Ridership Patterns for Sound Transit Route 535

Sound Transit Route 535 travels inbound from Lynnwood City Center station to downtown Bellevue, primarily via I-405. This express service stops at Alderwood Mall and in Bothell and Totem Lake.

Route 535 runs every 30 minutes during the week, every hour on Saturdays, and does not run on Sunday. In October 2025, Route 535 had 1,908 average weekday boardings.

Route 535 Map (Sound Transit)Average 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 535 Trip in October 2025. Inbound" is toward Bellevue; Outbound" is toward Lynnwood. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 535 offers essential express service connecting communities along the north half of I-405. Some observations:

• Ridership at Lynnwood City Center station surprisingly asymmetrical. Each morning, mid-day, and afternoon trip departing the station has about 10 passengers on board. Only return trips in the afternoon have a similar passenger count. This discrepancy is also reflected in the total daily ridership for the stop. 294 passengers board inboound trips, while just 146 alight outbound trips. Passengers can transfer here to Link 1 Line and 2 Line, Swift Orange Line, Community Transit routes 102, 103, 112, 114, 117, 120, 130, 166, 201, 202, 901, 903, 904, 905, and Sound Transit routes 512, 513, 515.
• The two stops near Alderwood Mall have some ridership, almost entirely from Eastside passengers. Trips between Lynnwood City Center and the mall are better served by the more frequent Orange Line.
• The 298 space Canyon Park P&R has moderate ridership all day. Inbound boardings are highest mid-day (about 6 passengers per trip) and outbound trips drop off 5-8 passengers in the mid-day, afternoon, and evening. Passengers can connect here to ST Route 532 and Community Transit routes 106, 120, 121, and Swift Green Line.
• Route 535 detours from I-405 to serve UW Bothell and Cascadia College. The ridership pattern at this stop is similar in both directions. More passsengers alight Route 535 in the morning and mid-day, and board trips in the mid-day and afternoon. This pattern makes sense, as many students, faculty, and staff commute to the schools. About an equal number of people travel to the colleges from either direction on Route 535. The UW Bothell & Cascadia College stop also allows transfers to Community Transit routes 106, 120, and 121, Metro routes 230, 239, 372, and Sound Transit route 522.
• The stops at Bothell P&R and Brickyard Freeway station have similar, commuter oriented ridership. Most passengers board inbound trips in the morning and alight outbound trips in the afternoon. The Bothell P&R stop is a short walk from downtown Bothell. Metro routes 239, 372, and Sound Transit Route 522 stop near the Bothell P&R. Brickyard Freeway station is also served by Metro routes 231, 239, and 256.
• Ridership at Totem Lake Freeway Station is a bit more even throughout the day. Inbound trips are busiest in the morning and mid-day, while outbound trips are busiest in the afternoon. The freeway stop is walking distance to The Village at Totem Lake, a mixed-use development with over 60 stores and 800 apartments. This stop allows quick transfers to Metro routes 225, 239, 255, 256, Sound Transit Route 535, and Community Transit Route 424.
• Bellevue Transit Center is the route's main stop in Bellevue. Over 15 passengers alight each inbound trip all day, and over 25 passengers board each afternoon outbound trip. Many destinations are within walking distance of the transit center. Passengers can also transfer between Route 535 and Metro routes 226, 240, 249, 250, 271, B Line and Sound Transit routes 532, 550, 556, 560, 566, and the 2 Line.

Daily Totals per StopAverage Route 535 Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts in October 2025. Inbound" is toward Bellevue; Outbound" is toward Lynnwood. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

Route 535 will be replaced by the Stride S2 Line in 2029. The overall routing for the S2 Line will be similar to Route 535, but a few of the stops will change. The S2 Line will have a stop in Kirkland at a new inline station on NE 85th St. The new line will skip the Bothell detour in favor stopping at the new Bothell/Woodinville Transit Center. Passengers will be able to transfer to the S3 Line at the transit center. In Lynnwood, the S2 Line will stay on the highway until Lynnwood City Center station, dropping the stops near Alderwood Mall.

The Stride route will bring a significant improvement to the route's frequency, running every 10-15 minutes everyday.

S2 Line Map (Sound Transit)Appendix: Route 532

Sound Transit Route 532 is a peak-only route between Bellevue and Everett. The ridership patterns for routes 532 and 535 are similar. In October 2025, Route 532 had 934 average weekday boardings.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 532 Trip in October 2025. Inbound" is toward Bellevue; Outbound" is toward Everett. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Average Route 532 Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts in October 2025. Inbound" is toward Bellevue; Outbound" is toward Everett. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.