Michael Smith

2026 Trailhead Direct Routes

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 by Michael Smith

Trailhead Direct service is returning in 2026 on weekends from May 23 to August 30. Additionally, the service will run on a few holidays, specifically: Memorial Day (Monday, May 25) and Independence Day (Friday, July 3).

Trailhead Direct consists of two routes, one from Capitol Hill station to Mount Si and one from Mount Baker station to the Issaquah Alps. These routes are similar to last year. The Issaquah Alps route has been truncated at Squak Mountain and now runs full trips later in the day.

The now open 2 Line service across Lake Washington makes these routes redundant with frequent and fast transit west of South Bellevue P&R. Why do these routes still travel into Seattle? The primary reason is how Trailhead Direct service is funded. Via the Seattle Transit Measure (STM), the Seattle Department of Transportation is a significant sponsor. In 2024, the STM funded 50% of Trailhead Direct service. Truncating these routes at South Bellevue station could free funding for more frequent service or more routes, but SDOT has little incentive to fund routes that operate completely outside the City.

Friday Roundtable: Free Summer Shuttles

May 15, 2026May 15, 2026 by Michael Smith

King County Metro will run two free shuttles in downtown Seattle this summer. The Waterfront Shuttle will operate everyday between May 21 and September 7. Buses will arrive every 15 minutes from 10am to 10pm.

This route travels between the Chinatown/ International District and Seattle Center, via Pioneer Square, the waterfront (Alaskan Way), and Belltown.

Ridership Patterns for Sound Transit Route 535

May 11, 2026May 11, 2026 by Michael Smith

Sound Transit Route 535 travels inbound from Lynnwood City Center station to downtown Bellevue, primarily via I-405. This express service stops at Alderwood Mall and in Bothell and Totem Lake.

Route 535 runs every 30 minutes during the week, every hour on Saturdays, and does not run on Sunday. In October 2025, Route 535 had 1,908 average weekday boardings.

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.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 535 Trip in October 2025. “Inbound” is toward Bellevue; “Outbound” is toward Lynnwood. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 535 offers essential express service connecting communities along the north half of I-405. Some observations:

SDOT creating Aurora Ave Community Advisory Group

May 9, 2026May 7, 2026 by Michael Smith

In 2022, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) launched a project to redesign Aurora Ave. The highest ridership bus route in Washington, Metro’s RapidRide E Line, carries 13,000 people along the corridor every day. Aurora Ave is consistently one of the most dangerous streets in Seattle. Over the past few years, SDOT has received thousands of responses from the public on how the street should be changed. Based on this feedback, the agency shared a few concepts in 2024. The long-term changes on Aurora will include the following infrastructure and safety improvements:

Sidewalks for comfort, safety, and ease of access
Better lighting for improved visibility
Safer, more accessible street crossings for people walking and rolling
Updated drainage to prevent water accumulation
Making it more comfortable and accessible for people walking and rolling
Reducing crashes for all road users
Improving bus service so it’s more dependable and convenient

Sound Transit Updates ST3 Plan Amid Financial Constraints

May 6, 2026May 6, 2026 by Michael Smith

On Thursday, Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers will share a resolution to update the Sound Transit 3 system plan. This update will help align the agency’s future Link extensions with the available funding. Due to record-breaking inflation and more accurate price estimates, Sound Transit is facing a $34.5 billion funding shortfall. In March, the agency shared three potential approaches it was considering for re-aligning ST3. These suggestions alarmed Sound Transit tax payers and transit advocates. Over the past few weeks, groups supporting different projects have sprung up, demanding that Sound Transit build the voter-approved system.

The resolution designates some projects to be fully funded through completion, some to be partially funded through planning or design, and others to be deferred until additional funding becomes available.

Project	Funded by Resolution R2026-11
Ballard Link Extension	– Construct CID to Seattle Center – Design Seattle Center to Ballard
West Seattle Link Extension	– Construct to Alaska Junction, skipping Avalon station
Everett Link Extension	– Construct to Everett
Tacoma Dome Link Extension	– Construct to Tacoma Dome
Graham St and Boeing Access infill stations	– Design both stations
T Line Extension	– Construct to Tacoma Community College, opening pushed back from 2035 to 2043
Kirkland-Issaquah Link	– Construct full line, opening pushed back from 2041 to 2050.
DuPont Sounder Extension	– Planning phase
Maintenance Facilities (Link North, Link South, Sounder, ST Express)	– Construct Link and Sounder maintenance facilitates – Partially fund ST Express bus base

Friday Roundtable: 2025 Ridership Data

May 1, 2026May 1, 2026 by Michael Smith

The Seattle Transit Ridership dashboard has been updated to include 2025 ridership data for King County Metro routes and Sound Transit routes operated by Metro. In March 2025, Metro only updated a few routes, mostly with frequency adjustments from Seattle Transit Measure funding. In August 2025, Metro introduced four routes and adjusted various other routes on the Eastside as part of its East Link Connections restructure. Of the new routes (203, 222, 223, and 256), Route 223 had the highest ridership with about 1,000 passengers every weekday.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 223 Trip: August 2025 to March 2026. “Inbound” is toward Downtown Redmond station, “Outbound” is toward Eastgate Park & Ride. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

How Intercity Transit Redesigned its Network

April 27, 2026April 27, 2026 by Michael Smith

Over the past decade, Intercity Transit has worked on completely redesigning its bus network in Thurston County (Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and Yelm). Between 2016-2018, the agency solicited feedback on the priorities for future transit and received over 10,000 ideas from the public. Using these data, Intercity Transit devised three future scenarios and asked the public which path they prefer.

Service Reductions
Status Quo System
Transformational System

Unsurprisingly, the transformational system was supported by 83% of survey respondents. The community preferred a redesigned system with:

Earlier and later service on high capacity (arterial) roads and moderate capacity (collector) streets
Service to new areas
High-frequency corridor service similar to bus rapid transit (BRT)
Enhanced commuter services

To help fund the redesigned network, voters approved Intercity Transit Proposition 1 in November 2018. The ballot measure also provided funding for a five-year zero-fare demonstration project. This went into effect on January 1, 2020, and was extended by three years due to the pandemic (until 2028).

Intercity Transit observed a change in ridership patterns after the pandemic. Transit ridership shifted from morning and afternoon peaks to more even ridership throughout the day. This dramatic shift paused the system redesign work and more community feedback was collected on post-pandemic travel behavior. The agency adjusted the redesigned bus network based on this feedback and the new network will launch on May 3, 2026. Key changes and unique components of the new system are discussed below.

Mayor Wilson Announces Denny Way Bus Lanes

April 23, 2026April 23, 2026 by Michael Smith

On Wednesday, Mayor Wilson announced plans for new bus lanes on Denny Way to help improve reliability for Route 8. “This is workhorse route. This is one of our highest ridership routes, and it has long struggled with reliability,” Wilson said. This announcement follows the Mayor’s first executive order for SDOT to “design and install at least one dedicated bus lane on Denny Way, with the goal of significantly improving the reliability, speed, and performance of Route 8 and other transit services operating in the corridor.” The new bus lanes will be Mayor Wilson’s first direct addition to Seattle’s growing bus lane network.

The Denny Way Bus Reliability Project will be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 will be done in May and include a new southbound business access and transit (BAT) lane in the center lane on Queen Anne Ave N between John St and Denny Way, an eastbound curbside BAT lane on Denny Way between Queen Anne Ave N and 2nd Ave, and a bus priority signal on Denny Way at 2nd Ave.

Seattle Rallies to Save Ballard Rail

April 20, 2026April 19, 2026 by Michael Smith

On Sunday, hundreds of Seattleites and transit advocates walked from Ballard to Interbay and Smith Cove, roughly following the planned Ballard Link route. The walk was organized in response to Sound Transit’s recent suggestion to defer part of the Ballard Link Extension. “We are here today because close enough is not good enough,” Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck said to a cheering crowd. Along with Rinck, King County Councilmember Jorge L. Barón and Washington State Senator Noel Frame spoke in support of completing the Ballard Link extension. Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss and Mayor of Seattle Katie Wilson did not attend the rally, but shared their support with the organizers.

At a Board retreat in March, Sound Transit revealed three approaches it is considering for how to build parts of ST3, given the agency’s severe budget shortfalls. None of the approaches included Link reaching Ballard in the near future.

Friday Roundtable: Incorrect Signs, Part 2

April 17, 2026April 17, 2026 by Michael Smith

In December, we took a look at a few incorrect signs in the Puget Sound transit network. Many of these signs have since been fixed, but the region’s quickly growing transit system has resulted in a few more incorrect signs. Mistakes in wayfinding signs are bound to happen with any complex system. The four agencies responsible for travel in Seattle (Sound Transit, King County Metro, SDOT, WSDOT) work closely together, but gaps in communication are inevitable. We are also not blaming the talented designers at these organizations. In calling out these mistakes, all we ask is for the responsible agency correct the issue as soon as possible. Seattle Transit Blog wants transit to be as easy and user-friendly as possible, and factual inaccuracies on official signage go against that goal. While everyday transit riders deserve correct information, the expected surge in visitors to Seattle this summer is all the more reason to ensure all maps and signs are accurate and up-to-date.

Sound Transit

Last month’s much anticipated Crosslake Connection opening introduced two new stations, Judkins Park and Mercer Island. At Judkins Park station, the Area Map and Bike Map are both missing a few key details. On the Area Map, the new bus stops next to the station entrances on Rainier Ave for the 7, 9, and 106 are not labeled. Instead, the now-closed bus stops south of I-90 are labeled. Likewise, the new bus stops on 23rd Ave for routes 8 and 48 are missing.

On the Bike Map, parts of a few new infrastructure projects are not labeled. SDOT completed the Beacon Hill Safety Project in 2025. Among other improvements, protected bike lanes were added to sections of 15th ave S and Beacon Ave S. The Bike Map has the Beacon Ave section labeled, but is missing the 15th Ave section. The Bike Map is also missing the bike lanes on Dearborn St and on MLK Way between McClellan St and Rainier Ave. Both maps have also excluded the new bike path under I-90 along Rainier, near the station entrance.