Ridership Patterns for East Link Connections

In preparation for the upcoming openings of Sound Transit's Downtown Redmond Link Extension and full East Link Extension, King County Metro has outlined the planned changes to its Eastside network. Full details of the changes were previously covered on the Blog. Most of the changes in this restructure will take effect when the full 2 Line opens, likely in the fall or winter this year. This post will look at the ridership patterns for the existing routes impacted by the proposed restructure. Metro collects ridership data for most routes; however, data is not collected for routes 204, 224, 232, 630, 930, and 931.

Final East Link Connections Map from King County Metro

The plots in this article 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 ridership patterns article discussing Route 70. Most of the plots in this post have been modified to include rectangle overlays. Red rectangles indicate stops that will lose all fixed route service and rectangles of other colors indicate stops that will be served by a different route after the restructure. Connections to Link stations are in bold and routes that will be deleted in the restructure will be marked with a strike-through.

Route 225

Route 225 will be updated to terminate at Overlake Village instead of Redmond Technology. This change will result in two stops on NE 40th St and Redmond Technology losing Route 225 service. Instead, the route now stop at 148th Ave NE & NE 37th Pl, NE 36th St & 150th Ave NE, and at Overlake Village.

Both the old stops on 40th St and the new stops on 148th Ave and 36th St are adjacent to Microsoft's West Campus, so riders using those stops may have a slightly longer or shorter walk to their final destination. The new Overlake Village terminus is closer to the housing and retail in Overlake. Passengers needing to transfer to another route will not lose any connections as Route 245 and the B Line will be the only routes that stop at Redmond Technology and not at Overlake Village. Route 225 overlaps with Route 245 on Old Redmond Rd and with the B Line on 148th Ave.

As a result of the reroute, Route 225 will no longer serve the stops on 40th St or Redmond Technology Station. Fortunately, most of these stops will be served by the B Line (outlined in pink on the plot). Only the outbound stop at NE 40th St & 150th Ave NE is losing all service.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 225 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Redmond Technology Station; Outbound" is toward Kenmore P&R. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 245

Route 245 will be slightly modified to remove the current routing to Factoria. Instead, the route will terminate at Eastgate.Passengers traveling between Factoria and Eastgate will need to use Route 240 instead. The stops served by Route 240 are outlined in silver below. The current stops on SE 36th St will lose service.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 245 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Eastgate P&R; Outbound" is toward Kirkland TC. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Routes 221, 222, 223, 226, 251

In this restructure, Route 221 will be deleted. Four routes will replace service on different segments: Route 226 between Eastgate and Crossroads (Pink), Route 223 between Crossroads and Redmond (Orange), Route 222 between Redmond and Education Hill (Purple), and Route 251 (Green) on the west side of Education Hill.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 221 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Redmond TC; Outbound" is toward Eastgate P&R. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 226 will be updated to follow Route 221's path between Crossroads and Eastgate (pink section on the map). The new Route 226 routing on this segment has minimal use with just a few passengers collectively boarding or alighting at these stops per trip. The current Route 226 routing has slightly higher ridership, so these segments were likely switched to serve more riders with the new Route 223 (outlined in orange on the plot below).

Some of the current Route 226 stops on Northup Way and 8th St will no longer have fixed-route service (red). Instead, a new Metro Flex area will be added between NE 8th Ave and NE 24th St. The stops losing fixed-route service have minimal ridership.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 226 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Eastgate P&R; Outbound" is toward Bellevue TC. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 223 is a new route that combines the southern half of Route 226 with the middle section of Route 221. Stops between Eastgate and Crossroads generally have fairly low use, with a few exceptions at Eastgate P&R, 156th Ave SE & Lake Hills Blvd, and 156th Ave NE & NE 8th St. Full ridership details for this segment are outlined in orange on the Route 226 plot above.

The northern half of Route 223 is currently served by Route 221. Stops in Crossroads, Overlake, and near Microsoft's campus have decent ridership. North of 51st St, stop use drops significantly until it picks up again at the stops along Redmond Way. Full ridership details for this section are outlined in orange on the Route 221 plot above.

The northernmost section of Route 221 serves Education Hill with a loop. In the restructure, Education Hill will be served by two routes. Route 251 will travel between Woodinville and Redmond and serve the western edge of Route 221's current loop on Woodinville Redmond Rd. These two stops have minimal ridership.

The rest of Education Hill will be served by Route 222. Route 222 will connect Cottage Lake with Redmond Technology and will run in a zig-zag pattern in Education Hill. Ridership in Education Hill is moderate throughout the day. The stop at NE 104th St & 176th Ave NE is the busiest stop on this segment, likely due to its proximity to Redmond High School. The stops served by Route 222 are outlined in purple on Route 221's plot above. The southern half of Route 222 will partially replace Route 249. The current stops on NE 24th St primarily see passengers board trips towards Overlake and depart trips from Overlake. This layout of Route 222 suggests this pattern will remain as the southern half of the route serves as a feeder for the Link 2 Line at Overlake Village. Detailed ridership data for the stops in this segment are outlined in purple on the Route 249 plot below.

Routes 220, 241, 246, 249, 270, 271 (north of Eastgate)

When the full East Link Extension opens, Route 271 will be deleted. Most of the current route will still be served by route 203, 220, 249, 270, or 554. This section of the article will focus on Route 271 between Eastgate and the University District. Please refer to the section below for the discussion on the Eastgate - Issaquah segment.

Between Eastgate and the University District, Route 271 will be replaced by routes 220, 249, and 270. Route 220 will run between Eastgate and Downtown Bellevue (dark blue), Route 249 will cover between Downtown Bellevue and Medina (brown), and Route 270 will serve Downtown Bellevue and the University District (pink).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 271 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward the University District; Outbound" is toward Issaquah. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 220 is a new route that will closely follow the current Route 271 between Eastgate and Bellevue Transit Center. The new route will cross I-405 on Main St, instead of NE 4th St (in red), likely so it can stop closer to East Main. This routing update will remove direct transit service from the retail area at 4th St & 116th Ave. Ridership along this route is oriented towards downtown Bellevue, with daytime trips getting up to 10 passengers before arriving at Bellevue Transit Center.

Route 270 will replace Route 271 between Downtown Bellevue and the University District. Rather than follow Route 271's path through Medina, Route 270 will use Bellevue Way NE. This change will provide more frequent service to Bellevue Way and allow Route 270 passengers to transfer to other routes at the SR-520 freeway stops. Bellevue Way NE is currently served by Route 249 and this section has slightly stronger ridership than Route 271's Medina segment, outside of downtown Bellevue. The Bellevue Way ridership is outlined in pink in Route 249's plot below.

Route 249 will be dramatically updated in this restructure. The route will be converted into a DART route with a new DART deviation area in Beaux Arts.

Between South Bellevue and Downtown Bellevue, Route 249 will replace part of Route 241 (green). Ridership on the current Route 249 path through Beaux Arts is minimal (outlined in dark yellow on the Route 249 below). Ridership along the new Route 249 path is slightly higher, but still minimal (outlined in green on the Route 241 plot below) The primary advantage to this routing is the shorter travel time between South Bellevue and Downtown Bellevue.

West of Downtown Bellevue, Route 249 will replace part of Route 271 to Medina (brown). Ridership along this segment is decent at 8th St & 102nd Ave and 8th St & 106th Ave (outbound)/108th Ave (inbound). These stops are located in downtown Bellevue. As most riders use these stops to board inbound (to UW) trips or alight outbound trips, these passengers will likely use Route 270 after the restructure. The rest of the segment has minimal ridership. Ridership data for this segment is outlined in brown on the Route 271 plot above.

North of Medina, Route 249 will fill in a few stops on 92nd Ave NE currently served by Route 246 (cyan). The only stop with notable ridership on this section is 92nd Ave & SR 520 Ramp. This stop is located above a SR 520 Freeway stop and allows transfers to routes traveling between the University District or downtown Seattle and various Eastside destinations. Ridership for this segment is outlined in cyan on the Route 246 plot below.

Service between Spring District and Overlake will be removed with no direct replacement service (red). This segment has some ridership. Most stops along this section are walking distance to a 2 Line Station. As discussed above, the Overlake segment of the current Route 249 will be removed and partially replaced by Route 222 (outlined in purple).

As outlined in the plot below, the current Route 249 path will be truncated at Spring District and split into several routes. East of Spring District, most stops will lose service. Route 222 will fill in a few gaps, primarily on NE 24th St (purple). As mentioned above, Route 270 will replace Route 249 along Bellevue Way NE (pink). Finally, Beaux Arts will be served by a DART deviation area (dark yellow).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 249 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward South Bellevue Station; Outbound" is toward Redmond Technology Station. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 241 will be deleted. Its northern segment between Downtown Bellevue and South Bellevue will be replaced by Route 249 (green). Service between Factoria and South Bellevue will be maintained with Route 203 (coral) and the stops along SE Allen Rd will lose service. Passengers traveling between Factoria and Eastgate or South Bellevue can use Route 240 (silver).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 241 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Eastgate P&R; Outbound" is toward Bellevue TC. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 246 will also be deleted in the restructure. A small section of the route in Clyde Hill will be replaced by Route 249 (cyan). The stops in Factoria will be served by routes 203 (coral). Passengers traveling between Factoria and Eastgate can use Route 240 (silver). Unfortunately, most of the stops served by Route 246 will lose service (red).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 246 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Eastgate P&R; Outbound" is toward Bellevue TC. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 240

Route 240 will be updated to serve South Bellevue. Its current routing on the Lake Hills Connector will be partially replaced by Route 220 (blue). The stops losing service do not have a lot of ridership.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 240 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Renton TC; Outbound" is toward Bellevue TC. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 111

Route 111 will be updated to terminate at South Bellevue and to shorten its loop in East Renton Highlands. The stops that will no longer be served are outlined in red and the stops in downtown Seattle are outlined in cyan. The East Renton Highlands stops losing service have minimal ridership and passengers traveling downtown will transfer to the 2 Line.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 111 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Renton Highlands. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 250

Route 250 will be revised to serve Downtown Redmond. Additionally, all trips will travel to both Bear Creek and Avondale.Trips that serve Avondale have up to 8 passengers.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 250 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Bellevue TC; Outbound" is toward Avondale. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.RapidRide B Line

The B Line will be updated to extend to Downtown Redmond and to skip the Overlake Village detour. The B Line will stay on 156th Ave NE between Crossroads and Redmond Technology with a new stop at 156th Ave & 28th St. The current Overlake Village detour will still be served by routes 222, 223, 225. B Line ridership patterns were recently discussed in a separate post.

Average Weekday Ridership per B Line Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Bellevue TC; Outbound" is toward Redmond TC. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Routes 256, 257, 311

Routes 257 and 311 will deleted and consolidated into Route 256. Route 256 will primarily follow the path of Route 311, with an additional stop at Kingsgate P&R and a few new stops in South Lake Union.

Route 257 starts/ends with a loopy coverage segment in Kingsgate that is largely covered by other local routes. The highway-adjacent stops will continue to be served by the express Route 256 (blue), while the coverage segments will be only served by the local routes 225 (pink), 231 (brown), or 239 (purple). The stops with the most ridership will be served by Route 256 while the stops losing all service have minimal ridership.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 257 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Kingsgate. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

While the full schedule for Route 256 has not been announced yet, the map shared by Metro suggests all stops served by Route 311 will be served by Route 256.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 311 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Woodinville P&R. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Routes 203, 269, 271 (south of Eastgate)

Route 203 is a new local route that will run between South Bellevue and Issaquah Highlands. Along Newport Way it will partiality replace Route 271. Ridership along this segment is minimal. Ridership for this segment is outlined in blue on the Route 271 plot below.

Between Issaquah TC and Issaquah Highlands P&R, it will replace part of Route 269. This segment has some ridership, primarily with passengers traveling to or from Issaquah TC. Ridership for this segment is outlined in blue on the Route 269 plot below.

The Route 271 stops on West Lake Sammamish Parkway will lose service because Route 203 will stay south of I-90 until Issaquah. The existing stops along Newport Way will be served, as well Issaquah TC.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 271 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward the University District; Outbound" is toward Issaquah. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 269s current routing in Redmond will be truncated at Marymoor Village. The southern end of the route will be extended to terminate at Mercer Island. As it will run as an express between Issaquah Highlands P&R and Mercer Island, Route 203 will fill in its stops along Black Nugget Rd.

Route 269's current stops in Overlake and near Microsoft's campus (orange) will be covered by various other routes including 222, 223, 225, 245, 250, B Line, and Link 2 Line. Unfortunately, one of the busiest stops on the segment (SR 520 & NE 51st St) will have the worst replacement service. Passengers will need to take the 2 Line to Redmond Technology then backtrack on Route 245 to access the area served by this stop. As mentioned above, the local stops along SE Black Nugget Rd and Issaquah TC will be served by Route 203 (blue).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 269 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Issaquah TC; Outbound" is toward Overlake P&R. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Routes 208, 215, 218

Route 215 is a new route that will travel between North Bend and Mercer Island. Trips will run every 30 minutes between Mercer Island and Issaquah Highlands P&R. Every third trip will continue to North Bend, resulting in a 90 minute frequency between Mercer Island and North Bend. This will replace the current Route 208 that runs between Issaquah TC and North Bend. Route 218 will travel between Issaquah Highlands P&R and Mercer Island during peak periods, and will likely be timed to provide 15 minute frequency when combined with Route 215. Routes 215, 218, and 269 will all provide express service between Mercer Island and the Issaquah Highlands P&R.

As Route 215 will serve Issaquah Highlands P&R instead of Issaquah TC, Route 208s existing stops along NW Gilman Blvd and in downtown Issaquah will no longer be served. With this restructure, no Metro routes are planned to run along Gilman Blvd or in downtown Issaquah.

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 208 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Isssaquah TC; Outbound" is toward North Bend. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Route 8

Route 8 will be rerouted to stop at Judkins Park. The route's 23rd Ave detour will be extended to run between Yesler Way and Massachusetts St. The ridership patterns for Route 8 were discussed in a previous post on the Blog.

This reroute will result in three stops losing Route 8 service; however, only the stop at MLK Way & Dearborn St will fully lose service as the other stops are served by either Route 4 (brown) or Route 14 (pink).

Average Weekday Ridership per Route 8 Trip: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Mount Baker TC; Outbound" is toward Uptown. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Conclusion

Metro's Eastside restructure is focused on consolidating corridors and connecting neighborhoods to Link. This results in lower ridership routes getting cut (eg: 246). However, riders will often have a more frequent route available nearby (eg: 203, 240, 270). Downtown Issaquah is losing all Metro service in favor of serving Issaquah TC and Issaquah Highlands P&R. At this time, Sound Transit has not yet confirmed if Route 554 will run in downtown Issaquah. Metro's focus on truncating routes at Link stations allows all-day service to more neighborhoods, such as with Route 111. Similar to previous Link-focused restructures, this restructure will connect more communities with downtown Seattle via a two-seat ride. However, fewer communities will have a direct one-seat ride to downtown Seattle.