RapidRide E Line

Last updated
E Line
RapidRide wordmark.svg
Seattle RapidRide E Line NFI XDE60 3rd Ave @ Union St (52229747799).jpg
RapidRide E Line bus on 3rd Avenue in Downtown Seattle.
Overview
System RapidRide
Operator King County Metro
Garage North Base
Central Base
Vehicle New Flyer articulated buses [1]
New Flyer XDE60
Began serviceFebruary 15, 2014
PredecessorsRoute 359, 358X
Route
Locale King County
StartAurora Village Transit Center, Shoreline
Via Aurora Avenue N
3rd Ave
End Pioneer Square, Downtown Seattle
Length12.5 miles (20.1 km)
Service
FrequencyPeak: 5-12 minutes
Off-peak: 10-15 minutes
Early morning & night: 24-60 minutes
Weekend frequency15 minutes (most times)
Journey time1 hour, 2 minutes
Operates4:30 am-3:00 am
Ridership15,800 (weekday average, spring 2015) [2]
Timetable E Line timetable
Map E Line map
Route diagram

Contents

BSicon CONTg.svg
BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon HUBaq.svg
BSicon KBHFa.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon KBHFe.svg
Aurora Village
Transit Center
BSicon HST.svg
N 200th St
BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
N 192nd St
(Shoreline Park & Ride)
BSicon BHF.svg
N 185th St
BSicon HST.svg
N 180th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 175th St
BSicon HST.svg
N 170th St
BSicon HST.svg
N 165th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 160th St
BSicon HST.svg
N 155th St
BSicon HST.svg
N 152nd St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 145th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 135th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 130th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 125th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 115th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 105th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 100th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 95th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 90th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 85th St
BSicon HST.svg
N 80th St
BSicon BHF.svg
N 76th St
BSicon SPLa.svg
BSicon vNULg-.svg
BSicon vHST-STR.svg
N 72nd St
BSicon vNULgf.svg
BSicon vBHF.svg
N 65th St
BSicon SPLe.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
N 46th St
BSicon hbKRZWae.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Lynn St
BSicon HST.svg
Galer St
BSicon BHF.svg
Harrison St
BSicon BHFg.svg
Denny Way
BSicon BHFf.svg
5th Ave
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZg+r.svg
RapidRide D Line icon.svg to Ballard
BSicon BHF.svg
Bell St
BSicon ABZg+l.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Virginia St
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon utCONTg.svg
BSicon HUBaq.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon utBHF.svg
BSicon HUBaq.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon utBHF.svg
Seneca St
(Symphony station)
BSicon BHF.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
Columbia St
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZgr.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
BSicon KRW+l.svg
BSicon KRWgr.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
BSicon HUB+l.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon HUBq.svg
BSicon BHFg.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon utBHF.svg
Yesler Way
(Pioneer Square station)
BSicon HUBe.svg
BSicon HSTf.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon utSTR.svg
3rd Ave S
BSicon bvvWSLe.svg
BSicon utCONTf.svg
Key
BSicon BHF.svg
station
BSicon BHFg.svg
northbound only station
BSicon BHFf.svg
southbound only station
BSicon HST.svg
stop
BSicon HSTg.svg
northbound only stop
BSicon HSTf.svg
southbound only stop
  D Line  {{{system_nav}}}  F Line  

The E Line is one of eight RapidRide lines (limited-stop routes with some bus rapid transit features) operated by King County Metro in King County, Washington. The E Line began service on February 15, 2014, [3] running between Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline and Pioneer Square, Seattle in Downtown Seattle. The line runs mainly via Aurora Avenue N and 3rd Ave.

At the Aurora Village Transit Center passengers can connect to Community Transit's Swift Bus Rapid Transit to Everett Station.

History

This corridor was previously served by King County Metro route 359 and the 358 express which carried an average of 11,730 riders on weekdays during the last month in service [4] making it King County Metro's second busiest route. [5] [ self-published source ] These routes were preceded by Route 6, which was extended north to Aurora Village in 1979. [6]

1998 Aurora Bridge shooting

In November 1998, Mark McLaughlin, the driver of a southbound 359X bus, was shot and killed by passenger Silas Garfield Cool as the bus was entering the Aurora Bridge. The passenger then shot himself as the bus careened off the bridge and landed on an apartment building in the Fremont neighborhood, over which the bridge passes before it crosses the Fremont Cut of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Though there were dozens of passengers on board at the time, most reported only minor injuries, with only one additional passenger deceased (not counting the shooting deaths of the driver and the attacker). [7]

1999–2013: Route 358X

In response to the incident and the general unsavory reputation the route had experienced even prior to the incident, route 359 was retired and replaced three months later by route 358. In spite of the rebranding, the safety issues persisted; in 2011, drivers on route 358 wrote up 333 [8] "security incident reports", leading the Seattle Weekly to give the route the title of "Most Dangerous Bus Route in Seattle" [9] After route 358 was replaced by the RapidRide E Line, security cameras were installed on all RapidRide buses and lighting was improved at stations, in part to address this problem.

2013–present: RapidRide development

In early 2013 King County Metro began construction on new enhanced bus stops, new bus stations and making upgrades to traffic signals along Aurora Ave N. [10] Service on the RapidRide E Line was scheduled to start in Fall 2013 but the opening was delayed until February 15, 2014, to give crews more time to finish construction. [11] [ self-published source ]

The only change made to the routing during the conversion to RapidRide was in Green Lake. Route 358 exited Highway 99 to serve stops on Linden Ave N, but a new bus stop on Aurora Ave N allows southbound buses to stay on the highway (northbound buses must still deviate). [12] [ self-published source ]

King County Metro planned to begin service on the RapidRide E Line in September 2013, but the opening was pushed back several months to February 2014 due to delays in construction. [11]

Since the implementation of RapidRide on the corridor, ridership has grown 35 percent and the E Line served an average of 15,800 riders on weekdays in spring 2015, the most of any Metro bus route. [2] In 2023, the E Line carried 3.7 million total passengers. [13]

Service

Headways [14]
TimeMonday-FridayWeekend/Holidays
4:30 am – 6:00 am2520
6:00 am – 9:45 am5-10 (inbound)
12 (outbound)
12
9:45 am – 4:00 pm1012
4:00 pm – 6:15 pm5-10 (outbound)
12 (inbound)
15
6:15 pm – 8:00 pm1215
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm2020
11:00 pm – 12:30 am3030
12:30 am – 3:00 am6060

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References

  1. "King County Metro Transit's Bus Rapid Transit System". May 4, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  2. 1 2 2015 Service Guidelines Report (PDF). King County Metro. October 2015. p. A-22. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  3. "RapidRide". King County Metro Transit. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  4. Lindblom, Mike (July 7, 2014). "RapidRide use is way up". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  5. "New Routes Coming Online for RapidRide". The Northwest Urbanist. January 7, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014. After a delay from 2013, on February 15th the E line will replace Aurora Avenue's route 358, Metro's second busiest route, between Seattle's downtown and its northern neighbor of Shoreline.
  6. Copeland, Joe (August 27, 1979). "The changing county transit". The Everett Herald . p. A10. Retrieved March 22, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  7. McRoberts, Patrick (December 3, 1998). "Metro bus plunges off Seattle's Aurora Bridge after driver is shot on November 27, 1998" . Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  8. Humbert, Jon (February 2, 2012). "Recent attacks have Metro riders worried about bus safety" . Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  9. Conklin, Ellis E. (February 1, 2012). "Route 358 Is the Most Dangerous Bus Route In Seattle". Seattle Weekly . Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  10. "Metro preps for the arrival of the RapidRide E Line along Aurora Avenue North". King County Metro. June 27, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Nourish, Bruce (March 18, 2013). "Metro Delaying RapidRide E & F". Seattle Transit Blog. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  12. Lawson, David (February 7, 2014). "Metro and ST Service Changes: Feb. 15". Seattle Transit Blog. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  13. King County Metro [@KingCountyMetro] (February 15, 2024). "Fast, frequent and reliable connections for the past 10 years and counting. Thanks for riding RapidRide E Line, connecting communities and riders from Downtown Seattle to Shoreline and beyond!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 28, 2024 via Twitter.
  14. "RapidRide E Line Schedule" . Retrieved April 2, 2014.