Ridership Patterns for RapidRide G Line

King County Metro's RapidRide G Line travels inbound from Madison Valley to downtown Seattle on Madison St. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In May 2025, the G Line had 6,113 average weekday boardings.

The G Line launched in September 2024 and uses the first (and still only) center running bus lanes in King County. The route had a bumpy start as its 6 minute frequencies led to severe bus bunching. Over the past 10 months, these issues have largely been resolved and ridership has steadily increased each month.

G Line Map from 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 G Line Trip: September 2024 to March 2025. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Madison Valley. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

The G Line ridership patterns show a route that traverses dense neighborhoods with strong ridership all day. Some observations:

• Madison St & MLK: The northeastern terminus for the route has consistent inbound boarding counts throughout the day. Outbound departures peak in the afternoon and are slightly lower in the midday and evening. The stop is located in the center of Madison Valley's commercial area and provides easy transfers to routes 8 and 11.
• 23rd Ave (inbound)/24th Ave (outbound): This stop pair has the lowest ridership of the entire route. While Route 48 runs on 23rd Ave, there are very few transfers between it and the G Line. This may be due to the inconvenient stop placements that require all transferring passengers to walk at least a block. Additionally, there are not many trips that require this transfer. Someone in First Hill or Capitol Hill going to UW will take Link instead. If they are going to the Central District, they might take routes 2, 3, 4, or 8.
• 22nd Ave: This stop pair is surrounded by apartment buildings and has consistent inbound boardings all day. Outbound departures are highest in the afternoon and evening. The consistent inbound boardings suggest this line is used for a wide range of trips, such as commuting, running errands, and going out to dinner.
• 17th Ave: Similar to the 22nd Ave stop, this stop is well used all day. Passengers can transfer at this stop to/from Route 12.
• 12th Ave: The 12th Ave stop serves the eastern half of the shops and restaurants on Pike St and Pine St in Capitol Hill. Just like the previous stops, it has consistent inbound boardings during the day and a spike in outbound departures in the afternoon. In addition, it has more riders boarding outbound trips in the afternoon and evening. Passengers can transfer at this stop to/from Route 2.
• Boylston Ave: This is the first stop along the line that has significant inbound and outbound departures. This stop is near the Swedish Medical Center and the western half of the Pike-Pine commercial area in Capitol Hill. The high inbound afternoon boarding and high outbound morning departure counts suggest some employees in the area use the G Line from downtown. Passengers can transfer at this stop to/from Route 60.
• Terry Ave: The Terry Ave stop is located in the center of First Hill, near the Virginia Mason Medical Center, O'Dea High School, and several hotels. This stop is well used by commuters and students as trips in both directions drop off more passengers in the morning than any other time of day.
• 8th Ave: The G Line runs as a one way loop on Madison (inbound) and Spring (outbound) between 1st Ave and 9th Ave. The stops at 8th Ave are located near The Polyclinic and several other healthcare offices. The stop's low ridership can be attributed to half its walkshed being consumed by I-5.
• 5th Ave (inbound)/4th Ave (outbound): These stops are located next to the Central Library and many office buildings. Unsurprisingly, ridership at this stop follows a commuter-dominant pattern with higher inbound departures in the morning and higher outbound boardings in the afternoon.
• 3rd Ave: This is the busiest stop on the route in both directions as passengers can transfer here to the many routes that run on 3rd Ave. Additionally, the G Line stops are 1 or 2 blocks from the Symphony Link station.
• 1st Ave: While it doesn't quite reach the waterfront, the G Line gets close with its stop on 1st Ave. This stop serves the many offices, shops, restaurants, and apartments in its vicinity. While the stop was likely initially planned as a connection with the now effectively cancelled Cultural Connector Streetcar, it may one day connect with a bus route that runs on 1st Ave.

Daily Totals per Stop

The G Line's 6,113 average weekday boarding count in May 2025 is lower than many other routes in King County. However, it's short length and few stops results in impressive per stop ridership.

Average G Line Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: September 2024 to March 2025. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle, Outbound" is toward Madison Valley. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

As the G Line just opened last year, there are no upcoming plans for the route. Ridership, however, will continue to increase as more of the current residents in the area start riding it. Additionally, the G Line will encourage new development along the Madison corridor, further increasing ridership.