Everything you need to know about Community Transit bus changes

EVERETT — Big changes are coming to bus routes in Snohomish County.

As part of Community Transit’s massive effort to optimize its bus system to better serve light rail, the transit agency is planning to change dozens of its routes Sept. 14. The route shifts are part of its Transit Changes 2024 and Beyond plan, approved by the agency’s board in April 2023.

Those changes include eliminating 21 routes, though all are being replaced by new routes and the new Lynnwood Link Extension, which entered service Aug. 30. A full list of all route changes can be found at www.communitytransit.org/buses/service-changes. The site includes maps and videos explaining the shifts.

“We’re actually increasing service,” said Max Henkle, a system design and scheduling manager. “So a lot of these routes that we’re eliminating are operating just a small number of trips every day and the things that they’re being replaced with in a lot of times are a service increase.”

Nine new Community Transit routes and one temporary Sound Transit route are being added. With the introduction of light rail, Community Transit is redeploying resources once used for Seattle trips to more local ones. About half of Community Transit’s routes will connect with the Lynnwood light rail station.

“That’s really enabling us to reinvest a lot of resources into more of this all-day, bi-directional kind of travel,” said Matt Muller, the agency’s director of system planning and scheduling.

This was a lesson learned from the pandemic. Up to this point, Community Transit operated many of what he considers “boutique routes,” referring to those offered most frequently during peak times. What Community Transit found, however, was that riders throughout the day are a more consistent source of ridership than just peak commute hours.

Being able to take some of the buses used for Seattle and other routes now served by light rail allows Community Transit to schedule some routes more frequently. For example, Community Transit’s 120 route will increase from 18 daily trips to 25. The route is also extending to serve the UW Bothell campus.

Community Transit is also replacing many of the eliminated routes with its newest Swift bus rapid transit route, Orange Line, running from McCollum Park Park and Ride in Everett to Edmonds College. A stop at Lynnwood light rail is in the middle of the route.

The Orange Line had 61,000 boardings in August, according to agency data.

The line’s average boardings per week has increased by over 1,000 since its introduction in March.

On Tuesday, the first normal commute day with the Link in service, Community Transit’s ridership on the Orange Line was 2,578, an increase of 26% from the previous Tuesday.

Officials hope the combination of the Link and other new transit options reduces car trips.

“The growing intent of Swift is like to really compete with car travel,” Muller said.

“You know, I don’t need a schedule. I show up, the bus comes, it’s going to connect me to either another high frequency bus route or a high frequency rail route.”

One of the other big additions for Community Transit is a direct line between the Washington State Ferry system and light rail.

Route 117 will run between the Mukilteo ferry and Lynnwood City Center Station. Island County’s free bus system connects to the ferry in Clinton.

“One of the benefits of all of this service expansion is increased frequency,” Muller said.

“That kind of offsets the need to have perfectly timed connections. We have been able to do that with some of our ferry services.”

Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; X: @jordyhansen.

Added routes:

• Route 103 (service between Lynnwood City Center Station and Seaway Transit Center/Hardeson Road)

• Route 117 (service between Lynnwood City Center Station and the Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry)

• Route 121 (service between Ash Way Park & Ride, Canyon Park Park & Ride,and UW Bothell)

• Route 901 (service between Lynnwood City Center Station and Silver Firs)

• Route 903 (express service between Lake Stevens and Lynnwood City Center Station)

• Route 904 (express service between Marysville and Lynnwood City Center Station)

• Route 905 (express service between downtown Stanwood and Lynnwood City Center Station)

• Route 907 (express service between the Stanwood I-5 Park & Ride and Seaway Transit Center)

• Route 909 (express service between downtown Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace Station)

• Sound Transit 515 (temporary route between Lynnwood and downtown Seattle)

Eliminated routes:

• Route 105 (replaced with Routes 103, 106, 120 and Swift Green Line)

• Route 107 (replaced with Routes 103 and 117)

• Route 113 (replaced with Routes 103 and 117)

• Route 227 (replaced with Routes 905 and 907)

• Route 247 (replaced with Routes 905 and 907)

• Route 402 (replaced with light rail)

• Route 405 (replaced with Routes 102, 119, Swift Blue Line, and light rail)

• Route 410 (replaced with Routes 201, 202, 901, and light rail)

• Route 412 (replaced with Route 901 and light rail)

• Route 413 (replaced with Routes 201, 202, Swift Orange Line, and light rail)

• Route 415 (replaced with Routes 103, 201/202, Swift Orange Line, and light rail)

• Route 416 (replaced with Route 909, Swift Blue Line, and light rail)

• Route 417 (replaced with Route 117 and light rail)

• Route 421 (replaced with Routes 904, 905, and light rail)

• Route 422 (replaced with Route 905 and light rail)

• Route 425 (replaced with Route 903 and light rail)

• Route 435 (replaced with Routes 120, 201, 202, 535, Swift Green Line, Swift Orange Line and light rail)

• Route 810 (replaced with Routes 901, 201, 202, 130, Swift Orange Line and light rail)

• Route 821 (replaced with Routes 904, 905 and light rail)

• Route 860 (replaced with Routes 201, 202, 901 and light rail)

• Route 871 (replaced with Routes 102, 119, 130, Swift Blue Line and light rail)

• Route 880 (replaced with Routes 103, 112, 117, Swift Orange Line and light rail)