Ridership Patterns for King County Metro Route 50

King County Metro Route 50 travels inbound from Othello station to the Alki beach, via Columbia City, SODO, and Alaska Junction. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction. In October 2025, Route 50 had 2,803 average weekday boardings.

Route 50 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 50 Trip: September 2024 to March 2025. Inbound" is toward Alki beach, Outbound" is toward Othello station. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.

Route 50 is the primary east-west route in south Seattle. It connects numerous neighborhoods with three Link stations and two RapidRide routes. Route 50 is designed as a coverage route with 20 minute daytime frequencies and numerous detours to better serve specific locations. Some observations:

• Route 50's eastern terminus at Othello station has decent ridership. There are slightly more riders boarding in the afternoon than at other times of day. Othello station is near a grocery store, shopping center, and numerous new apartment buildings. Passengers can transfer here to routes 36, 106, and the 1 Line.
• The stop at S Othello St & Rainier Ave S has a small spike in passengers who use Route 50 to connect between Rainier Ave and MLK Way. This stop is about 0.5 miles (12 minute walk) from Othello station, so it may be faster to walk than wait for Route 50. Route 7 stops at this intersection as well.
• Ridership on Route 50 in Seward Park is minimal. The northern half of this section has slightly higher ridership in the morning and afternoon as people use it to get to and from Rainier Ave (routes 7, 9) and Columbia City station.
• After climbing up Beacon Hill, Route 50 makes a small detour to serve the VA Medical Center. Buses in both directions make this detour and primarily drop off passengers in the morning and pick up passengers in the afternoon.
• One of Route 50's busiest stops is at S Lander St & SODO Busway, near SODO station. Buses heading towards Alki beach pick up 2-4 passengers and drop off 1-2 passengers. Buses going to Othello station have opposite boarding patterns.
• On the west side of the West Seattle Bridge, Route 50 stops twice on Delridge Way SW before turning onto Genesee St. The two Delridge Way stops (at Andover St and Genesee St) have opposite boarding patterns, suggesting most passengers transfer to/from the H Line or Route 125.
• Between Delridge Way and Alaska Junction, each stop has a decent number of passengers boarding and alighting, all day. Along with the expected higher ridership to SODO station in the morning and to West Seattle in the afternoon, Route 50 has a noticeable reverse commute ridership pattern. The reverse commute ridership is likely driven by West Seattle High School students. West Seattle High School is located along Route 50's path, near California Ave SW & SW Hanford St (westbound)/SW Stevens St (eastbound).
• In Alaska Junction, Route 50 stops at SW Alaska & 44th Ave SW. Westbound trips towards Alki beach primarily pick up passengers at this stop. Eastbound trips to Othello have a more balanced ridership as each trip picks up 2-4 passengers and drops off 1-2 passengers.
• After traveling north on California Ave SW, Route 50 stops in the Admiral District. About 1-2 passengers alight from trips towards Alki beach and board trips towards SODO. The lack of an increase in ridership towards SODO in the morning and returning in the afternoon can be attributed to the peak only routes 56 and 57.
• Route 50 terminates at Alki beach. About two people board and alight each trip throughout the day.

Daily Totals per Stop

Route 50 is a unique route that connects many lower-ridership areas with Link stations and transit hubs. When Metro proposed the route in 2011, Brent White thought it would be a good opportunity for Metro to show the benefits of an easy bus/Link transfer. Route 50 has been somewhat successful at this, but the lack of consistent timing between Route 50 and Link in Rainier Valley certainty has a negative impact on the route's ridership. The biggest limitation for Route 50's ridership is its 20 minute daytime frequency. As the route is often used a last mile connection to/from Alaska Junction, SODO, and Columbia City, many would-be passengers may opt to walk or bike to their primary route instead. In an attempt to encourage more ridership along the busier, western half of the route, Metro implemented short-turrn trips between Alki beach and SODO in Fall 2021. These trips resulted in 15 minute frequencies between Alki and SODO, and 30 minute frequencies between SODO and Othello. Metro reverted this change in Fall 2023. While the route is back to running with consistent frequency, the daily totals further highlight the difference in ridership between the east and west sections of the route.

Average Route 50 Weekday Boarding and Alighting Counts: March 2024 to September 2024. Inbound" is toward Alki beach; Outbound" is toward Othello station. Click the plot to view at full-resolution in a new tab.Looking Ahead

Metro has not announced any upcoming changes to Route 50. Longer term, Sound Transit's West Seattle Link Extension will result in completely redesigned bus network in West Seattle. At a West Seattle Transit Town Hall in July 2024, King County Transportation Policy Advisor Chris Arkills confirmed West Seattle bus routes will not be restructured until the Ballard Link Extension is complete in 2039. Route 50 will likely be overhauled or truncated in the 2039 restructure as RapidRide lines C and H will be redirected to cover new corridors on the peninsula that may overlap with areas now served by Route 50.

This article is part of the Ridership Patterns series. Click here for an index of previously covered routes.