Ridership Patterns for RapidRide C Line

King County Metro's RapidRide C Line travels inbound from Westwood Village to South Lake Union. It passes through Roxhill, Fauntleroy, Gatewood, Seaview, Fairmount Park, Genesee, SODO, Pioneer Square, downtown Seattle, Belltown, and Denny Triangle. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In August 2024, the C Line was the 7th busiest bus route in King County with 7,541 average weekday boardings.

Average Ridership Per Trip

The plots below shows the average weekday ridership by stop in each direction, color-coded by time of day. For a more detailed breakdown of how the plots are set up, please refer to the How to Read the Plots section of the article discussing Route 70.

Average Weekday Ridership per C Line Trip: March 2023 to March 2024. Inbound" is toward Downtown; Outbound" is toward Westwood Village. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

The overall ridership pattern shows a route that is dominated by trips between Alaska Junction, downtown Seattle, and South Lake Union. Some observations:

• There is strong ridership generated by the route's southern terminus near Westwood Village throughout the day. This is likely from the shops and other amenities in the area, as well as transfers from routes 60, 125, 560, and the H Line.
• The Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal (Fauntleroy & Barton) generates a small number of transfers. This is the only RapidRide/Ferry connection outside of downtown and it has pretty weak ridership.
• Ridership between the ferry terminal and Alaska Junction is minimal. Peak direction ridership starts to pick up on California Ave.
• Alaska Junction is a significant source of ridership. The increases are primarily in peak directions but are decent throughout the day.
• The inbound morning spike in boardings at Alaska & Columbia are likely commuters transferring from ferries or water taxis.There is a similar spike in outbound afternoon alightings.
• The outbound morning boardings at 3rd & Columbia and 3rd & Seneca suggest some reverse commuting to West Seattle.
• Along 3rd Ave, there are decent inbound boarding and outbound departures. These riders are likely traveling to/from SLU. This pattern matches the ridership pattern observed for Route 70.
• Ridership to/from SLU is fairly strong during peak and lower at other times of the day.
• There are minimal trips that both start and end in SLU. The C Line mirrors the South Lake Union Streetcar and the low ridership for intra-SLU trips is also reflected in the streetcar's ridership of about 500 passengers per day.

Daily Totals per Stop

The average daily total boarding and alighting counts show a similar pattern to the per trip data. Most C Line riders are traveling between Alaska Junction and downtown Seattle or South Lake Union.

Average C Line Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: March 2023 to March 2024. Inbound" is toward Downtown; Outbound" is toward Westwood Village. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.West Seattle Link Extension

The West Seattle Link Extension (WSLE) is currently in development and will replace some of the C Line route. Once it starts service in 2032, it will travel between Alaska Junction and an expanded SODO Station. Additional stops are planned along Avalon Way and in North Delridge. At a West Seattle Transit Town Hall in July 2024, King County Transportation Policy Advisor Chris Arkills confirmed West Seattle bus routes will not be restructured until the Ballard Link Extension is complete in 2039. While the exact restructuring plans are far from finalized, the King County Metro Long-Range Plan (Figure 14) shows a potential Rapid Ride route that follows the current C Line south of Alaska Junction and extends to Burien along 1st Ave S (currently served by Route 131).

Looking Ahead

As mentioned above, Sound Transit is currently in the environmental review phase of the West Seattle Link Extension. Full details of the project have been previously covered on the Blog. In the more immediate future, Amazon recently announced all Seattle employees will be required to work from the office 5 days a week starting in January 2025. This policy change will increase the C Line's ridership, especially between downtown and South Lake Union.

Edit, October 15, 5:07 pm: The section regarding the West Seattle Link Extension has been updated to reflect revisions which didn't make it into the final article. We apologize for any confusion.