This weekend, King County Metro Transit will roll out the first of six RapidRide lines, along with other new bus routes, and schedule and routing adjustments as part of its fall service change that begins Sat., Oct. 2:
Metro is making some scheduling and routing changes this fall to save money, preserve bus service, and operate more efficiently. In some cases, you may notice differences in the schedule for your route, along with longer wait times for transfers or irregular spacing between bus trips. Unfortunately, due to reduced sales-tax revenue for transit, Metro also had to eliminate some trips on designated routes. These trip reductions were chosen to minimize the disruption for bus riders whenever possible.
Bus riders should check fall schedules for the routes they use most often to see what’s new. They can prepare by picking up a new orange timetable, Special Rider Alert brochure, or use the online Trip Planner for some advance research. Be sure to input a date of Oct. 2 or later, when using the Trip Planner.
Locally, the revisions to Metro routes serving the Rainier Valley include:
- Route 7 – About 80 trips per week will be added to improve frequency to every 15 minutes during weekday evenings and weekend mornings.
- Route 36 – Route 36 will return to its regular routing between Beacon Avenue South and South Myrtle Street, and South Myrtle Street and 39th Avenue South. It will no longer operate on Beacon Avenue South between Myrtle Street and Othello Street. The Route 36 shuttle will be discontinued.
- Route 38 – All service before 9 a.m. will be discontinued.
- Route 39 – Route 39 will return to regular routing between South Othello Street and 38th Avenue South and South Myrtle Street. It will no longer operate on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and Renton Ave South between South Othello Street and South Henderson Street.
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That should really help all of the gridlock on Rainier. I like the idea however, did you know the Number 7 carries more people than the entire Portland public transit system?
I know it’s a critical route for folks but it seems ridiculous to be adding service here after the light rail construction. Does the #7 carry more riders than the light rail system?
Graham ST – “did you know the Number 7 carries more people than the entire Portland public transit system?”
I did not know this, and still don’t, because it’s completely made up.
Tom T – “I know it’s a critical route for folks but it seems ridiculous to be adding service here after the light rail construction.”
And one has to do with the other how? At points Rainier is about a mile away from MLK. Should we not have buses on Capitol Hill because there is a bus tunnel downtown?
Well I for one can’t wait to see how many 7′s will pile up back to back on Rainier if they have been running at a lower capacity today. It seems like the 7 could definitely be rethought and broken up into a few smaller routes. Nothing like 3 # 7′s buses in a row. I’d also like to ask why you can stand at one bus stop on Rainier and see the next north and south bus stops. It really seems like another way the city wastes money.
I would have to walk 4 blocks to a bus stop and then catch a bus up Othello St. to get to the light rail. In the morning it is dark now and I really don’t want to be walking down Rainier to Othello St. This process could take up to 45 minutes to an hour depending on when the 39 shows up. I would then have to pay bus fare to get to the light rail and then pay for the light rail to get me downtown. Where is the sense in this? It is easier for us down here in the valley that don’t live close to the light rail to take the #7. I really would rather see more 106′s down on Henderson due to all of the students that have to take Metro to school. The buses in the a.m. are so crowded that alot of times, people have to wait for the next bus because there is no room to get on.
They should serve drinks on the #7
I agree, the 7 covers too large of an area, it’s always crammed, and it takes forever stopping every other bock. The 7 express isn’t much better. I used to take the 106 but it no longer travels far enough down Rainier. The 7 added about 10-20 minutes to my trip. There are people who ride the train from Puyallup and get downtown in either the same time or faster than I do. I’d rather break up the 7 into smaller routes than have the same crummy route operate more often.
Yeah, I live near Warsaw and Rainier so to catch Light Rail I can bus or walk up to Columbia City and do a three-block trot to CC station, or head south and then over about– I don’t know, not quite a mile, but quite a few blocks– to Othello.
Just because LR runs through South Seattle doesn’t mean its right by everybody’s door.
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