Procession, memorial service on Friday January 10 for King County Metro Transit Operator Shawn Yim

By Jeff Switzer

King County Metro

King County Metro, community members, riders and transit agencies throughout the region will gather Friday, January 10, 2025 to celebrate and remember Transit Operator Shawn Yim, who was killed in the line of duty on December 18. (See article)

Remembrances begin with a 10am bus and transit vehicle procession through downtown Seattle followed by an 11am memorial event hosted by the Amalgamated Transit Union 587 at Lumen Field Event Center (also known as WAMU Theater).

With many Metro staff members attending these events to honor our fallen colleague and friend, there will be a very large number of bus trip cancellations and delays on Friday.

Riders are encouraged to sign up to receive transit alerts for their routes, however some real-time information in trip planning and transit tools, and transit alerts, may not be fully accurate during this period.

We recommend transit riders travel early, allow additional time and consider alternatives in the event of potential service interruptions.

Metro will provide as much bus service as possible. Water taxi routes and Sound Transit Link 1 Line and 2 Line services are expected to operate on regular schedules. Metro pass sales offices plan to provide regular service, while our customer service call center and lost and found services will be temporarily short-staffed while employees attend the memorial.

Memorial procession

A memorial procession of several dozen buses and transit vehicles from Metro and agencies around the region is scheduled to leave the SODO area at 10am. The procession will travel north on Fourth Avenue to Broad Street, Fifth Avenue North, Mercer Street, Sixth Avenue North and then south in the SR 99 tunnel to Lumen Field. 

No personal vehicles will be included in the procession. Cross-street traffic will be temporarily held as the procession passes. 

The public is encouraged to allow additional travel time due to temporary traffic delays.

Memorial service at Lumen Field’s WAMU Theater

A memorial service will be held at the Lumen Field Event Center (also known as WAMU Theater) from 11am to 1pm Friday, January 10. Doors open at 9:30am. Lumen Field is located at 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle.

We appreciate the many condolences and all the expressions of support shared with us as we continue to mourn Yim’s death.

The safety of our riders, employees and community members

Safety continues to be our agency’s top priority. In recent years, Metro has more than doubled the number of transit security officers from 80 to over 170. We’re hiring more, while simultaneously recruiting for additional Metro Transit Police.

Metro is also redesigning our buses to strengthen the protections in place for our operators. We’re assessing and improving upon the operator partition that was installed on all buses in 2020 and 2021. And we have two pilot buses featuring different prototypes of cockpit-style doors for the operator’s compartment.

Additionally, we placed an order with a bus manufacturer for four test buses that will feature an ADA-compliant, European-style operator compartment design. This design has similarities to a light rail train, streetcar or subway. We are working with manufacturers to pursue other operator safety features, too.

More broadly, Metro and labor leaders are in active discussions with cities, law enforcement and other regional partners about actions that can be taken to improve the security challenges that exist in the communities and on the streets where Metro provides service.