If you haven’t locked in your 4th of July plans yet – here’s how transit plans to handle the holiday:
Revelers celebrating Independence Day this year will be able to ride Link trains until 2 a.m. on Thursday, July 5 — an hour later than normal. For bus riders, King County Metro will deploy more than 40 extra buses from 10:30 p.m. to midnight as needed on routes serving Seattle Center, Gas Works Park, downtown and light rail stations to help crowds get home. Bus riders should use regularly published timetables and schedules for their routes, and expect possible delays during busy times and when there are crowds.
The last southbound Link train from University of Washington Station will leave at 2 a.m. The last northbound train from Angle Lake Station will leave at 1 a.m. Southbound trains from the UW will operate every 30 minutes starting at midnight. Northbound trains from Angle Lake will operate every 30 minutes starting at 11:30 p.m. The downtown transit tunnel, which will stay open late to accommodate extended light rail service, will close at 2:20 a.m.
Light rail trains will otherwise operate on a Sunday schedule on July 4. Link service will resume normal weekday operating hours on July 5.
Metro will add 250 hours of service, augmenting 20 bus routes that serve large crowds after July 4 festivities, as well as routes that connect with Link light rail. Routes with extra service as needed will include 5, 8, 26, 28, 31, 32, 40, 44, 49, 62, 70, 120, RapidRide A, B, C, D and E lines, and ST Routes 545, 550, and 554. Metro supervisors will monitor crowds during the evening and deploy the extra service where it is needed.
Metro bus customers are reminded that Metro is switching to a simple fare of $2.75 on July 1.
Several ST Express bus routes will not operate on July 4, while other routes will run on a Sunday schedule. Sounder commuter rail service also will not operate on July 4. Except for the extra buses described above, Metro will operate on a normal Sunday/Holiday schedule. More holiday schedule information is available at soundtransit.org or metro.kingcounty.gov/alerts/holidays.html.
Also of note, the West Seattle Water Taxi is running a Sunday schedule on the 4th.
| Comments Off on 4TH OF JULY: Holiday transit notes from Metro and Sound Transit