When Metro’s service area is affected by snow or ice, it may be necessary to cancel individual bus trips due to vehicle or staffing shortages, or road conditions in specific areas.  

Metro expects some trip cancelations during the peak hour commute periods on snow days.

Transit service may also operate with delays, due to weather and road conditions. Canceled trips On regular service days Metro staff can send Transit Alerts about some individual trip cancelations, but it is not possible to send those alerts during a snow event.  

How to find out if a trip is canceled While Metro can’t send related alerts during a snow event, known trip cancelations are entered in the usual locations.

Riders can proactively check to find out if a trip has been canceled.

Known canceled trips are shown in the Next Departures tool in Metro’s online trip planner, or by texting your stop ID to 62550, Metro’s Text for Departures tool that requires no sign-up or download.

Depending on varying circumstances, trip cancelations are sometimes reported well after a trip’s start time, so the best time to check is just before heading for the bus, or at the bus stop, so other options can be considered if needed.

It’s possible that staff will not know about some trip cancelations.

Note that this information refers to scheduled trips that have been canceled, and not to bus stops that are not being served due to snow reroutes.  

It is not possible to provide real time updates about revisions at the bus stop level during snow.  

 “Real time” reporting at stops; schedules & delays There is no “snow schedule”.

When buses are operating on their designated snow reroutes, every effort is made to operate as closely as possible to regularly published schedules, however delays are likely when snow or ice are on the road.

Transit riders are advised to use the regularly published timetable for their route, check the map, table and advisory tools to determine where to wait for their bus, check for trip cancelations as described above, then be prepared for possible delays.

If a reroute operates close to its regular routing, real time reporting in the Next Departures tool, or texting your stop ID to 62550, may be fairly accurate, however, real time tools may be less reliable during adverse conditions. 

Real time accuracy is not guaranteed.  

Snow routing is not reflected in trip planner itineraries.

It may not be possible for Metro to know about every service impact at the trip or stop level, and updates may take time. 

information

Prepare before you travel

Visit Metro’s website for complete transit information.

Visit the MetroWinter.com website.

Visit the King County Water Taxi site for information about Water Taxi operation. Metro’s trip planner & transit apps

Metro’s online trip planner and other transit apps provide trip planning and other information using data based on regular transit schedules. 

Temporary service disruptions, such as those due to weather are not reflected in regular route itineraries or schedules.  

While “real time” – or predicted – information in transit apps may be less reliable during major service disruptions, it may be possible to get more specific information by visiting the Next Departures feature in Metro’s Puget Sound Trip Planner or mobile apps, or by checking Text for Departures on your smart phone. It is not possible to know exactly when a bus will be at a specific location. Partner agencies Visit the Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit or Washington State Ferries websites for information about services provided by Metro’s regional transit partners.

For non-transit traffic or other local updates, check media sources, follow @seattledot or visit

- https://twitter.com/seattledot

- https://twitter.com/SeattlePD