King County Metro - Seattle, Washington

[Kennys bus drawings]

Why does the route 65 to Jackson Park skip 30th Ave NE, and then turn right onto 28th Ave NE, left onto 127th Ave NE, then turn left onto 30th Ave NE, instead of immediately turning right onto 30th Ave NE? This deviation doesn't have any stops on 28th Ave or 127th. It has existed as long as I recall. Does anyone know why?

[LDCY]

Some ADL Enviro500 I shot over last week. 

Sorry that I didn't read the first three words of the thread title and originally posted bunch of transit pics of Sound Transit and Community Transit. 

It is not very easy in this day to see many buses arrive and go within a minute lol. Downtown Seattle is the place. 

Also I am shocked by the dominant presence of articulate bus here. What % of King County Metro's fleets are 60 feet? are there more than 50%?

I haven't been to any large city with such extensive bus network for a while. Bus service in Seattle after pandemic is truly impressive by American standard.

More photos can be found in: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzYFDu

 

[roamer]

53 minutes ago, LDCY said:

Some ADL Enviro500 I shot over last week. 

I haven't been to any large city with such extensive bus network for a while. Bus service in Seattle after pandemic is truly impressive by American standard.

More photos can be found in: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzYFDu

 

 

Thanks for the pics!  I'm a decrepit elderly guy so don't get out much any longer to actually see the buses on the road let alone ride on them (which I really have no desire to do any longer since I retired driving them).  So I really enjoy it when somebody posts photos!!  

However, those Enviros are not part of Seattle's transit system proper i.e. not of King County Metro the public agency that provides bus service only to Seattle and King County.

You have pics of both Community Transit and Sound Transit Enviros.  Community Transit is Snohomish County's transportation agency (the county adjacent and immediately north of King County) and Sound Transit is a three-county agency that operates bus and rail in the three-county area that is defined by the U.S. census as the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue MSA or the three most populous counties in WA and the Puget Sound region --King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.  Community Transit also oversees operation of both their own-branded and Sound Transit's Enviros  ...but, of course, will be seen operating in and out of downtown Seattle.

You may want to post those pics in either the Sound Transit thread (and/or the Community Transit thread?)

But thanks again!  ...and absolutely enjoyable flickr feed! 

 

eta:  ...and such a nice compliment as it pertains to the state of the Seattle area transit conditions.  Yes, I agree.  When I see and read about other city's transit systems, the three-county area around Seattle has progressed nicely in the past few decades.  I've always said that it should have been done in back in the 70's and 80's (like a rail system and efficient BRT-type bus routes) but they've really done a nice job lately it seems.  Thanks again.

[coordinator47]

On 7/20/2022 at 8:11 PM, Kennys bus drawings said:

Why does the route 65 to Jackson Park skip 30th Ave NE, and then turn right onto 28th Ave NE, left onto 127th Ave NE, then turn left onto 30th Ave NE, instead of immediately turning right onto 30th Ave NE? This deviation doesn't have any stops on 28th Ave or 127th. It has existed as long as I recall. Does anyone know why?

In the current configuration of the street a coach turning right WB - NB on 30 Av NE will encroach on both the SB left turn lane and the SB through lane.  30 Av just isn't wide enough.  Test coaches ran earlier this summer with SDOT in attendance to determine how far back the SB stop bar has to be placed to allow unobstructed right turns.  Someone has a plan to move the stop bar back and reroute the coaches.

There was a stop NB on 28 Av NE far side of NE 125 St across from the Seattle Public Library branch but it was removed a few years ago.

[r142a_7795]

Hi! I'm heading to Seattle next month for the first time, and was hoping to do some bus spotting while I was out there. I was wondering what areas near downtown Seattle would be great to fan a lot of bus action (transit centers, street intersections, etc.), I've love to get shots of buses from all the different agencies, particularly King County Metro, Sound Transit, and Community Transit. I'm interested in catching some Xcelsiors (the electrics and trollybuses especially), the Orion Hybrids, Proterras, D40/DE60LFs, and Enviro500s, and I'd also be interested in checking out anything else if anyone has specific recommendations.

I know I just asked a lot of questions, but I'd appreciate any kind of answer, thank you in advance!!

[Kennys bus drawings]

13 hours ago, coordinator47 said:

In the current configuration of the street a coach turning right WB - NB on 30 Av NE will encroach on both the SB left turn lane and the SB through lane.  30 Av just isn't wide enough.  Test coaches ran earlier this summer with SDOT in attendance to determine how far back the SB stop bar has to be placed to allow unobstructed right turns.  Someone has a plan to move the stop bar back and reroute the coaches.

There was a stop NB on 28 Av NE far side of NE 125 St across from the Seattle Public Library branch but it was removed a few years ago.

Ah, that makes sense now.

3 hours ago, r142a_7795 said:

Hi! I'm heading to Seattle next month for the first time, and was hoping to do some bus spotting while I was out there. I was wondering what areas near downtown Seattle would be great to fan a lot of bus action (transit centers, street intersections, etc.), I've love to get shots of buses from all the different agencies, particularly King County Metro, Sound Transit, and Community Transit. I'm interested in catching some Xcelsiors (the electrics and trollybuses especially), the Orion Hybrids, Proterras, D40/DE60LFs, and Enviro500s, and I'd also be interested in checking out anything else if anyone has specific recommendations.

I know I just asked a lot of questions, but I'd appreciate any kind of answer, thank you in advance!!

For king county metro, anywhere on 3rd Ave between Olive Way and Yesler Way. For sound transit and community transit, 4th Ave and 5th Ave, I'd suggest (especially during peak hours). That will have mostly every thing except for proterras, which only operate in Bellevue on routes 241 and 226 (come on metro it's been 7 years). The electric xcelsiors can also usually only be found during peak hours.

also something else, there were king county metro Gillig low floors on sound transit routes 542 and 566. I wonder if anyone got any pictures.

[LDCY]

On 7/23/2022 at 3:37 PM, roamer said:

Thanks for the pics!  I'm a decrepit elderly guy so don't get out much any longer to actually see the buses on the road let alone ride on them (which I really have no desire to do any longer since I retired driving them).  So I really enjoy it when somebody posts photos!!  

However, those Enviros are not part of Seattle's transit system proper i.e. not of King County Metro the public agency that provides bus service only to Seattle and King County.

You have pics of both Community Transit and Sound Transit Enviros.  Community Transit is Snohomish County's transportation agency (the county adjacent and immediately north of King County) and Sound Transit is a three-county agency that operates bus and rail in the three-county area that is defined by the U.S. census as the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue MSA or the three most populous counties in WA and the Puget Sound region --King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.  Community Transit also oversees operation of both their own-branded and Sound Transit's Enviros  ...but, of course, will be seen operating in and out of downtown Seattle.

You may want to post those pics in either the Sound Transit thread (and/or the Community Transit thread?)

But thanks again!  ...and absolutely enjoyable flickr feed! 

 

eta:  ...and such a nice compliment as it pertains to the state of the Seattle area transit conditions.  Yes, I agree.  When I see and read about other city's transit systems, the three-county area around Seattle has progressed nicely in the past few decades.  I've always said that it should have been done in back in the 70's and 80's (like a rail system and efficient BRT-type bus routes) but they've really done a nice job lately it seems.  Thanks again.

Yeah thanks for correction. I am aware of the governance structure of transit system in greater Seattle, but totally overlooked the thread title when I posted it. Sorry about that. I changed the contents a little bit as I also took a few pics of King County Metro. They are almost all NFI lol.

 

Seattle deserves that compliment in many ways. In this day, when I travel somewhere, I'd rather check out their rail system and call it a day because I often found the bus part underwhelming (i.e., infrequent service and uniform fleet).

When I first came to the US, I went to college in a big University in Midwest where campus transit service is operated by local agency of nearby city. It is a small city but fixed-route services are insanely frequently (3-5 min during peak, 10 min from 7 to 7, 20 - 30 the rest of the time), affordable, and it serves a very long span of day (at least during the weekday). At first I thought this is the transit in the US and then I moved to south.....

I heard that Seattle could have had heavy rail Seattle back in 1970s. It was a pity but maybe that's what makes its bus system thrive. Atlanta, where I live now, has an OK heavy rail system, but because it is so expensive to maintain it, the affiliated MARTA bus service are seriously under-funded. In general, the transit service in the US doesn't generate a lot of revenue, so having a bus-majority transit system might not be totally a bad thing financially speaking. 

 

[roamer]

On 7/27/2022 at 8:13 PM, LDCY said:

Yeah thanks for correction. I am aware of the governance structure of transit system in greater Seattle, but totally overlooked the thread title when I posted it. Sorry about that. I changed the contents a little bit as I also took a few pics of King County Metro. They are almost all NFI lol.

 

Seattle deserves that compliment in many ways. In this day, when I travel somewhere, I'd rather check out their rail system and call it a day because I often found the bus part underwhelming (i.e., infrequent service and uniform fleet).

When I first came to the US, I went to college in a big University in Midwest where campus transit service is operated by local agency of nearby city. It is a small city but fixed-route services are insanely frequently (3-5 min during peak, 10 min from 7 to 7, 20 - 30 the rest of the time), affordable, and it serves a very long span of day (at least during the weekday). At first I thought this is the transit in the US and then I moved to south.....

I heard that Seattle could have had heavy rail Seattle back in 1970s. It was a pity but maybe that's what makes its bus system thrive. Atlanta, where I live now, has an OK heavy rail system, but because it is so expensive to maintain it, the affiliated MARTA bus service are seriously under-funded. In general, the transit service in the US doesn't generate a lot of revenue, so having a bus-majority transit system might not be totally a bad thing financially speaking. 

 

Yeah!  The federal funding that helped build your rail system in Atlanta was actually earmarked for Seattle had the voters approved the bonds associated with "Forward Thrust."  The rapid transit part of the plan was voted down twice, first in 1968 and again in 1970.

I think the feds would have contributed something in the range of $700 to $900 million (BIG money back then).  Those funds eventually went to Atlanta to build MARTA when Seattle failed to pass the rapid transit portion of Forward Thrust.

I was a young adult at that time and somewhat of a transit groupie --well. not exactly a groupie but maybe aficionado would be a better word-- and often wondered had Forward Thrust been passed, if it would have been all what I actually dreamed it might have been.  

It would have given King County essentially what MARTA started with and that was initially about 50 miles of rail and subway.  In addition, it would have tremendously increased bus service with new routes and equipment. 

I really wanted to see a rail system in Seattle back in the 1970s and was disappointed when it didn't pass.  It was "backward thinking" on the part of the citizens as far as I was concerned.  But the region was going through the "Boeing Bust" and people generally were soured on spending anything as it was thought that Seattle was about to "do down the drain."  Those of you old enough to remember that time, know what I'm talking about.  Boeing was laying off workers in hordes --Boeing being the largest employer in the area back then-- and unemployment figures were hitting the roof.  People were moving out of the area in large numbers.  

Anybody who is of the boomer-generation and was living in the Seattle area at that time will remember the billboard near the airport that stayed up for a couple of weeks and created quite the topic of discussion nationwide  --"Will the last person leaving SEATTLE -- Turn out the lights."  ...go HERE for an image.

Had this new rapid transit plan not have been proposed during the Boeing Bust, I'd like to think that the Forward Thrust transit proposal would have passed.  

I've attached a map from 1970 I found several years ago of the proposed rail system associated with Forward Thrust.  It's actually amusing to me that the map is from over 50 years ago!! 

[Kennys bus drawings]

I saw a rapidride coach inside the north base lot, the one I could see on I5, I think the coach number was 6269.

[AmaryahJohnson1996]

Wednesday, July 20, 2022. 6:23 am - 6:26 am.

 

Federal Way P&R, Federal Way, WA.

 

King County Metro, rt. 177 peaks (4807) New Flyer Xcelsior Charge XE60. 2021 Bus. I went to ride the bus coach number (4807) an XE60 articulated bus with Battery-Electric last moment when the bus left at 6:30 am but before she says had a planned time to go leave at 6:27 am earlier quickly way to inbound Seattle via Freeway I-5 in the morning early! She was the driver of the metro extra and took two times the trip round peaks only during rush hour.

[Kennys bus drawings]

On 8/16/2022 at 5:45 PM, Kennys bus drawings said:

I saw a rapidride coach inside the north base lot, the one I could see on I5, I think the coach number was 6269.

It turns out that this is because north base will be covering half of the E line and D line trips (that start and end on the outbound terminal) for fewer deadheads, and will use the 2019 xde60s (thanks casey from facebook).

[Kennys bus drawings]

After a week of the new shakeup, north base has already put 6800s on the E and D lines. I guess 6245-6269 wasn't enough? Or maybe they don't have enough spare parts yet.

[Kennys bus drawings]

After Metro seemingly realized that the route 20 has very low ridership, they have started adding more 40 foot buses to its mix. Now 79 runs 1, 5, and 6 always have 60 foot buses.

[118 Vashon via EXPRESS]

126 buses were pulled from service (steering system issue).

 

https://kingcountymetro.blog/2022/12/06/please-use-trip-planning-tools-some-bus-trips-canceled-after-vehicle-issue-identified/

[Kennys bus drawings]

Yes, the D and E lines are currently a sh tshow, and route 5. They seem to be taking coaches from south base to run up here (and north bases de60lfrs and xde40s). Clearly this doesn't seem to fix the entire gap, but I guess south base has so many spare buses from peak only routes and incoming electric buses.

[PNWTransit]

Gillig Low Floors from Bellevue are now running on Central Base routes

[roamer]

6 hours ago, PNWTransit said:

Gillig Low Floors from Bellevue are now running on Central Base routes

Does it have anything to do with this?

Some bus trips canceled after vehicle issue identified

What series do the 126 out-of-service New Flyer coaches belong to?

[PNWTransit]

1 hour ago, roamer said:

Does it have anything to do with this?

Some bus trips canceled after vehicle issue identified

What series do the 126 out-of-service New Flyer coaches belong to?

I'm sure it does. Based on what I can see on Pantograph, it looks like it's XDE60s that are affected, but only some coaches from each series. Most noticeable on the RapidRide D and E lines, which are both using many non-RapidRide buses right now.

[jay8g]

Seems like the 4500s might be affected too, as the routes they typically run on have been seeing a lot more 40-footers than normal. Other than that, it seems to be mostly the RapidRide XDE60s -- I have to wonder why they're apparently having a lot more problems than the non-RapidRide ones from the same time frame.

 

I'm curious if the "steering system" issue actually has something to do with the articulation joint. I've been hearing a lot of complaints over the radio from drivers reporting intermittent "joint fail" warning lights over the past few weeks, a lot more than I remember from before. Though it seems weird that what they're saying is a manufacturing defect would suddenly show up across a large portion of the fleet all at once.

 

It's quite surprising to see all those South Base buses on other bases' routes, since just a few weeks ago, they seemed to be impacted the most by the ongoing Metro coach shortage, with runs starting in the afternoon often pulling out 30-60 minutes (sometimes even more) behind schedule due to a lack of coaches. At least they've finally started using the XDE40s on all-day runs rather than just peak trippers, though the XDE60s are still rarely seen off-peak for some reason.

[118 Vashon via EXPRESS]

From what I read over at the Northwest Bus Fans group, it's the 6200s and the 8200s that were affected.

Also, the following route were suspended today:  9, 15, 17, 18, 29, 55, 56, 57, 64, 111, 114, 121, 125, 162, 177, 214, 301, 304 & 330

Edited December 8, 2022 by 118 Vashon via EXPRESS
Added route suspension information

[coordinator47]

53 minutes ago, 118 Vashon via EXPRESS said:

From what I read over at the Northwest Bus Fans group, it's the 6200s and the 8200s that were affected.

Also, the following route were suspended today:  9, 15, 17, 18, 29, 55, 56, 57, 64, 111, 114, 121, 125, 162, 177, 214, 301, 304 & 330

The steering problem is limited to Excelsior types:  2 3700s, 6 4300s, no 4500s, 39 6200s, no 7200s, 6 8000s, 3 8100s, 64 8200s and 6 9660s.

Breakdown by base:  AB 6, BB 1, CB 87, EB 6, NB 16, RB 9, SB 1.

Joint fail lights are associated with cold weather and rarely affect coach operation.

[Kennys bus drawings]

East base sent about 10 (I think?) more coaches to central.

[jay8g]

14 hours ago, coordinator47 said:

The steering problem is limited to Excelsior types:  2 3700s, 6 4300s, no 4500s, 39 6200s, no 7200s, 6 8000s, 3 8100s, 64 8200s and 6 9660s.

I was hoping someone on here would have this information! I wonder what the deal is with the 4500s, since a lot of them seem to be out of service for some other reason.

[PNWTransit]

A few things I caught today...

[jay8g]

For the first time in many years (I can't remember the last time this happened), Metro has completely given up and isn't running any services this morning due to ice. In fact, it appears that the light rail is the only transit service currently running region-wide.