King County is betting it can get more West Seattleites to ride mass transit if buses arrive at the Junction every 10 minutes during rush hour, every 15 minutes the rest of the day, and every 30 minutes late at night.

Another attraction for riders could be a new tracking system to speed buses through intersections by extending the duration of green lights and shortening red lights.

Also being planned are well-lit, sheltered stations with electronic signs showing how many minutes people have to wait for the next bus to arrive.

These ideas are part of a new program King County Metro calls "RapidRide" that's scheduled to start in 2011. It will replace Route 54, which runs from downtown through West Seattle to White Center. The busy route travels on Avalon Way, Alaska Street, California Avenue, Fauntleroy Way and Barton Street. Route 54 goes to the Alaska Junction, Morgan Junction, Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal and Westwood Village as it makes its way to the White Center business district.

About 5,000 people ride the buses on Route 54 every day, said Victor Obeso, King County Metro's manager of service development.

RapidRide conversions also are planned for Pacific Highway South; 15th Avenue in Ballard; Aurora Avenue to Shoreline, and between Bellevue and Redmond. The Pacific Highway South route will be the first and is set to start in 2010.

Metro estimated it will cost about $190 million to implement the five routes in the RapidRide program. The money comes from a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase approved by voters as part of the Transit Now ballot measure.

RapidRide routes also will have regular bus stops spread intermittently but there will be fewer stops than are on the existing Route 54. The number of bus stops will be limited for greater efficiency - fewer stops mean less "dwell time" and more travel time.

At stops where the most passengers congregate, full-blown stations will be built. Stations will have electronic signs displaying arrival times for the next bus along with lighting, shelter and other amenities.

Passengers will pay their fares on the new system with "smart cards." People will pay a lump sum ahead of time much like buying a monthly pass, except that electronic readers at each station and on each bus will deduct the cost of each trip until the card must be replenished.

In West Seattle, six RapidRide stations are planned: Southwest Avalon Way at Yancy Street; Avalon Way at 35th Avenue; in the Junction at California Avenue and Alaska Street; California Avenue and Findlay Street; in Morgan Junction at California Avenue and Fauntleroy Way; and at the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal.

During the morning and afternoon commutes, there will be about 20 buses on the RapidRide route simultaneously, Obeso said. At slower times of the day, there will be 10 to 15 buses serving the route.

A significant change is being planned for the RapidRide station in the Junction. Currently the main bus stops for Metro as well as Sound Transit buses are on Alaska Street between California and 44th avenues. Metro transit planners want to build the Junction RapidRide station on California Avenue south of Alaska Street.

Outbound (westbound) RapidRide buses would arrive on Alaska Street and turn south on California Avenue. The new outbound station is planned to be built on the west side of California Avenue south of the midblock crosswalk.

The Junction's inbound RapidRide station would be placed on the east side of California Avenue between the midblock crosswalk and Alaska Street.

Each station would eliminate eight to 10 existing curbside parking places because the curbs will be extended about 6 feet into the street right of way.

The new station would not affect the walk-all-ways pedestrian crossing at California Avenue and Alaska Street, say Metro officials.

There will also be regular bus stops without stations on the RapidRide route. Those in West Seattle are all planned on Fauntleroy Way between Morgan Junction and the ferry terminal. Currently they are planned at Southwest Holly, Myrtle, Webster and Rose streets.

Another RapidRide bus stop is planned at the southern end of Route 54 but its location hasn't been decided yet. Possible sites are the Fauntleroy business district or Westwood Village. Another option is to shorten the route and end it at Morgan Junction.

Metro transit planners also are studying whether to run the RapidRide buses on Alaska Street and 35th Avenue or switch from Alaska Street to Fauntleroy Way to connect to Avalon Way.

RapidRide buses will have three doors instead of the standard two to speed up boarding.

The 60-foot buses also will have low floors and be a different color than Metro's other buses on the road today. Currently buses are yellow on the bottom half and purple or green on the top half. RapidRide buses will be painted yellow on the bottom half and maroon on the top half.

Two more open houses are scheduled this week to collect public comments from West Seattleites. One is set for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the Senior Center of West Seattle, 4217 S.W. Oregon St. The other will be from noon 3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30 also at the Senior Center.

For now, Metro is seeking comments on the route itself so more planning can be done on station locations, installation of fiber optics and other matters pertaining to the RapidRide corridor, Obeso said.

Later in the process - 12 to 18 months before RapidRide is put into operation - Metro will again solicit public comments on the new service, he added.

King County Metro is asking West Seattle residents to fill out a questionnaire to find out if there is public support for the changes being planned.

An idea offered at last week's open house was to add a RapidRide stop near Alaska Street and Fauntleroy Way to serve the new housing developments being planned and built nearby.

The questionnaire can be found online at www.kingcounty.gov/kcdot

Send comments to: ellen.hansen@kingcounty.gov or call Metro's message line at 684-1146. Written comments can be mailed to: King County Dept. of Transportation, Community Relations, KSC-TR-0824, 201 S. Jackson St., Seattle WA 98104. Send comments by Feb. 1.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at (206) 932-0300 or timstc@robinsonnews.com