Ridership Patterns for King County Metro Route 40

King County Metro's Route 40 travels inbound from Northgate Station to downtown Seattle via Crown Hill, Ballard, Fremont, and South Lake Union. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In October 2024, Route 40 had 8,539 average weekday boardings.

Route 40 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 Route 40 Trip: March 2023 to March 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Northgate Station. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

The ridership patterns for Route 40 show a route with strong ridership between the neighborhoods it serves and to downtown Seattle. Some observations:

• Northgate Station is a trip generator throughout the day. Almost all trips have 5-10 passengers board or depart at this stop.Passengers can transfer to routes 61, 67, 75, 303 (peak only), 322 (peak only), 345, 348, 365, or Link. Northgate Station is also adjacent to the Northgate Station mall, Kraken Community Iceplex, and various medical offices. A pedestrian bridge over I-5 provides a direct connection to North Seattle College.
• Route 40 detours around the south and west sides of North Seattle College. The only stop on this detour with measurable ridership is College Way & 97th St. Inbound trips primarily pick up passengers at this stop in the midday and afternoon, while outbound trips primarily drop off passengers in the morning and midday. The lack of ridership between North Seattle College and Northgate Station suggests most potential riders prefer to use the bridge over I-5 instead.
• The commercial area and medical facilities (primarily the UW Medical Center) at Meridian Ave & Northgate Way show reverse commute behavior. Overall ridership on outbound morning trips increases at each stop along Holman Rd, 105th St, and Northgate Way before Meridian Ave & Northgate Way. A decent number of passengers depart outbound morning trips at Meridian Ave & Northgate Way.
• Quite a few passengers transfer between Route 40 and the E Line at 105th St (inbound)/ Northgate Way (outbound) & Aurora Ave throughout the day. The equal number of passengers boarding and alighting suggests these transfers are primarily for all-day trips as there is no spike in the peak direction.
• At 105th St (inbound)/ Holman Rd (outbound) & Greenwood Ave, Route 40 crosses paths with Route 5. Both inbound and outbound morning Route 40 trips see more passengers board than depart at this stop. This suggests more passengers transfer from Route 5 to Route 40 in the morning. Transfer passengers boarding inbound Route 40 trips may be traveling to Ballard while passengers boarding outbound trips may be traveling to the medical facilities on Meridian Ave, North Seattle College, or Northgate Station. In the afternoon and evening, departing passengers outnumber boarding passengers at this stop for Route 40 trips in both directions.
• Route 40 intersects with the D Line at two stops: 15th Ave NW & NW 85th St and Leary Way NW & 15th Ave NW. In between these stops, Route 40 detours to 24th Ave while the D Line travels straight on 15th Ave. Both intersecting stops also serve commercial areas and have ridership churn throughout the day.
• The stops on 24th Ave between 70th St and 85th St have minimal ridership. South of 70th St, the stops closer to Market St have more ridership. Most passengers using these stops board inbound trips and depart outbound trips. Ridership data for the D Line show a similar pattern for it's parallel segment on 15th Ave. One exception is the much higher ridership for the D Line at 15th Ave & 65th St. Riders who live between 15th Ave and 24th Ave may prefer the D Line for some trips as it provides a faster trip to downtown Seattle.
• The stops in Ballard have strong ridership at all times of day and night. In addition to serving the many nearby apartments, shops, and restaurants, the stop at Market St & Ballard Ave provides an immediate transfer to Route 44.
• In Fremont, the stop at Fremont Ave & N 34th St is busy throughout the day. Inbound trips have a fairly even number of passengers boarding and departing, with slightly more afternoon boardings than at other times. Outbound trips have more passengers departing than boarding during each time period. Ridership in the afternoon is higher than at other times of day.This stop also provides transfers to routes 31, 32, and 62.
• In South Lake Union, Route 40 travels on Westlake Ave N and shadows the South Lake Union Streetcar. Route 40 and the streetcar share four stops, 3 inbound (Westlake & Mercer, Thomas, and 9th-Denny) and 1 outbound (Westlake & 9th-Denny). Unlike the streetcar, Route 40 has strong ridership at these stops. Inbound trips primarily drop off passengers in the morning and midday. In the afternoon, inbound trips pick up a decent number of riders. Outbound trips have the opposite pattern as they primarily pick up passengers, except in the morning. Outbound morning trips primarily drop off passengers. These passengers likely work in SLU and transfer between Route 40 and other routes that travel further south.The ridership discrepancy between Route 40 and the streetcar show the importance of a route that provides a seamless connection to more places (Fremont, Ballard) and transit routes (3rd Ave).
• Outbound morning trips have a significant number of passengers who board at 4th Ave & Jackson St. These passengers are likely transferring from Sounder or Sound Transit bus routes 550, 554, 590, 594, or 595.

Daily Totals per Stop

The average daily total boarding and alighting counts show a similar pattern to the per trip data.

Average Route 40 Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: March 2023 to March 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Northgate Station. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

The Seattle Department of Transportation is currently in the construction phase of the Route 40 - Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor project. This project includes 3 miles of Business Access and Transit only lanes or Freight and Bus only lanes, 47 upgraded curb ramps, 8 new bus bulbs, 6,000+ feet of upgraded sidewalks, and 3 new or upgraded crosswalks.

In June 2024, King County Metro released the RapidRide Prioritization Plan. This document identifies Corridor 1003 (Route 40) as a Tier 2 priority corridor. The plan outlined potential alignment changes at both ends of the route. From downtown, the route could be extended east on Yesler Way, then north on Broadway to Seattle University. On the northern end of the route, the alignment may be changed so the route stays on Northgate Way until it turns south on 5th Ave, then terminates at Northgate Station.

Additionally, Sound Transit is in the environmental review phase for the Ballard Link Extension. While this extension does not significantly overlap with Route 40, it will likely change ridership patterns in Ballard when it starts service in 2039.