Ridership Patterns for King County Metro Route 5

King County Metro Route 5 travels inbound from Shoreline Community College to downtown Seattle, primarily on Greenwood Ave N and Phinney Ave N. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In August 2025, Route 5 had 4,926 average weekday boardings.

In the plots shown below, the inbound trip is cut off as Route 5 is through run with Route 21. Inbound trips switch to Route 21 after Wall St & 5th Ave. Likewise, outbound trips start with some passengers already onboard as these passengers boarded an inbound Route 21 trip.

Route 5 Map (King County Metro)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 5 Trip: September 2024 to March 2025. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Shoreline Community College. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Outside of rush hour, most Route 5 stops have fairly low ridership. The busier stops include:

• Route 5's northern terminus at Shoreline Community College is one of the busiest stops on the route. Many of the passengers boarding and alighting Route 5 here are likely students or employees at Shoreline CC. Some passengers may be transferring to/from routes 331 and 333. The area around Shoreline CC is primarily parks and single family homes. About 3-5 people board or alight each Route 5 trip at this stop in the mid-day and afternoon.
• In Bitter Lake, Route 5 stops at Greenwood Ave N & N 130th St. This stop is near several apartment buildings and the Broadview-Thomson K-8 School. Passengers can transfer here to Route 345. This stop has 2-4 passengers boarding inbound trips and alighting outbound trips all day.
• Route 5's stop pair at Greenwood Ave N & Holman Rd N (inbound)/ N 103rd St (outbound) is surrounded by a few shops and restaurants, townhouses, and apartment buildings. Passengers traveling to Northgate or Ballard can transfer to Route 40 at this stop. About 2-3 passengers board each inbound trip throughout the day. Outbound trips drop off a similar number of passengers in the mid-day, afternoon, and evening.
• Route 5 stops in the center of Greenwood at Greenwood Ave and N 85th St. Greenwood has dozens of shops and restaurants, several apartment buildings, and lots of single family homes a block or two from the arterial streets. Routes 45 and 61 also stop here. About 3-5 passengers board inbound trips at this stop all day. Outbound trips in the afternoon have an average of 6 people alighting per trip.
• Between N 85th St and N 46th St, most stops have minimal ridership outside the peak direction. An exception to this is Route 5's stop at Phinney Ave N and N 55th St, outside Woodland Park Zoo's main entrance. Ridership at this stop peaks in the mid-day and afternoon in both directions, with 1-2 passengers boarding each inbound trip and departing each outbound trip.
• Just north of Fremont, Route 5 intersects with Route 44 at N 46th St. The area around this stop is primarily single family homes with a few townhouses. The ridership patterns suggests most passengers boarding and alighting Route 5 here are transferring to/from Route 44. Inbound trip primarily drop off passengers here, especially in the morning. Outbound trips primarily pick up passengers, with a significant increase in the afternoon. This data, along with the ridership patterns for Route 44, suggests some passengers transfer from inbound Route 5 trips to inbound Route 44 trips in the morning and from outbound Route 44 trips to outbound Route 5 trips in the afternoon (eg: commuting from Phinney Ridge to UW).
• On the north end of the Aurora Bridge, Route 5 stops at N 38th St. This stop pair provides an express option to downtown Seattle from Fremont. About 2-5 passengers board each inbound trip and depart each outbound trip. Route 28 also stops here.

Daily Totals per Stop

The daily totals further show how the surrounding land use impacts a stop's ridership. Stops near shops and restaurants, apartments, and other bus routes have much higher ridership than stops surrounded by single family homes.

Average Route 5 Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: September 2024 to March 2025. Inbound" is toward downtown Seattle; Outbound" is toward Shoreline Community College. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

Route 5 is a historic route that will continue running for many years to come. However, significant transit improvements will likely be focused on Route 5's neighbor, the RapidRide E Line. Both Route 5 and the E Line run on Aurora Ave south of the Aurora Bridge. As a result, Route 5 is benefiting from the bus-only lanes along this segment.

Map of the bus lanes on Aurora Ave south of the Aurora Bridge. (SDOT)