King County Metro Transit has increased bus service thanks to a transit initiative recently approved by voters.

In the Ballard area, Transit Now will finance added service to the Route 44 between Ballard, Wallingford and the University District. Metro will be increasing early evening service on the Route 44 on weekdays to achieve a 15-minute frequency.

The Transit Now sales-tax increase passed at the polls in November, and will allow Metro to increase bus service in King County by up to 20 percent over the next 10 years. The Transit Now funded improvements in the February service change increase bus trips on nine heavily used routes.

It is just the first of several years of bus service improvements funded by the increase of one-tenth of 1 percent in the county sales tax. As the sales tax revenues become available, Metro will proceed with plans to purchase more buses for additional regular route improvements, and also continue to develop plans for bus rapid transit service - dubbed "RapidRide" - in five key corridors.

In addition to the "Transit Now" funded improvements, Metro is also making other adjustments to bus schedules as part of the February service change. Metro updates its routes and scheduling three times a year to improve service and keep up with the changing needs of transit passengers.

Passengers can find all the February changes detailed in the Special Rider Alert brochure now available on buses and in Metro information racks. New purple timetables are also in those locations, and online information is now in Metro's Online Trip Planner at http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov. Enter a travel date for Feb. 10 or later to find trips that reflect Metro's changed service.

Ron Sims

King County Executive

Department of Transportation