245 going all the way through Overlake/Crossroads also exhibit this phenomenon: some people gradually get off, other people gradually get on, and other people stay on all the way through to the far half of the route.