Metro Transit (King County)

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Metro Transit, or Metro for short, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, a division of the King County Department of Transportation. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was founded in 1972, and began operations on January 1, 1973. It can trace its roots to Seattle Transit, founded in 1939, and Overlake Transit Service, founded in 1927.

As of 2004, it operated 1,363 buses on 235 routes. Its annual ridership in 2003 was 100 million, making it the ninth largest bus operator in the nation.

[edit] Operations

Metro was established in 1972 as a combination of Seattle Transit and suburban authorities. The agency was independent until 1994, when a popular vote merged it with King County government. In 1968, 1970, and 1995, voters rejected light-rail systems. Today, Metro operates bus service in partnership with Sound Transit, which was established by a 1996 vote to provide regional bus and rail service. Both the 1995 and 1996 measures were a result of the Regional Transit Authority, which now popularly known as Sound Transit.

Metro operates one of the largest bus-only fleets in the country (discounting its short waterfront streetcar, which is temporarily out of service). Bus-only operation results in some interesting operating characteristics of the Metro fleet, most notably a high concentration of articulated buses—over a third of the total. Metro's use of articulated coaches dates back to 1978, when it was the first large agency in the country to adopt the technology. The other two-thirds are made up of mostly Gillig Phantom coaches: 395 40-foot (3200-3594), 15 35-foot (3185-3199; the latter two, 3198 and 3199, are used for special/disabled services), and 95 30-foot (1100-1194) buses. The 100 low-floor 40 foots (3600-3699) were built by New Flyer and are used mostly on routes within the Seattle city limits.

Metro also maintains a large fleet of electric trolley buses (ETBs). The ETBs prove useful both as zero-emission vehicles, and as vehicles well adapted to Seattle's hilly terrain. Until 2005, this was the largest ETB fleet in the country, including 236 dual-mode Breda "tunnel buses." In 2002, Metro replaced its 100 AMG trolleys with new Gillig Phantom shells. The drive train of the AMG coaches was retained with new electronics, saving approximately $200,000 per coach. Metro is now rebuilding 59 of the now retired Breda dual-mode coaches, converting them to electric-only operation and refurbishing them to replace aging MAN articulated ETBs. The rebuild includes new Kiepe current collection equipment, new interior upholstery, a completely new driver's compartment, and new ADA-compliant signage.

Interior of a King County Metro bus.
Interior of a King County Metro bus.

The agency pioneered technologies in widespread use today. In 1979, the AMG trolleys were ordered with some of the first wheelchair lifts in the nation, promising a completely new level of independence for disabled residents. Early lifts were severely flawed, but by the mid 1980s the lifts were generally reliable and were ordered on all new buses. With the retirement of the 1400-series buses in 1999, the entire fleet became wheelchair-accessible—again, the first fleet its size to do so. Strangely, the agency was reluctant to adopt low-floor buses, not buying any until 2003.

Collaborating with several local jurisdictions, Metro was also an early experimenter with transit signal priority (TSP), a system to extend green lights to allow buses to get through. The system can boost average speeds as much as 10%, and is in use on several of the city's busiest corridors, including Aurora Avenue N., Rainier Avenue S., and 15th Avenue N.W.

Metro operates the largest fleet of articulated hybrid buses in the country, the fleet of 214 New Flyer DE60LFs it purchased to replace the Bredas. (Sound Transit bought an additional 21 similar buses.) Metro's hybrids were purchased to run in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, where they will operate together with light rail vehicles beginning in 2009. In the tunnel, the hybrid buses use electric traction to 15 mph; after 15 mph, traction is a combination of electric and diesel, operating in a quieter, low-emission mode.

In addition, like Golden Gate Transit and SamTrans in the Bay Area of California (and unlike most transit agencies), almost all of Metro's fleet has highback non-reclining seating as opposed to lowback seating that is used by most other transit agencies on local routes. These buses operate on both local and express routes.

[edit] Fleet

Model Motor Length Purchased Retired Qty.* Fleet Numbers
New Flyer DE60LF Cat C9/GM Hybrid[1] 60' 2005 in service 214 2599-2812[2]
New Flyer D60LF Caterpillar C9 60' 2004 in service 30 2870-2899[3]
New Flyer D40LF Cummins ISL 280[4] 40' 2003 in service 100 3600-3699 [5]
New Flyer D60 Cummins M11/330 60' 1998-2000 in service 274 2300-2573[6]
Ford/Champion Van Ford 7.3L[citation needed] 25' 2003 in service 35 1200-1234[7]
Gillig Phantom ETB GE/Alstom (reman) 40' 2002 in service 100 4100-4199 [8]
Gillig Phantom Cummins ISC 250[citation needed] 30' 1999-2000 in service 95 1100-1194[9]
Gillig Phantom Cummins M11/280[citation needed] 35' 1996 in service 15 3185-3199[10]
Gillig Phantom Cummins M11/280[citation needed] 40' 1996-1999 in service 395 3200-3594[11]
Breda ADPB 350 AEG/Westinghouse 60' 1990-1991 in service 59 4200-4258 3594[12][13]
MAN ETB Siemens[citation needed] 60' 1987 in service 46 4000-4045[14]
MAN Americana MAN 40' 1986-1987 2004 157 3000-3146; 3150-3159[15]
MAN SG-310 MAN 60' 1983 2001 202 2000-2201[citation needed]
MAN SG-220 MAN 60' 1977 1999 151 1400-1550[citation needed]
Flyer D900 Cummins VTB903 40' 1979 1997 224 1600-1823[citation needed]
Flyer D900 Cummins VTB903 35' 1979 1997 35 1850-1884[citation needed]
AMG 10240T GE 40' 1979 2002 109 900-1009 (no 911)[citation needed]
AMG 10240B8 DDC 8V71 40' 1976 1998 323 1100-1312; 1340-1349[citation needed]
GMC T8H-5305 DDC 8V71 40' 1968 1987 70 700-769[citation needed]
Flxible 40' 1963 1985 100 500-599[citation needed]
Brill Trolley 40' 1940 1963[citation needed]

* at time of fleet purchase

[edit] Routes and service

Metro combines service patterns typical of city and suburban bus networks. The city network, descended in large part from the Seattle Transit system of converted streetcar routes, is arranged in a hub-and-spoke pattern centered on downtown Seattle, with lesser amounts of crosstown service. Routes in the city network are numbered from 1 to 79, with special late-night "Owl" routes in the 80s and the waterfront streetcar and its replacement coach numbered 99. Because of the scattershot evolution of the system, there is no easily discernible pattern to the route numbers, although there are clusters in certain neighborhoods: for example, the 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, and 79 all run through the University District.

The in-city routes with the highest ridership are the 7, traveling from downtown Seattle through the International District and Rainier Valley; the 36, traveling from downtown Seattle through the International District to Beacon Hill; the 43 and 49 (the latter of which was formerly the northern portion of route 7), traveling through Capitol Hill to the University District; the 44, a crosstown route connecting the University District and Ballard; the 48, a very long crosstown route connecting most parts of east and north Seattle to the Central District and Rainier Beach, and the 3 and 4, connecting downtown to Queen Anne, First Hill, the Central District, and Madrona. However, because of the bus-only nature of the system, there are many other heavily used routes.

The suburban system is more numerically organized. Roughly speaking, areas south of the city from Burien and Des Moines through Renton and Maple Valley are served by routes numbered from 101 to 197. Areas east of the city from Renton to Bothell are served by routes numbered from 200 to 291. Areas north of the city from Bothell to Shoreline are served by routes numbered from 301 to 373. Numbers in the 400s and 800s are reserved for Community Transit (Snohomish County) commuter routes serving Seattle; numbers in the 500s are used by Sound Transit's Regional Express system, save for Pierce Transit's routes 500 (Federal Way-Tacoma) and 501 (Federal Way-Milton-Tacoma). 600 series routes are general "express" routes that are used for special purposes (the 640, for example, is intended to service the Kingsgate Park and Ride from Bellevue until construction adjacent to the park and ride is complete), and 900 series routes are reserved for Dial-a-Ride services.

Special routes numbered 206-208 and 885-890 are used by Metro to serve Bellevue School District students and special coaches are dispatched around the region to serve as special shuttles for local events, including Seattle Mariners baseball games, Seattle Seahawks football games, and other special events.

Major all-day Metro routes in the suburbs include the 120, connecting Seattle and Burien; the 174 and 194, connecting Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport, and Federal Way; the 150, connecting Seattle, Southcenter and Kent (The Kent to Auburn portion was replaced by the new route 180); the 101 and 106 between Seattle and Renton; the 255, connecting Seattle and Kirkland; the 240, connecting Renton and Bellevue; the 230 and 253, connecting Bellevue, Crossroads, and Redmond; the 271, connecting Issaquah, Bellevue, and the University District; the 347 and 348, connecting Northgate and North City; and the 358, operating up Aurora Avenue N. to Shoreline.

[edit] Ride Free Zone

The ride free zone is a portion of downtown Seattle where there is no charge to ride the bus. The ride free zone operates between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. The ride free area extends from the north at Battery St. to S. Jackson St. on the south, and east at 6th Avenue to the waterfront on the west. The waterfront streetcar (Metro Route 99) and Metro routes 116, 118 and 119 are not included in the Ride Free area. Although bicycles can usually be loaded or unloaded at any bus zone at any time outside the ride free area, they are only allowed to be loaded or unloaded at a route's first and last ride free stop. This is a safety policy to reduce the potential of too many cyclists being between buses in heavy downtown traffic. This rule does not apply when the Ride Free Zone is not in effect (between 7 PM and 6 AM)

[edit] Metro Bases

Metro operates out of seven bases spread throughout its 2,134-square-mile operating area: Atlantic, Ryerson, Central, East, Bellevue, South, and North. Atlantic, Central, and Ryerson Bases are located close together near Safeco Field south of downtown Seattle. East and Bellevue bases are located in north Bellevue. South Base is in Tukwila; the innovative North Base, built mostly underground in 1989, is in Shoreline. The South and East transit facilities finished an ADA retrofit in 2001.

Atlantic Base is unique in that it only serves ETBs.

[edit] Bus Tunnel

A major Metro operations facility is the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, or DSTT. The DSTT, a 1.3-mile-long, five-station tunnel through the center of downtown Seattle, was completed in 1990 at a cost of $444 million. Planned from the outset to be convertible to light rail operation, the tunnel was outfitted with rails and overhead trolley wire. A fleet of 235 dual-propulsion buses were produced by Breda of Italy, powered by electric traction in the tunnel, and diesel on city streets. Mode changes occurred at the north and south portals.

The tunnel suffered some significant problems in operation, as the Breda buses proved overweight and unreliable. The original plan to have up to 600 dual-powered buses using the tunnel never materialized; the 235 Breda buses were the primary buses to use the tunnel until Metro acquired its hybrid fleet in 2005.

The tunnel was closed in 2005 to replace the rails, lower the track bed for modern ADA-compliant light rail cars, and complete a stub tunnel for a future LINK light rail extension to the north. The tunnel is nearing the completion of it's retrofit and will be returned to service in the fall of 2007.

[edit] Projects

Significant projects include a regional smart card initiative, and the exploration of Bus rapid transit or BRT in a north-south corridor north of downtown.

Introduced in April 2006 was Metro's proposed "Transit Now" initiative which was approved by the voters of King county later that year. The initiative will increase Metro's bus service by 20 percent over the next ten years through the addition of a one-tenth percent sales tax increase. The proposal focuses on establishing improving current service, adding service to the county's growing outlying regions, service partnerships with large employers, and the establishment of 4 BRT corridors dubbed "Rapid Ride," as follows:

  1. Aurora Avenue North. This line would run from King Street Station downtown to the Aurora Transit Center in Shoreline
  2. West Seattle. The line would run from West Seattle over the West Seattle Bridge, the SODO Busway and into Dowtown through the Transit Tunnel, potentially reaching the University of Washington in the future.
  3. Ballard. The line would also run from King Street Station to Ballard via 15th Ave. West and Elliot Ave. West.
  4. Bellevue to Redmond.
  5. Federal Way to Sea-Tac. This line would connect with Sound Transit Central Link light rail beginning in 2009.

All lines would use new, low-floor, branded buses to set them off from traditional routes. Stops would be combined to increase speed and reliability and create "stations" more akin to what is found on rapid transit lines. Some form of off-bus fare collection would be considered.[1]

[edit] Information technology

Metro lacks a smart card fare collection and automated stop announcements. In 1998 the fleet was updated with a Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system that utilizes battery-powered beacons located at some stops. Metro is currently in the process of replacing the system as part of a system-wide radio update.

Metro does use Traffic Signal Priority along some major arterials, utilizing a specialized radio system.

The extent of Metro's intelligent transportation systems (ITS) available for customers has been limited to two projects:

  • an early project by the University of Washington utilized the tracking data to provide real-time bus information. This is now hosted by Metro under the name Tracker. A recent project using Google Maps called Bus Monster provided the same service using the same data. This project was not officially endorsed by Metro.
  • A pilot project provided bus information displays along a city arterial. Metro discontinued the project in 2005, citing the cost of maintenance and technical problems.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hybrid Vehicle Specifications (html). New Flyer Industries, Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  2. ^ New Flyer Articulated Hybrid Diesel-Electric Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2003-06-03). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  3. ^ New Flyer Articulated Low-Floro Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2005-06-28). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  4. ^ Diesel Vehicle Specifications (html). New Flyer Industries, Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-07-20, 2006. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
  5. ^ New Flyer Low-floor, clean-air Diesel bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2003-11-04). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  6. ^ New Flyer Articulated Diesel Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2002-09-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  7. ^ Champion Transit Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2002-09-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  8. ^ Gillig Trolley Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2002-09-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  9. ^ Gillig Standard Diesel Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2002-09-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  10. ^ Gillig Standard Diesel Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2002-09-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  11. ^ Gillig Standard Diesel Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2002-09-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  12. ^ Breda Articulated Trolley Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2005-06-28). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  13. ^ These buses are from a larger fleet of this model that have been converted to electronic trolley buses in order to replace the MAN ETB fleet. The remainder of this fleet is no longer in use by King County Metro.
  14. ^ MAN Articulated Trolley Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2002-09-09). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
  15. ^ MAN Standard Diesel Bus (html). King County Department of Transportation (2003-05-28). Retrieved on 2006-07-20.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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