Sound Transit To Reduce Service, Citing Operator Shortages

SEATTLE — Commuters who rely on Sound Transit's ST Express bus services or the Sounder's S Line will want to be aware of several new changes coming this March.

According to a release from Sound Transit, ongoing operator shortages have forced them to make several service reductions, and extend several earlier reductions put in place in late 2021 on some ST Express routes. To mitigate the impact these changes will have on commuters, Sound Transit is also adding four daily trips to the Sounder S line for commuters heading between Pierce County and the Seattle metro.

Here's a look at the ST Express Service changes:

• 510 and 511 will run less frequently due to operator shortages.
• 512 will see several schedule adjustments, including frequency reductions on weekdays. Trips after midnight on Sunday will begin at Stadium Station, stopping at the International District/Chinatown Station, Freeway Station and Northgate before its regularly-scheduled stops.
• 513, 554 and 578 will have their schedules adjusted to reflect traffic changes.
• 522 will no longer stop at the NE 65th/Oswego stop near the Green Lake Park & Ride.
• 535 and 545 will have their schedules adjusted and will run less frequently, again due to operator shortages.
• 550 will run less frequently, but will extend service downtown Seattle to Bellevue past midnight.
• 566 will be operated King County Metro going forward. Its schedule will be adjusted to better align with the new Sounder S Line schedule.
• 580 will lose its 6:37 a.m. trip from the South Hill Park & Ride. The Lakewood-South Hill segment remains suspended as well. Commuters are advised to take the PT Route 400 as an alternative.
• 590 additional trips will be extended from the Tacoma Dome Station to 10th/Commerce in the afternoons.

Routes 577, 578, 590, 592, and 594 will continue to run reduced service, as they have since November.

On the plus side, the Sounder S line will now run four more times: 6:05 a.m. from Seattle, at 3:15 p.m. from Seattle, at 7:20 a.m. from Tacoma and at 4:30 p.m. from Tacoma.

The service changes will go into effect on March 19 for King County Metro-operated ST Express busses, March 20 for Community Transit and Pierce Transit-run buses, and March 21 for the Sounder S Line.