In just three short years, Link light rail will reach Lynnwood in Snohomish County, which will allow for Community Transit to cut back a lot of bus service to Seattle currently running on the I-5 corridor. In anticipation of the coming changes, Community Transit has just kicked off a process to study where to cut back service and redeploy saved service hours within Snohomish County. Lynnwood will obviously be a focus of enhanced bus service for local and commuter needs since light rail will offer swift service to destinations like Downtown Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Federal Way without necessitating another transfer.
Additionally, Community Transit just completed a successful bus restructure that largely funnels riders on Community Transit commuter and ST Express routes to Northgate Station in Seattle. This restructure has unlocked more frequent bus service in order to shorten connections. It has also meant better reliability since most buses don’t have to slog through clogged highways and streets south of Northgate.
Priorities for future service
Initial priorities for Community Transit’s 2024 bus restructure include more frequent service, direct connections to light rail, the ability to tailor service to local needs, and the provision of service solutions by geographic area. These are some ideas and priorities that the agency has put out there:Next steps and outreach
Community Transit expects to create a draft plan and share it in the spring for public feedback, which will then be used to create a revised feedback plan in the summer. A final version could be approved by the end of next year and then implemented in phases during 2023 and 2024. Feedback for the current phase is open through December 17th online.
