Sound Transit changes service twice a year, in March and September. Each fall Sound Transit publishes an annual service plan for public feedback and Board approval. The resulting plan informs the next two service changes before the cycle starts again.
As our region responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reducing Link, Sounder and some ST Express service beginning Monday, March 23 until further notice. This shift comes at the same time as our pre-scheduled Spring Service Change. Read below for pre-scheduled changes and see our Reduced Service page for COVID-19 related service reductions.
There are two categories of service changes, major and minor, that require different levels of approval and outreach before we can implement them. For more details, see the full 2019 Service Implementation Plan.
SERVICE CHANGES beginning March 2020
Changes begin March 21. Routes that do not have weekend service will change on Monday, March 23.
ST Express
- North Eastside Mobility Plan – SR 520 Changes
- In partnership with King County Metro, Sound Transit has restructured bus service in the SR 520 corridor. The process also included extensive public collaboration and engagement with the cities of Redmond and Kirkland. After the King County Council approved changes to KCM service in July 2019, we were able to repurpose existing resources and implement new budget-neutral ST Express service between Redmond, Kirkland and South Lake Union. Impacted routes include: 540, 541, 542, and 544.
- Route 540: Discontinue route; reinvest resources into new Route 544.
- Route 541: Discontinue 33 trips due to low ridership and reinvest resources into new Route 544; retain nine trips. [NOTE: Route 541 is fully discontinued until further notice due to COVID-19 related service reductions.]
- Routes 541 and 542: In westbound direction, both will switch from serving Bay 2 to new Bay 4 at University of Washington Station.
- Route 544: New weekday route operating between Overlake Park-and-Ride, Redmond Technology Station (formerly Overlake Transit Center), South Kirkland and South Lake Union.
- Route 511, 512, 513: The Mountlake Terrace freeway station will close for approximately six months starting in June. A special shuttle will operate between Mountlake Terrace and downtown Seattle during this time.
- Route 512: Schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance
- Route 566: No longer serving stops at the Kennydale and Newport Hills freeway stations; schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance
- Route 574: Vehicle and schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance and meet ridership demand
- Route 577: Vehicle and schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance, meet ridership demand and coordinate with King County Metro service
- Route 578: Route and schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance
- Routes 586 and 590: Vehicle and schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance and meet ridership demand
- Route 592: Schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance and meet ridership demand
- Routes 594 and 595: Vehicle and schedule adjustments to improve on-time performance and meet ridership demand
Sounder trains, Link light rail and Tacoma Link:
No major service changes
ST Express buses:
Starting July 1, 2020, Adult ST Express bus fares will be $3.25, regardless of destination. This change ends the multi-county fare zone system. Fares for ORCA LIFT, Youth and other discounted riders will not change.