Two West Seattle routes lose trips, one gains trips for Metro’s next service change March 29

Metro has just announced the changes coming with its next semi-annual “service change” on March 29. For West Seattle, Route 56 and RapidRide C Line lose trips, while RapidRide H Line gains trips. Here are the route-by-route links and explanations:

Route 56 (map/schedule here)
This route will see a reduction in trips that are currently funded by the Seattle Transit Measure. This route will have 1 fewer trip each weekday during the morning commute hours. These service hours will be re-invested in other routes to better meet the City’s policy goals and equity commitments.

RapidRide C Line (map/schedule here)
This route will have fewer trips during afternoon commute hours. This includes a reduction in trips that were funded by the voter-approved Seattle Transit Measure. Buses will still come about every 10 minutes or more frequently on this route. This change is to support Seattle’s equity goals, better align with transit need and demand, and be consistent with Metro’s RapidRide policies.

RapidRide H Line (map/schedule here)
5 trips will be added on weekdays and 3 trips will be added on Saturday and Sunday. These additional trips are funded by the voter-approved Seattle Transit Measure.

The full systemwide list of changes is here.

P.S. There’s no mention again this service change of some unresolved West Seattle issues – two suspended routes (37 and 55) and proposed stop changes for Route 125. We are checking with Metro.

Jeff March 17, 2025 (3:23 pm)

“about every 10 minutes or more” means nothing. It’s like furniture store ads yelling that you can save “up to 50% or more!” Yeah that encompasses literally all possibilities.

Seth March 17, 2025 (6:38 pm)

Reading comprehension is hard. It’s 10mins or more frequently. Which can equate to 10min or less.
Neighbor March 18, 2025 (12:17 am)

Jeff, you have to read the whole sentence. “Buses will still come about every 10 minutes or more frequently on this route.” This is not an ambiguous sentence. More frequently means less than 10 minutes.
- bradley March 18, 2025 (11:30 pm)
  
  So this is how the $7 billion dollars gets spread out.
  - Ts March 29, 2025 (3:03 pm)
    
    Yes it is. They take a few from one route and add them to another that needs it more with no change in cost

56MetroRider March 17, 2025 (3:26 pm)

This is really disappointing and will result in me driving to downtown daily. The 56 already only ran 4 times every weekday and the “peak” 7am and 8am slots were always packed to the brim.

UW student March 18, 2025 (7:21 am)

As a UW student who rides the 56, losing the 9am trip is an inconvenience.

Juanita March 17, 2025 (4:05 pm)

Obviously the powers that be don’t try to ride the C out of downtown into WS from 4-7pm as those buses are packed now as it is. If you want us to use mass transit, please provide enough buses to service the public.

Delphoxy March 17, 2025 (7:22 pm)

I think part of that problem is bus bunching. And adding frequency doesn’t usually help with that. If the bus are bunched together, The one in the front will be full but the ones behind it will be nearly empty.
- Joe Z March 18, 2025 (11:36 am)
  
  There’s no way to solve bus bunching on a route as popular as the C that runs mostly in traffic. Light rail is the only path to a more reliable commute downtown.

Amy March 17, 2025 (4:05 pm)

Yeah H line gets some love!

Former transit rider March 17, 2025 (4:10 pm)

It’s really hard to continually listen to developers and city officials talk about how they aren’t inclined to provide parking in new builds because they want people to take transit while Metro continues to reduce service to our neighborhood. The message I’ve been given by Metro is that the focus needs to be on underserved neighborhoods. I am certainly not advocating for not being concerned for historically marginalized parts of the city … however why can’t it ever be both and. Admiral has already lost the 55 and has been limited to the 56 and 57 only during traditional commute times. Now we lose one more run in an already decimated offering for the same reason. In regards to metro service, we have now become the underserved. I’ve been told that we always have the Water Taxi option, which is great but also at twice the cost. At some point it would be great for the city to step in and demand some equity when it comes to serving all neighborhoods instead of continually taking from the same population and then shaming us for needing to drive.

K March 17, 2025 (6:09 pm)

Having all those runs in all those places requires more drivers and coaches than are available.
- Rick_WS March 18, 2025 (11:41 am)
  
  Your point is?
Ms_Monkey April 2, 2025 (9:21 am)

I would love a reduced cost to the Water Taxi. As it is now, if I’m going downtown alone, it works out to take it. But if I’m traveling with any other member of my household, we can generally find parking and pay for the gas use with what the Water Taxi would cost us both. Plus we don’t have to adhere to a transit schedule.

Susan March 17, 2025 (4:20 pm)

Yet, there’s proposed zoning changes that will bring even more density to the Junction and Admiral districts. There’s already a dearth of transit options in the north end, what a great idea to reduce them further with 56 reductions. Brilliant!

k March 18, 2025 (9:06 am)

Those buildings will be completed not long before the light rail arrives, and the light rail will alleviate a good deal of pressure on Metro’s system, allowing them to provide more service in neighborhoods like Admiral. City planning means looking ahead at all factors, and not just responding to what options exist on the day the plans are made.
- Rick_WS March 18, 2025 (11:46 am)
  
  Realistically, Light Rail will be 10 years out. Denser housing will be arriving much faster, I can say with some certainty.
  - k March 18, 2025 (7:07 pm)
    
    Your point is?

56 rider March 17, 2025 (4:31 pm)

Well that really sucks…

Drive to work then park March 17, 2025 (4:38 pm)

Reduction in line 56/57 over the years seems to suggest that the statement: “These service hours will be re-invested in other routes to better meet the City’s policy goals and equity commitments.” means “too bad Admiral, drive yourself and park.” Thanks mass transit.

CarDriver March 17, 2025 (5:19 pm)

Metro and SDOT(and the city) need a matchmaker who’ll introduce the left hand to the right hand and the brain to the eyes.

Admiral-2009 March 17, 2025 (5:36 pm)

Admiral already is an underserved neighborhood. Equity and fairness dictate adding service to Admiral not reducing it, years ago the neighborhood had all day service that needs to be reinstated!

K March 17, 2025 (5:47 pm)

Whenever I’m downtown waiting to catch a C home, I see countless nearly-empty D and E lines stop before a single C comes by, full. Many times, there will be two of the same that arrive at the exact same time, empty. This is frustrating news.

K March 17, 2025 (6:14 pm)

That would make sense, since the D and E are at the end of the line where the C is just at the beginning.
West Seattle Mad Sci Guy March 17, 2025 (6:16 pm)

D, E, & H definitely come through much more often than C line. Especially later in the evening.
- Darcy March 17, 2025 (7:03 pm)
  
  It’s funny how C riders always think the H comes more often, while H riders KNOW that the C comes more often.
  - CAM March 17, 2025 (9:45 pm)
    
    Darcy – that likely has something to do with the fact that C riders see multiple H’s come through back to back before a C arrives, particularly during rush hours, and that C is usually jam packed. I’ve tried to make that make sense and the only thing I can come up with is that the C wastes so much time trying to get through the congestion in SLU that they all get backed up. That and anyone waiting downtown for a C is going to be dealing with the delays that are caused by the time it takes to fully load from the Amazon buildings earlier in the route. That and all the people north of downtown on the C route that use it to get to the ferry downtown.
- Amy March 17, 2025 (7:31 pm)
  
  Completely disagree on the H line coming more often vs the C. I’m waiting at 3rd and Virginia every afternoon, for every >1 H line there are 2+ C lines.
DC March 18, 2025 (1:48 pm)

Just FYI, its impossible to see a bus come less often than your own because you always get on the first bus that is yours! If you are taking the C you’re not going to remember the times you’re able to jump on your bus without seeing any Hs pass by. You will however, remember the times you see several of them pass.

C rider March 17, 2025 (9:08 pm)

Instead of equity, why not base the routes on demand? King county metro has the data. I stand downtown to catch my bus every afternoon and the H line is almost never full while the C line is packed like sardines.

Amy March 18, 2025 (4:02 am)

The H line is packed by the time it rolls into WS. The route doesn’t start until 3rd and Virginia where C starts at South Lake Union. The H line is not ‘empty’
- Ryan March 19, 2025 (11:03 am)
  
  I use mobility aids. There have been times getting on at 3rd and Spring around 4:30 where the C has been so crowded that I can’t sit; all the priority spots are taken by other people who need them, and the bus is so full that I can’t make my way back to the rest of the seats. I, like you, watch multiple D and E lines pass, as well as H. When there are so few options to downtown, they are going to be full, and they are going to bunch. Totally unrelated bus grump: if the routes downtown are on snow emergency routes, and they say to take the snow shuttle, they have to actually run the damn snow shuttle. The G has a lot of disabled riders like me who can’t get up the hill at all on foot. It has been a godsend for me, but days where it isn’t running absolutely suck.

Jim March 17, 2025 (9:11 pm)

I really hate this rapid ride system It’s done nothing but take away routes and stops. There was nothing wrong with the old bus system

I'm glad I own a car March 17, 2025 (9:17 pm)

Thank God we have plenty of parking where I work.

CR March 18, 2025 (4:37 am)

Great, this removes the only 56/57 that runs downtown in the 9 am hour. Seemed like they cancelled that bus half the time anyway, so you could never rely on it. It’s frustrating that I live 6 miles from downtown and when I can catch one of the few 56/57s it’s 45 min door to door, but if I have to transfer to the C it’s easily 1 hour or more. Driving, it is only 20 min.

KT March 18, 2025 (6:07 am)

Weird that the 113 survived again. That bus is hardly used now post pandemic

Close Enough March 18, 2025 (8:14 am)

Wow, does Seattle metro just not like Alki? Getting to and from work is ridiculous on the bus. This city is a joke of what it used to be

Shannon williams March 18, 2025 (8:16 am)

Metro areas TALK about increasing the use of public transportation, but never really committ to making it happen.

TDKYoga March 18, 2025 (10:38 am)

There are lots of options to get downtown. If your regular thing changes, figure it out. I’ve had to adapt over 20 years of taking public transportation from Admiral, Morgan Junction, Alaska Junction and now, South Delridge. FIGURE IT OUT. Geez. Change is inevitable. Believe me, I was making all kinds of noise about reductions to my service routes but that’s how I found the water taxi (when I lived in Admiral) or got to explore other bus routes & neighborhoods. Hooray for an increase to the H…it’s a very long route and it was needed. There – I said it. Let the beat down commence.

56Rider12 March 18, 2025 (3:41 pm)

It’s not that there aren’t other options (we can always walk), but it’s rather than the alternatives take much longer to get to so driving becomes that much more enticing

anonyme March 18, 2025 (3:57 pm)

This is typical Metro. Reduce service, and then promise to increase it if taxpayers pass another huge levy. After it passes (always does) service is cut. Rinse, repeat. Voters never wise up, and we never get the service we paid for.

Gene Degeberg March 19, 2025 (8:19 am)

Anyone living along Beach Drive, from Lowman to Alki, is without bus service. There are thousands of homes (with people living in them!) that cannot get around without walking unreasonable distances or driving their car. If the big buses don’t pay off for the old Route 37, then how about a smaller shuttle bus that just does a circle all day, from Lowman to Alki and up to the C Route and then back again? I’m too old to walk a mile uphill to try to catch that C Bus and there’s no way to go down to Alki for lunch unless I take my car. There must be a solution.

Sad56Rider March 20, 2025 (10:40 am)

Frustrating and sad:- Posting a change in service 2 weeks before implementing it feels gross and a way to bypass public reaction. The service advisory on the bus had a post date of 3/14.- Admiral loses yet more direct service. No viable commute service after about 8:20AM since the last 56 at 9:10ish is now gone. Driving is quicker and WFH is cheaper.- No more 55. No more 56x going down 1st (and would be great for getting to the train). No more weekend or all-day service.Based on the trajectory – I predict the cancellation of both 56 and 57 and Metro shunting everything to the C with sub-par connectors. And metro is billing it as “250+ more weekly trips to start soon” on their blog. So disappointing and frustrating