Bus System Redesign Paired With New Light Rail Service Near Seattle

“Community Transit has unveiled a full proposal to restructure bus service when Lynnwood Link light rail and the Swift Orange Line bus rapid transit open in 2024,” reports Stephen Fesler for the Urbanist.

The Lynwood Link Extension, one of the projects at risk when the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Trump administration just stopped sending congressionally approved funding for transit projects, has come a long way—Sound Transit reported 50 percent completion on the extension in November 2021 and other regional transit agencies are rethinking their systems to better fit with the forthcoming trains.

Chris Simmons, Community Transit’s service planning manager, is quoted in the article explaining the goals of the system redesign:

1. Tying bus service into Link and Swift stations;
2. Providing more access to frequent service by reinvesting existing service hours;
3. Adjusting to market changes precipitated by the introduction of light rail and pandemic; and
4. Delivering more equitable services for traditionally disadvantaged communities.

According to Fesler’s description of the redesigned system, “80% of residents in the Community Transit service area will be close to stops and proposed service will reach around 60% of jobs and 417 essential destinations (e.g., doctor offices, schools, libraries, grocery stores, and pharmacies). Most segments, about 95%, of existing local bus service will retain bus service, too.”

More details on the “nascent frequent network of local bus routes” follows in the source article below.