Ridership Patterns for RapidRide E Line

King County Metro's RapidRide E Line travels inbound along Aurora Avenue from the Aurora Village Transit Center through Shoreline and north Seattle to South Lake Union, Belltown, downtown Seattle, and Pioneer Square. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction, except for a small deviation to Linden Ave N between N 65th St and N 76th St. In October 2024, the E Line was the busiest bus route in King County with 13,568 average weekday boardings.

E Line Map from King County MetroAverage Ridership Per Trip

The plots below show 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 E Line Trip: March 2023 to March 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Aurora Village Transit Center. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

The overall ridership patterns show a route that serves both local and commute trips. Some observations:

• Similar to that of the C Line, the E Line's outbound terminus is at a shopping center with poor land use but decent transit connections. These connections include King County Metro (KCM) routes 331, 346, 303, Community Transit (CT) routes 101, 114, 130, and the Swift Blue Line. At the time these ridership data were recorded, this transit center was the Blue Line's southern terminus. Passengers traveling further south towards Seattle had to transfer to the E Line. The equal ridership across time periods suggests riders at this stop are primarily making local trips.
• In Shoreline, between 145th St and Aurora Village Transit Center, the ridership pattern is consistent throughout the day with slightly more riders in the afternoon. This pattern suggests most passengers are using the E Line for local trips. The low inbound morning ridership suggests there are not many 9-5 commuters using the E Line to get to downtown Seattle.
• In north Seattle, between 46th St and 145th St, peak direction ridership is higher than ridership at other times. Commuter trips are more common at stops closer to downtown Seattle, primarily between 46th St and 105th St (inbound)/Northgate Way (outbound).
• Inbound trips often observe more passengers alighting than boarding at 105th St. This stop provides transfers to Route 40. Passengers may transfer to Route 40 to travel to Ballard, North Seattle College, or Northgate Station.
• As the E Line travels north-south along Aurora Ave, it intersects with several routes at different cross streets. The table below shows the intersecting routes for 2023 (when the above data were collected) and for Fall 2024 (the current routes).

Cross Street	2023 KCM Routes	Fall 2024 KCM Routes
200th St/ Aurora Village Transit Center	KCM: 303, 331, 346 CT: 101, 115, 130 Swift Blue Line	KCM: 303, 331, 346 CT: 101, 114, 130 Swift Blue Line
185thSt	348	348
175th St	N/A	333
160th St	330	N/A
155th St	330	345
145th St	N/A	333
130th St	345	345
105th St/ Northgate Way	40	40
85th St	45	45, 61
46th St	44	44

• Unsurprisingly, the E Line stops at intersections with other routes have more ridership churn. Not only do the other routes provide transfer opportunities, these stops are often near a commercial area or trip generator.
• In South Lake Union, Belltown, and downtown Seattle, the E Line primarily drops off inbound passengers and picks up outbound passengers. There are a few trips that start and end within these neighborhoods, such as between downtown and Belltown (3rd Ave & Bell St).

Daily Totals per Stop

The average daily total boarding and alighting counts show a similar pattern to the per trip data. The all day ridership at almost every stop shows how critical the E Line is for local trips along Aurora Ave.

Average E Line Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: March 2023 to March 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle, Outbound" is toward Aurora Village Transit Center. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

The September 2024 bus restructure alongside the opening of the Lynnwood Link Extension will likely impact the E Line's ridership patterns. A theme of the bus restructure was to connect more communities to the new Link stations via feeder routes (eg: Route 333). As a result, riders who previously commuted to downtown Seattle on the E Line may switch to Link. Additionally, the Community Transit Swift Blue Line's extension to the Shoreline North Link station will likely have a noticeable impact on E Line ridership. Blue Line riders who previously transferred to the E Line at the Aurora Village Transit Center for traveling into Seattle may now stay on the Blue Line and transfer to Link. The overall average daily ridership for the E Line did slightly decrease from 13,681 riders in September 2024 to 13,568 riders in October 2024. Given the minor change (<1%), it is not clear if the decrease is due to the restructure or other factors.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is in the planning stages of its Aurora Ave Project. This project seeks to improve safety along the corridor for all travelers. For transit, SDOT plans to identify potential transit service improvements and connections (e.g., with nearby light rail stations), as well as safety and security improvements (e.g., at transit stops)". The recently passed 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy specifically mentions transit improvements for Aurora Ave N within Seattle (Roy St to N 145th St) and will help fund improvements over the next 8 years. Specific Aurora Ave redesign concepts have been discussed in a previous Blog post.