Ridership Patterns for King County Metro Route 62

King County Metro Route 62 travels inbound from Sand Point to downtown Seattle, via Roosevelt, Green Lake, Wallingford, Fremont, and South Lake Union. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In February 2025, Route 62 had 7,015 average weekday boardings.

As shown by the solid red line on the map, the northern terminus for Route 62 has two variations, depending on the time of day. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) campus hosts Route 62's outbound terminus on weekdays between 7am and 6pm. On weekdays before 7am and after 6pm, and on weekends, Roue 62 terminates at Sand Point Way NE & NE 74th St. When a Route 62 trip starts or ends at NOAA, it serves a few additional stops: one at Sand Point Way NE & NE 77th St and three stops on the NOAA campus. When an inbound trip starts at Sand Point Way NE & NE 74th St, it immediately turns right to 74th St then right again to 62nd Ave NE. These linked maps show the stops served by inbound trips from NOAA, outbound trips to NOAA, inbound trips from 74th St, and outbound trips to 74th St.

Route 62 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 62 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Sand Point. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

The ridership patterns for Route 62 show a route with strong ridership between the neighborhoods it serves and to downtown Seattle. Some observations:

• The NOAA stops primarily see passengers board inbound trips in the mid-day and afternoon and depart outbound trips in the morning and mid-day. These stops collectively serve 2-4 riders per trip.
• On weekday evenings and weekends, the stop at Sand Point Way N & NE 74th St serves as the route's terminus. This stop is located next to Magnuson Park and several small apartment buildings. Ridership is highest for inbound trips in the afternoon and for outbound trips in the morning. Riders can transfer here to Route 75.
• Route 62 travels east/west on NE 65th St between Sand Point and Roosevelt. Per stop ridership along this segment is quite low, with a few exceptions. The dominant land use along 65th St is single family homes.
• The stop at 65th St & 35th Ave has moderate inbound boarding counts during the day and moderate alighting counts in the afternoon. This stop is adjacent to a few small apartment buildings and townhouse developments. Passengers can transfer here to Route 65. Route 65 ridership data show some passengers alighting at this stop, especially in the morning. Some of the passengers may transfer to Route 62 and contribute to the higher ridership at this stop.
• A small commercial area and a few apartment buildings are along 65th St between 20th Ave and 25th Ave. The stops along this segment have a bit more traffic, primarily with passengers boarding inbound trips during the day and alighting outbound trips in the afternoon. Passengers can transfer to Route 372 on 25th Ave.
• Roosevelt High School is located one block north of the stop at 65th St & 14th Ave. There is a spike in inbound morning departures and outbound afternoon boardings, suggesting a fair number of students take Route 62 to school.
• One of the busiest stops on the route is at Roosevelt Station. Inbound trips drop off about 5 passengers in the morning, mid-day, and afternoon. These trips generally pick up a few a passengers as well, especially in the afternoon. Outbound trips pick up 3-6 passengers all day and drop off up to 5 passengers. Passengers can transfer here to the Link 1 Line, routes 45, 67, 79, and Sound Transit Route 522.
• In the heart of Green Lake, the stop at Ravenna Blvd & Woodlawn Ave has some ridership all day. Trips in both directions drop off more passengers in the afternoon than at any other time of day.
• South of Green Lake, Route 62 meanders through neighborhood streets in Tangletown to Wallingford. Ridership along this segment is minor, primarily consisting of riders boarding inbound morning tips and alighting outbound afternoon trips.
• In Wallingford, trips in both directions have decent all day ridership at 45th St & Wallingford Ave. Ridership is a bit stronger in the afternoon. Riders can transfer to Route 44 at this stop.
• Lincoln High School is located adjacent to Route 62's stops at 45th St & Woodlawn Ave (inbound) and Stone Way & Allen Pl (outbound). Both these stops have a decent number of passengers alighting in the morning, suggesting some students use Route 62 to get to school.
• Along Stone Way N, inbound trips primarily pick up passengers throughout the day. Outbound trips primarily drop off passengers in the afternoon. Apartments and retail line Stone Way between 35th St and 45th St.
• In Fremont, Route 62 stops at Fremont Ave & 34th St. This stop is busy all day, each inbound trip picks up 3-5 passengers and drops off 2-3 passengers. Outbound trips drop off and pick up 2-4 passengers. Passengers can transfer here to routes 31, 32, and 40.
• South of the Ship Canal, Route 62 travels along Dexter Ave N between Fremont and South Lake Union (SLU). Stop use along the northern part of this segment is minor with the exception of inbound morning and outbound afternoon trips.
• Ridership on Dexter Ave pick ups as the land use along the road shifts from townhouses and single family homes to apartment buildings and offices. The stops at Galer St and Aloha St both have a decent number of passengers boarding inbound trips in the morning and mid-day and alighting outbound trips in the afternoon.
• The remaining stops on Dexter Ave at Roy St, Harrison St, and Denny Way have similar ridership patterns as most passengers depart inbound trips and board outbound trips. Inbound trips drop off more passengers in the morning and mid-day and outbound trips pick up more passengers in the afternoon. The land around these stops consists mostly of apartment buildings and offices. Along with the Aloha St stop, these stops also have a fair number of passengers boarding inbound afternoon trips and departing outbound morning trips. This pattern suggests some commuters use Route 62 as connection between SLU and Link, Sounder, or the many bus routes on 3rd Ave. Passengers can transfer to Route 8 at Dexter Ave & Denny Way.
• The stop at 7th Ave & Blanchard St is the busiest on the route, with 6-8 passengers departing each morning and mid-day inbound trip. Almost 10 passengers board each outbound trip in the afternoon. This stop is located between several Amazon buildings in South Lake Union.

Daily Totals per Stop

The average daily total boarding and alighting counts show a similar pattern to the per trip data. The distributed ridership highlights the many destinations connected by the route.

Average Route 62 Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Sand Point. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

Metro has not indicated any significant changes planned specifically for Route 62 in the near future. Starting on March 29, 2025, the southern terminus will move one block east from S Washington St & 4th Ave S (stop #625) to S Washington St & 5th Ave S (stop #626).

As part of the Northgate Link restructure, Metro proposed rerouting Route 62 in Tangletown to run on Latona Ave NE and NE 56th St. This routing change would require SDOT to harden the street and SDOT has not prioritized this ask. Route 20 previously ran Latona Ave; however, it was deleted in the Lynnwood Link restructure and only partially replaced by Route 61.

The 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy (Page 5) mentions NE 65th St will be evaluated for specific paving extents through a design process" between 2nd Ave NE and 35th Ave NE. Repaving construction will likely temporarily disrupt Route 62 service and riders will have a smoother ride when completed. Additionally, the Levy lists Dexter Ave N under Anticipated initial Vision Zero projects" (Page 4). No direct transit improvement projects for Route 62 are outlined in the Levy.