News from King County Department of Transportation
Release date:  June 26, 2008

Community members needed to help plan future bus service for southeast Seattle & southwest King County

Bus service changes are coming in 2009 to neigh-borhoods in Southeast Seattle, Skyway/West Hill, Tukwila, and SeaTac, and people are now needed to serve on two advisory committees that will help transit agencies decide how to best serve local communities.

Link light rail will begin serving many of these neighborhoods in the summer of 2009, and Metro is planning for RapidRide bus rapid transit service along Pacific Highway South in 2010. In order to maximize bus service and avoid duplicating the new express lines, King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit are considering changes to some bus routes in these areas. This could result in routing changes, schedule adjustments, or consolidation for approximately 30 bus routes, including: Metro routes 7, 8, 9, 14, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 42, 48, 60, 106, 107, 126, 128, 140, 154, 170, 174, 175, 180, 190, 191, and 194; and ST Express routes 560, 574, 577 and 594.

The transit agencies are forming two community advisory groups – called Transit Connections sounding boards – to provide advice early in the planning process about what changes would be best for local communities. One sounding board will focus on southeast Seattle and Skyway/West Hill. The other group will review bus service in southwest King County.

The agencies are looking for sounding board members who:

• Ride the bus frequently;
• Live or work in an area that will be served by light rail; or
• Would like to represent a specific community, ethnic group, or set of special-interest bus riders – such as students, night-shift workers, and people who are elderly or have disabilities.

The sounding boards will meet about twice a month from September through next March, usually on Wednesday or Thursday evenings. The sounding boards will make recommendations to transit agency staff, the King County Council, and the Sound Transit Board.

The deadline to submit an application to serve on the sounding boards is Thursday, July 31. You can apply online. To request a written application, contact:

Sarah Luthens, community relations planner
King County Department of Transportation
201 S. Jackson St., KSC-TR-0824
Seattle, WA 98104-3856
206-684-1154 (TTY Relay: 711)
sarah.luthens@kingcounty.gov