Ridership Patterns for Sound Transit Route 522

Sound Transit Route 522 travels inbound from Woodinville to Roosevelt station, primarily via SR-522. This express service has stops in Bothell, Kenmore and Lake City. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In June 2025, Route 522 had 2,318 average weekday boardings.

Route 522 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 522 Trip: September 2024 to March 2025. Inbound" is toward Roosevelt station; Outbound" is toward Woodinville P&R. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 522 is an essential Link connector for Lake City, UW Bothell, and Woodinville. Some observations:

• Route 522's northern terminus, Woodinville P&R, is located near numerous shops and restaurants in Town Center. This stop is busiest in the afternoon for both inbound and outbound trips with 2-3 passengers boarding/alighting each trip. Metro routes 231, 256, and 931 also serve this P&R. Most morning passengers using the P&R likely use Route 256 (formerly 311) as an express to downtown Seattle. As Route 256 is peak only, mid-day and afternoon inbound passengers use Route 522 instead.
• UW Bothell and Cascadia College operate as an anchor in the middle of the route with a reverse commute pattern. In the morning and mid-day, this stop is busiest with students and faculty alighting from outbound trips. In the afternoon, most passengers board inbound trips. Passengers can transfer here to Metro routes 230, 239, 372, Community Transit routes 106, 120, 121, and Sound Transit Route 535.
• The stops between UW Bothell/ Cascadia College and Lake City are primarily near single family home subdivisions and have lower ridership. Inbound trips have more passengers boarding at each stop in the morning. Outbound trips drop off more passengers in the afternoon. These stops are also served by Metro Route 372.
• Ridership per stop increases as the route enters Seattle at NE 145th St. Starting around NE 149th St, the land use on either side of NE Bothell Way/Lake City Way NE is primarily shops, restaurants, and apartment buildings. Several large apartment buildings are also located one block west of Lake City Way on 32nd Ave NE between NE 135th St and NE 145th St. Ridership at these stops is highest for inbound trips in the morning (1-3 boardings per stop) and is highest for outbound trips in the afternoon (2-3 departures per stop).
• The historic downtown Lake City area spreads on Lake City Way between NE 123rd St and NE 127th St. This area has dozens of shop and restaurants, and a few apartment buildings. Metro routes 61, 65, 75, 322, and 372 also stop in Lake City. The Route 522 stop at NE 125th St has 2-3 passengers boarding inbound trips all day. Outbound trips see the highest number of boardings in the morning, likely from people traveling to UW Bothell. Outbound trip drop off 3-4 passengers on each afternoon trip.
• Roosevelt station is the busiest stop on Route 522. This stop is busier during peak hours, but has about ten passengers board and depart trip each trip outside of peak direction. In addition to the station, this stop is near Roosevelt High School and many shops and restaurants. Passengers can transfer here to routes 45, 62, 67, 79, and the 1 Line.

Daily Totals per StopAverage Route 522 Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: September 2024 to March 2025. Inbound" is toward Roosevelt station; Outbound" is toward Woodinville P&R. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

Route 522 has a few significant changes in the near future. When 2 Line service in Seattle begins (currently planned for Spring 2026), Route 522 will be rerouted to terminate at Shoreline South/145th St station. New Metro routes 72 and 77 will fill in the service gap in Lake City.

In 2028, Route 522 will be replaced by the Stride S3 Line. The S3 Line will follow a similar path to the updated Route 522 mentioned above, but it will be truncated at the future Bothell/Woodinville Transit Center near the I-405 and SR 522 interchange. The new transit center will also serve Stride 2 and other Sound Transit, Community Transit, and King County Metro routes.

Stride S3 has faced local opposition and high cost overruns in Lake Forest Park. Ross Bleakney proposed a solution for these issues in a recent article.

Map of the Proposed Route 522 Changes in 2026 (Sound Transit/Metro)