King County Council unanimously adopted Metro Transit’s transit service changes on Monday —the first service adjustments since the adoption of the County’s Transit Strategic Plan.

The changes reflect the goals of the Strategic Plan by allocating service hours to higher-performing bus routes to address overcrowding, on-time performance, and adding service to underserved corridors with the goal of making the overall bus system more productive.

Ten routes were eliminated and five routes will have reduced service but these 8,000 hours will be reallocated to address overcrowded routes, including route 44.

Route 44 connects Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford and the University District and has an estimated ridership of 6,287 people.

Anyone who has taken the 44 during rush hour on a weekday knows just how overcrowded these buses can be and that's why Metro will be adding 1,300 service hours to route 44 on weekdays.


“These transit service reinvestments eliminate lesser-used transit routes in order to add service to highly used routes with unmet demand,” said Larry Phillips, chair of the Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee, in a statement.



“This is another step in the long march towards reforming how Metro serves King County riders,” added Council Vice Chair Jane Hague.



The adopted service changes reinvest more than 35,000 hours of service from lower-performing bus routes throughout the system, using those hours to bolster service on high ridership routes.

This is the first step in the shifting of at least 100,000 service hours to address high priority needs in the transit system. This goal is part of the approach called for in the Strategic Plan for Public Transportation 2011-2021 and King County Metro Service Guidelines, adopted by the Council in June 2011, as well as the County’s Congestion Reduction Plan.