Service hours added to eliminate overcrowding on Route 44

Route 44, the main east/west bus between Ballard and the U District, is one of nearly a dozen Metro routes that will be getting more service hours starting in June. The changes approved by the King County Council will allocate service hours to higher-performing bus routes, reduce service on five routes and eliminate ten other routes.

“These transit service reinvestments eliminate lesser-used transit routes in order to add service to highly used routes with unmet demand,” said Larry Phillips, chair of the Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee. “King County leaders are working to make Metro as cost-effective as possible in order to keep productive transit service on the street during these difficult financial times.”

Route 44 will get 1,300 more service hours annually starting in June of this year. Leah Zoppi in Councilmember Larry Phillips office tells us this change will probably mean an additional route during peak ridership times.