Snohomish County's Community Transit and Sound Transit are considering rerouting buses to get people in Snohomish County directly to the light rail station in Northgate, once it's completed.
The Northgate station is slated to be finished in 2021. The light rail is planned to extend to Everett, but not until 2036.
In the meantime, buses would help bridge that connection.
Some Sound Transit Express and Community Transit bus routes that currently go to Downtown Seattle and the University District would end at Northgate's light rail station instead, so riders could transfer to the Link Red Line.
Along with the Northgate station, the Red Line will open two new stations in Roosevelt and the U-District in 2021.
Sound Transit says the Northgate station will be a major transit hub for riders from north King County and Snohomish County. There will be frequent bus connections, parking and a bicycle/pedestrian bridge to North Seattle College.
From the Northgate station, riders will be able to get to the University of Washington in six minutes or downtown Seattle in 14 minutes, according to Sound Transit.
Riders could still catch some direct buses to Downtown Seattle
Sound Transit and Community Transit are currently seeking feedback on the plan until Dec. 31. You can find the survey here.
The proposed changes:
Sound Transit
ST Express routes 510, 511, 512 and 513 (510-series) that currently run between Snohomish County and downtown Seattle would connect to light rail at Northgate instead.
Community Transit
Community Transit routes 810, 821, 855, 860, 871 and 880 (800-series) that currently run to the University of Washington campus would connect to Link at Northgate instead.
Community Transit 400-series bus routes that serve downtown Seattle will continue to do so.
King County Metro
King County Metro will also restructure routes to provide connections to the University of Washington campus and nearby areas. Metro will be sharing plans around their proposed bus service changes in January 2020.
Read more about the plan from Community Transit and Sound Transit.
Cox Media Group
