On Saturday, March 18, King County Metro will revise bus schedules, upgrade Route 120 to become RapidRide H Line and add bus trips funded by the Seattle Transit Measure.
Metro has launched its March 2023 service change web page to outline coming changes and improvements for riders. The information also is available in Español (Spanish) and 中文 (Chinese). Schedule updates on Metro’s Trip Planner for dates March 18 and after will be available later this week and online timetables will be updated March 17.
Riders traveling along the 12-mile corridor between Burien, White Center, Delridge and downtown Seattle will experience upgrades to transit stations and improvements to speed and reliability as Route 120 becomes the RapidRide H Line, Metro’s seventh RapidRide line.
“We are delivering what riders across the region need: frequent service and connections to support commuting and everyday travel,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “Route 120 is a workhorse of the system, and riders will benefit as we take service to the next level, with new bus lanes, transit signals and real-time information signs with the launch of the new RapidRide H Line.”
“RapidRide is the pinnacle of the frequent and reliable service that Metro riders need now more than ever, and we are thrilled to welcome the RapidRide H Line to our growing family,” King County Metro General Manager Michelle Allison said. “Our service will be there for people and communities who have continued to rely on transit – during the region’s recovery and in the decades to come.”
“RapidRide H is another example of how Seattle is a national leader in transit and always working to improve people’s experience riding the bus,” said Seattle Department of Transportation Director Greg Spotts. “This is the culmination of years of work rebuilding Delridge Way Southwest to work better for people in buses, walking, and biking. Thank you to Seattle voters for passing the Levy to Move Seattle, and also to our partners at King County Metro and City of Burien.”
More trips, funded by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) thanks to the voter-approved Seattle Transit Measure, are planned for 18 bus routes: 3, 4, 28, 33, 36, 40, 44, 48, 50, 65, 67, 70, 73, 106, 107, and RapidRide C, D and E lines. By adjusting schedules, Metro has been able to deliver these added trips with existing transit operators.
Overall, Metro is scheduling more than 11,000 weekday bus trips across King County. The new schedule adjustments will increase reliability, more evenly space out the time between bus trips, and will preserve service where transit demand and needs are greatest.
Ridership remains stable and growing as more than 220,000 bus riders turn to Metro for their daily travel. Metro is focused on reliably providing service, especially to communities where riders rely on us most, and is recruiting to stabilize and strengthen its transit operator and vehicle maintenance workforces.
Bus route changes for Pike-Pine project
Some minor routing changes are planned in support of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Pike Pine Streetscape & Bicycle Improvements Project. Routes 11 and 49 eastbound pathways will change in downtown Seattle, and will no longer operate on Pine Street between Eighth and Bellevue avenues or serve stop 1000. Buses instead will operate eastbound on Pike Street, serving stops 1195 and 11132.
Due to low utilization, Houghton Park-and-Ride to permanently close
The Houghton P&R will permanently close on March 18 and Route 245 will no longer serve stop 72314 inside the park-and-ride or operate on 116th Avenue Northeast. Instead, Route 245 will operate on Northeast 70th Place and serve a new westbound stop on Northeast 70th Place just east of 116th Avenue Northeast, stop #72311. Maps and further information are posted on the Metro Matters blog.
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