By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
King County Metro recently announced changes to their fall transit schedule that they say is set to adjust schedules on September 2 to improve trip reliability and build resiliency. According to Metro, the changes, set to take place on September 2, will ensure riders can have confidence knowing that Metro will be there no matter where they are going.
Currently, Metro is delivering 95% of more than 11,200 daily bus trips while facing challenges with canceled trips.
Looking to ensure transit services are in sync with fleet availability and its workforce, Metro’s upcoming revisions will focus on 20 low-ridership routes. With these changes, Metro intends to help connect riders with other transit options for nearly all the routes that’ll be impacted.
“We designed the September service change guided by our customers,” said King County Metro General Manager Michelle Allison. “These adjustments mean riders will know their trip will be there. This approach also better positions Metro to grow our transit network in future years.”
“Reducing service to make our transit schedule more accurate is neither a rest nor a retreat,” said Allison. “We’re engaged in full-scale business transformation across recruiting, training, retention, fleet maintenance, and agency-wide innovation. Metro is working harder than ever to deliver your service every day, to strengthen and improve our agency, and to grow transit region-wide.”
A vast majority of Metro’s routes (124 out of 156 routes) will remain the same and see no changes, as Metro looked to protect categories of service which include routes that have high ridership demand, and where there were few alternative transit options. Many of the protected routes serve a higher percentage of riders who have lower incomes or identify as Black, Indigenous and other communities of color. By adjusting schedules and suspending routes, the upcoming service change will deliver roughly the same number of transit trips currently operating on the road, without the day-to-day variability that has inconvenienced riders during the past several months.
According to Metro, routes 15, 16, 18, 29, 55, 64, 114, 121, 167, 190, 214, 216, 217, 232, 237, 268, 301, 304, 320, and 342 will be fully suspended beginning September 2, but each route has alternatives, and most are available either at the same bus stops or nearby.
Twelve bus routes (routes 7, 10, 20, 28, 36, 73, 79, 225, 230, 231, 255, 345) will be reduced to operate less frequently these are deemed high-ridership routes, but routes 7 and 36 will continue to have heavy service and with wait times of a few more minutes, as far as low-ridership routes will shift to service every 30 to 60 minutes during certain times.
“Reducing service to make our transit schedule more accurate is neither a rest nor a retreat,” said Allison. “We’re engaged in full-scale business transformation across recruiting, training, retention, fleet maintenance, and agency-wide innovation. Metro is working harder than ever to deliver your service every day, to strengthen and improve our agency, and to grow transit region-wide.”
Metro sees September as the next opportunity to make updates across customer information, service planning, and staffing. By sharing this information months in advance, and identifying alternative transit options, Metro hopes that riders on affected routes can be better prepared to adjust their travel schedules if needed.
