Metro bus rider information

Creative Commons

Metro Transit planned ahead and put all its busses on snow routes for Monday. Following is useful information from Metro for dealing with the snow.

Know the snow routing for your bus route.

Check the timetables online for snow route maps for each route. Not every bus route has snow routing, but most do. Two routes – 38 and 45 – don’t operate in these conditions. Special bus service between downtown and First Hill, the Route 90, will be operating on Monday.

When buses are on snow routing, some streets and bus stops may be missed and there are often delays due to travel conditions. There is new snow routing in many areas that is different from past years, so be sure to check the snow routes for all the routes you use most often.

If you haven’t already, sign up for Transit Alerts to keep up with any major changes to bus service. The alerts can be received as email or text messages. Subscribe online.

Metro will be using a new online color-coded map to keep riders informed of the status of its bus service. 

All bus routes are assigned into one or more of seven geographic areas within King County.

When there is snow or ice on the roads, the service status of each area will be color coded and displayed on an online snow map. 

• Green indicates buses are operating on normal routes
• Yellow that some – but not all – routes in the area are on snow routes (primarily in higher elevation areas)
• Red tells you that all bus routes in the entire geographic area are on snow routing.

People without online access can call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. 

General information about service will also be sent out via the kcmetrobus Twitter account.

Here are some other snow tips for Metro customers:

• Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers.
• Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.