Ridership Patterns for South Link Connections

As Sound Transit wraps up construction of the Federal Way Link Extension, King County Metro has shared an initial bus restructure proposal. Wesley Lin previously covered the proposed changes in detail on the Blog. This post will look at the ridership patterns for the existing routes impacted by the proposed restructure. Metro's survey on this proposal is available until February 28, 2025.

Metro's current and proposed network around the Federal Way Link Extension. Route 156

Route 156 has two changes in the proposal: increased hours of service and a minor reroute in SeaTac. Inbound trips to Southcenter currently turn right from Military Rd S to S 170th St, then left onto 51st Ave S. This routing is indicated by the dashed line on the map. Meanwhile, outbound trips to Highline College turn right from 51st Ave S to S 164th St, then turn left onto Military Rd S.

Map of Route 156

In Metro's proposal, both inbound and outbound trips will use the Military St/ 164th St routing. As shown in the plot below, this routing (green) has more ridership than the current inbound routing (red).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 156 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Southcenter; Outbound" is toward Highline College. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Routes 164, 165, 166

In the proposal, Metro has split the existing Route 165 into two new routes, 164 and 166. Route 166 will cover the northern part of Route 165 between Kent/ Des Moines Station and Burien Transit Center with 30 minute frequency. Route 164 will cover the southern part of Route 165 between Kent/ Des Moines Station and Green River College with 15 minute weekday frequency.

Map of routes 164, 165, and 166

Route 165 has a clear divide in its ridership near the future Kent/ Des Moines Station. The northern part of the route (future 166, dark blue) has about half the ridership of the southern part of the route (future 164, light blue).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 165 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Burien; Outbound" is toward Auburn. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 181

Route 181 is an essential east-west route between Auburn and Twin Lakes, via Federal Way. In Metro's proposal, the route will have an increased 15 minute weekday frequency and will skip the current detour to the Federal Way Transit Center. The new stops on S 320th St will provide convenient access to Link, but will add an 8-10 minute walk for bus connections at the Federal Way Transit Center (similar to the distance between Westlake Station and Pike Place Market).

Map of Route 181Average Weekday Ridership per Route 181 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Twin Lakes; Outbound" is toward Auburn. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 182

In the proposal, Route 182's tail will be rerouted from NE Tacoma in Pierce County to the Twin Lakes Park & Ride. The new terminus is shared with Route 181. The stops at the end of the current route, such as 45th Ave NE & 45th St NE will still have nearby coverage from routes 186 and 903. The stops along Norpoint Way NE and 49th Ave NE will lose King County Metro coverage.

Map of Route 182

The passengers who use the stops losing service (red) will need to use Route 182's stop at SW 356th St & 21st Ave SW, routes 186 or 903, or Pierce Transit's Tideflats Runner service.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 182 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Federal Way Transit Center; Outbound" is toward Twin Lakes. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Routes 186, 187, 901

The current Route 187 path includes two distinct segments: one along SW 320th St between the Federal Way Transit Center and 47th Ave SW and one that winds through the Twin Lake neighborhood on Hoyt Rd SW and 35th Ave SW. In the proposal, Route 187 will be shortened to only cover the segment along 320th St. A new route, Route 186, will cover the Twin Lakes segment and part of DART Route 901's route. DART Route 901 will be removed.

Map of routes 186 and 187

One benefit of this change is a faster inbound trip for riders traveling from SW 320th St & 47th Ave SW. Unfortunately, this also results in slower inbound trips for passengers on the Twin Lakes segment (future Route 186). The plot below has an imbalance in the number of stops for inbound and outbound trips. Metro assigns an inbound and outbound direction to all routes. For Route 187, these directions do not align with the trip path. Starting at the Federal Way Transit Center, a Route 187 bus travels outbound along SW 320th St. The stop at 320th St & 21st Ave is used as both the last outbound stop and the first inbound stop, effectively operating as a live loop. The inbound trip continues on 320th St until 47th Ave SW. After that stop, the bus turns left from 320th St to 47th Ave, which soon turns into Hoyt Rd SW. The bus continues inbound through the Twin Lakes neighborhood then turns right from 26th Ave SW to 320th St. From there, the inbound bus continues on 320th St to the Federal Way Transit Center, where it waits for the next run. With the proposed restructure, the entire outbound segment will remain as Route 187 (light blue). Additionally, the beginning and end of the inbound segment (on 320th St) will remain as Route 187. New eastbound stops on 320th St will need to be added between 47th Ave SW and 26th Ave SW. The Twin Lakes neighborhood segment will be switched to Route 186 (dark blue). New westbound stops on this segment will need to be added.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 187 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Federal Way Transit Center; Outbound" is toward Twin Lakes. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 193

Route 193

Metro's proposal keeps one express bus from Federal Way to Seattle, Route 193. This route travels between Federal Way and First Hill during peak hours. The updated route removes the stops at Star Lake Station and Kent/ Des Moines Station (I-5 & S 272nd St and I-5 Ramp & Kent Des Moines Rd/ Kent-Des Moines Freeway Station, respectively).

Based on data from Metro's 2023 System Evaluation Report (Page 53), Route 193 is one of the least productive routes in King County. The route had just 10 rides per platform hour, placing it in the bottom 25% of all routes. This is lower than the other First Hill express routes, 303 and 322, that had 14.6 and 12.6 rides per platform hour, respectively.

Map of Route 193Average Weekday Ridership per Route 193 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward First Hill; Outbound" is toward Federal Way. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.A Line

The A Line is set to receive improved service in the proposal, but neither it's routing nor frequency will change. The ridership patterns for the A Line were discussed in a recent post on the Blog.

Conclusion

Metro's proposal largely aligns with the current ridership data. The routing change on Route 156 will provide a more convenient stop location for more riders. Splitting Route 165 and providing 15 minute service on the new Route 164 will improve service for most riders on the route. Route 181's increased frequency is necessary as it provide a key east-west connection between Federal Way and Auburn. Rerouting Route 182 out of Pierce County will result in an unfortunate loss of fixed-route service in Northeast Tacoma. Routes 186 and 187 work together to provide both coverage and a direct route between Twin Lakes and Federal Way, similar to routes 106 and 107 between Renton and Rainier Beach. Finally, Route 193 maintains a one-seat ride between Federal Way and First Hill.