Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 10, October 2003

Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

Stop the bus: Metro Transit riders get new routes

By JAMES BUSH

North End bus riders should prepare for the sudden appearance of unfamiliar bus numbers on signs and schedules starting Saturday, Sept. 27.

But, it's a good thing, says transportation planners. The changes will leave the North End with more frequent transit service on popular routes, especially at peak hours. "You may see one route number where you saw three before, but you're getting more trips," says Linda Thielke, Metro spokesperson.

While it can cause some initial confusion, Metro prefers to change bus numbers along when existing routes are altered, in order to alert riders.

Some changes are being made for efficiency reasons, notes Metro transit planner Jack Whisner, the project manager for the North End changes. As sales taxes account for three-quarters of the system's operating revenues, a down economy requires a bit of belt tightening. Rather than cut service within the city, Metro's solution is to eliminate the portion of routes which travel into Snohomish County (riders will instead transfer to Community Transit buses at the county line). "The type of changes we're making are examples of good things you can do without more money," he says.

Jack Lattemann, another Metro transportation planner, notes that a little tweaking of bus routes is a necessary part of transit operations. He says that bus routes left unchanged tend to start losing ridership after a decade or so.

Even Route 7, Metro's highest-ridership route (which connects the University District with downtown and Columbia City) has shown a recent drop in ridership.

The changes will also bring some new service to the North End. New Route 330 will connect Lake City with Shoreline Community College. New route 303 will provide a connection between Northgate and First Hill. The new route 316 will extend service on Meridian Avenue North to North 175th Street.

"These are things that either people were asking for or [changes] we felt would be more effective to build transit ridership," says Lattemann.

To find how the route changes will affect your daily commute, go to http://transit.metrokc.gov or pick up an orange service change pamphlets on your next bus trip.

Discontinued routes:

The following Metro bus routes will be discontinued Saturday, Sept. 27. Suggested replacement routes are as follows:

Route 16 express (Downtown to Northgate, via East Green Lake): Riders can use the new Route 316 (Note: New Route 316 serves North Seattle Community College rather than the Northgate Transit Center).

Route 78 (U District to Jackson Park, via Ravenna): Use new Route 373.

Route 302 (Northgate to Shoreline P&R, via Haller Lake): Use new route 345.

Route 315 (Northgate to Richmond Beach, via Jackson Park): Use new routes 347 or 348.

Route 317 (Northgate to Edmonds, via Haller Lake): Use new route 316.

Route 377 (Downtown to Lynnwood P&R, via Jackson Park): Use new route 303.