Express Bus Service Coming to the Suburbs South of Seattle

"King County Metro has begun planning for a RapidRide corridor in Southeast King County, known as the RapidRide I Line," reports Stephen Fesler.

The corridor, laid out in the Metro Connects long-range plan, will run from Renton to Auburn, passing through Kent along the way.

System planners are promising better frequencies and faster trips, but Fesler makes the case that those benefits will be hard to deliver in the southeastern parts of the county. "Traditionally, pull-in stops have been created instead of in-lane bus stops. This creates an unsafe weaving for bus operators and often means delay to buses when trying to re-enter traffic lanes. Getting cities to allow in-lane bus stops may be a big lift. Installing transit signal priority, queue jumps, and bus lanes may also be difficult techniques to convince local traffic engineers and policymakers on."

As noted by Fesler, the planning process for the new RapidRide will consider how other local routes and dial-a-ride systems integrate with the new line.