Sound Transit Proposes Night Owl Service

Sound Transit has shared the initial 2026 Service Plan proposal for next fall (a year from now). This article looks at the new night owl express service in the proposal. The next article will address the other ST Express route restructures.

Three new ST Express routes would run every night between midnight and 5am, when Link isn't running. They would run every 15-60 minutes from Everett, Lakewood, and Redmond, and converge in downtown Seattle, serving 85% of Link stations along the way.

This is only a first proposal, so it may be modified before the ST board votes on it next year. When each route starts and how frequent it is depend on partner agencies' capacity to operate the full service as described.

Everett - Seattle

The Everett to Seattle route will be nearly identical to the pre-2021 Route 512. Starting at Everett Station, this route will stop at the South Everett Freeway Station and Ash Way P&R before reaching Lynnwood City Center station. Continuing south, the route will stop at Montlake Terrace station, presumably at the freeway bus stop. The bus will then stop at Shoreline South. It is unclear if the bus will just stop on the on/off ramps near 145th St or if it will stop at the station directly. Once it enters Seattle, the night owl route will stop at Northgate station and at the former Route 512 stops on the I-5 ramps near NE 45th St (about a 7 minute walk to U District station). From there, the bus will continue on I-5 to downtown Seattle. Return trips will follow a similar route north to Everett. It will skip the Link stations not listed.

Map of the proposed night-owl routes (Sound Transit)Lakewood - Seattle

The Lakewood to Seattle route will also primarily run on I-5 as a hybrid between routes 574 and 594. Between Lakewood and Tacoma Dome, the night owl route will follow Route 594's path with stops at Lakewood Station, SR-512 P&R, 10th & Commerce St in downtown Tacoma, and Tacoma Dome. Continuing north, the route will follow Route 574 by stopping at Federal Way station, Star Lake station, Kent Des Moines station, and SeaTac/Airport station. From SeaTac, the bus will travel on I-5 to the SODO Busway where it will stop near SODO station and Stadium station, and continue to the downtown Seattle stations (CID, Pioneer Square, Symphony, Weslake). Return trips will follow a similar route south to Lakewood.

Redmond - Seattle

The Redmond to Seattle route will shadow the 2 Line in Redmond, Bellevue, and Mercer Island. It will start at Downtown Redmond station and travel directly to Redmond Technology station, skipping Marymoor Village station. It will serve all 2 Line stations between Redmond Technology and Bellevue Downtown. Then it will serve South Bellevue and Mercer Island stations and continue to downtown Seattle. Return trips will follow a similar route east to Redmond. It will skip East Main and Judkins Park stations.

Night Owl Service Gaps

These routes are a great idea and will significantly improve regional mobility in the odd hours of the day. Many north Seattle and Snohomish County residents will be happy to have a 24/7 transit connection to the airport. However, these routes do not serve several Link stations, especially in Seattle.

The proposed Sound Transit night owl routes skip Beacon Hill and the Rainier Valley stations. Metro Route 36 provides night owl service to Beacon Hill and Othello stations. Route 7 stops near Judkins Park, Mount Baker, Columbia City, Othello, and Rainier Beach stations.

The existing Metro night owl services do not provide an easy connection between Rainier Valley and the airport. While a 24/7 connection between these two areas would be wonderful, it is worth noting that the first southbound train though Rainier Valley arrives at the airport at 4:44am. The first southbound train from Lynnwood City Center arrives at SeaTac/Airport station at 6:08am. Likewise, the last northbound train to Lynnwood City Center departs SeaTac/Airport station at 12:03am. The last northbound train serving Rainier Valley departs from the airport at 12:58am.

North of downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill, UW, and Roosevelt stations will not be served by the proposed ST routes. Instead, Capitol Hill station has night owl service on Route 49. UW station is served by routes 44 and 48. Roosevelt station is only served by one or two early morning Route 67 trips.

South of Seattle, Tukwila International Blvd and Angle Lake stations both have night owl service from the RapidRide A Line.

Map of King County's night owl service (Oran Viriyincy)

Night owl Sound Transit service will be an incredible asset to the region. If these three routes are implemented as proposed, 85% of Link station areas will have 24/7 service. Other stations like Shoreline North, Pinehurst, Capitol Hill, Marymoor Village, East Main, and Judkins Park. This is still an early proposal and changes may be made before the routes enter service. For now, I wonder if the night owl routes will serve existing Metro and ST Express stops between Link stations when appropriate (such as along Bellevue Way). Sound Transit is accepting feedback on the night owl routes and the other changes for it's daytime ST Express routes via a survey. The survey is open until November 7, 2025.