Share your thoughts on proposed bus changes for the Eastside

By Arthur Bachus

September 28, 2021

Major changes are coming to the Eastside, with 12 new Link light rail stations opening for service in the coming years.

New Link service means potential changes to bus service, but we want to hear from you first!

Do you ride transit on the Eastside? Sound Transit and King County Metro want your feedback on proposed bus changes to serve riders with faster and more frequent connections! Take our online East Link Connections survey, open now through Oct. 25.

Are you interested in learning more about these proposed bus changes and sharing your opinions? We would love to hear from you! Register today for our upcoming virtual open house on Sept. 29.

With help from Eastside community members like you, we’ve come up with proposed bus changes to 44 routes spanning 19 cities and communities.

The community Mobility Board - composed of 27 people who live, work, and travel on the Eastside - reviewed and compiled public input from across the region.

Current and future riders asked Sound Transit and Metro to focus on several priorities when creating the new integrated transit network, including:

Creating more local connections
Maintaining fast travel times
Providing more connections to locations like downtown Bellevue and Redmond, the Spring District, the Microsoft campus, Bellevue College, University of Washington, Northgate and downtown Seattle
Creating more service outside peak periods and on weekends
And making transfers:
- fast and easy for seniors and riders with disabilities,
- frequent, safe and accessible,
- minimized for long-distance travelers.

A graphic shows a rider transferring between a King County Metro bus and Link light rail.

Join us for a discussion on the upcoming restructure of Metro and Sound Transit bus service on the Eastside related to the expansion of Link light rail.

Our virtual community information sessions will be a great opportunity for you to learn about potential route changes, talk with service planners and provide feedback that could help shape bus service in your community.

Information session 1: 6-7p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021

Virtual community information sessions will have Spanish translators and closed captioning/CART available. For questions, additional language translation, and/or accommodations please contact HaveASay@kingcounty.gov or leave a message at 206-263-9768. Once you register, you will be provided with the Zoom meeting link to join by computer, tablet, or smart phone and the conference call line to join by phone.

Sound Transit and Metro are teaming up with 11 community-based organizations to support riders who want to understand and guide changes to the transit network. Those organizations are: Chinese Information and Service Center, Eastside Easy Riders (Hopelink Mobility), Eastside for All, Ethnic Chamber of Commerce Coalition, Friends of Youth, Indian American Community Coalition, Lighthouse for the Blind, Move Redmond, Muslim Association of Puget Sound, Snoqualmie Valley Mobility Coalition, Together Center, and Youth Eastside Services.

New Eastside light rail stations opening in 2023, 2024

Metro and Sound Transit have a proven track record of adapting and integrating past Link light rail expansions in Seattle with local and regional bus service.

The updated mobility network in development through early 2022 will respond to changing mobility needs and improve mobility and access for historically underserved populations when it is implemented in coordination with Sound Transit’s 2 Line opening in 2023.

Which cities and neighborhoods are part of the expanding transit network? Bellevue, Bothell, Clyde Hill, Duvall, Hunts Point, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Medina, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Seattle (Chinatown/International District, Central District, Mount Baker, and Rainier Valley), Shoreline, Woodinville and Yarrow Point.

What current routes are expected to be changed or improved? 8, 111, 114, 167, 200, 204, 208, 212, 214, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 224, 225, 226, 232, 237, 240, 241, 245, 246, 249, 250, 252, 257, 268, 269, 271, 311, 342, 541, 542, 544, 545, 550, 554, 555, 556, 630, RapidRide B Line, 930 and 931.