Difficult Road Conditions Will Continue Snow Routing for Metro Buses on Friday

Although snow and ice may be replaced by slowly warming temperatures tomorrow, it is expected that road conditions will continue to be treacherous Friday.  So, King County Metro Transit will continue with chained buses and snow routing on Friday, Jan. 20.

Metro plans to operate the same level of service it has used since mid-week, with up to 30 routes canceled for Friday. If travel conditions improve more than expected, service on these routes could be restored. Before traveling, riders should check for the most current status of Metro service.

 Friday’s bus service will probably still be significantly disrupted and delayed, so it’s important for Metro customers to watch for updated information online or through Transit Alerts. At times today, even snow routes for some buses were impassable due to trees across roadways in many locations.

“We had constantly changing travel conditions on Thursday and throughout this week,” said Metro Transit Deputy General Manager Jim Jacobson. “I’d really like to thank our riders for their ongoing patience and understanding. And, our employees have shown outstanding dedication in transporting people safely through the snow and ice.”

Bus riders should sign up for Transit Alerts to receive notification of route cancellations or major reroutes, but also check the service status online before traveling atwww.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow. Customers can also call Metro’s Customer Information Office at206-553-3000.

Even though weather and road conditions on Friday may not be bad in your area, delays and service disruptions can occur in other parts of the county that affect bus service in your area. Buses will also be chained, which means they have to travel at slower speeds.

Here are some tips for bus travel during these conditions: 

• Know the snow routing for your bus route. Check the timetables on Metro Online for snow route maps for each route. Not every bus route has snow routing, but most do; 

• When buses are on snow routing, some streets and bus stops may be missed and there are often delays due to travel conditions. Be sure to check the snow routes for all the routes you use most often; 

• If you haven’t already, please sign up for Transit Alerts to keep up with any major changes to bus service. The alerts can be received as email or text messages. Go towww.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow to subscribe; 

• Metro uses an online color-coded map to keep riders informed of the status of its bus service, which can be found online at: www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow. All bus routes are assigned into one or more of seven geographic areas within King County. When there is snow or ice on the roads, the service status of each area will be color coded and displayed on the online map. Green indicates buses are operating on normal routes; yellow that some – but not all – routes in the area are on snow routes (primarily in higher elevation areas); and red tells you that all bus routes in the entire geographic area are on snow routing. Blue is used when the Emergency Service Network (ESN) is in place; 

• People without online access can call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000 from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays. Due to the volume of calls, there may be longer-than-normal waits on the phone;

• General information about service will also be sent out via the kcmetrobus Twitter account; 

• Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office; 

• Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather; 

• Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers; and 

• Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.