Metro's weekday express route 197, which serves Southwest King County, is part of the transit agency's extended Wi-Fi pilot project that was launched earlier this month.

Route 197 buses stop at the Kent-Des Moines Road park and ride between Federal Way and Seattle's University District.

This is one of four routes selected for the pilot project, which allows riders to grab their laptops, climb aboard and go on-line during their commutes.

Designed to test the performance of Wi-Fi service on buses, the pilot will continue through at least the remainder of 2007.

Later this spring, Metro will expand the program to include several vanpools to gauge the technology's effectiveness in smaller commuter vehicles.

Metro has teamed up with Sprint Cellular and Junxion Inc., a Seattle-based mobile connection provider, to offer Wi-Fi service on 48 buses serving the four transit routes.

Metro will monitor ridership trends, cost, technical performance and other service considerations as part of the Wi-Fi pilot. The information gathered will help determine how and where Metro and other transit agencies may be able to successfully use Wi-Fi technology on transit routes in future years.