2024 is poised to be Puget Sound’s biggest transit year in decades

In 2024, the Seattle, WA area will be seeing 12 new light rail stations (two separate extension projects: East Link and Lynnwood) and two new bus rapid transit lines ("Swift" Orange and "RapidRide" G).

Light rail East Link Starter Line:

Sometime in the spring, Sound Transit expects to start service between eight light rail stations in Bellevue and Redmond that are part of the planned 2 Line, with full service across the lake into Seattle and up to Lynnwood planned to start later, in 2025.

Service along the line will consist of two-car trains to accommodate lower ridership than is expected from the full 2 Line, operating for 16 hours per day, or from approximately 6am to 10pm. Until the full 2 Line opens, Sound Transit will continue to operate express bus service between Seattle and the Eastside connecting to the abbreviated 2 Line. Riders can catch a 550 to South Bellevue station or a 545 to Redmond Technology Center from downtown Seattle, or a 542 from the University District to Redmond. Other changes to bus routes planned for the Eastside will also be delayed to 2025.

Light rail Lynnwood Link:

Four new stations north of Northgate that make up Lynnwood Link will add service into Snohomish County, with stations in Shoreline at both 148th Street and 185th Street, in Mountlake Terrace, and in Lynnwood. This expansion has been long anticipated but isn’t expected to come without some growing pains.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Swift Orange Line:

Running from Edmonds College on the Edmonds/Lynnwood border with McCollum Park and Ride on the Mill Creek/Everett border, the [Swift Orange Line] will provide direct rapid bus service at the front door of the future Lynnwood light rail station, connecting directly to the Swift Green Line in one direction and the Swift Blue Line in the other.

While the primary value in the line will be the increased frequency of buses, off-board payment and all-door boarding, the project does include some business-access-and-transit (BAT) lanes to speed up buses that might otherwise get stuck in traffic. [...] “The new line will be about 11 miles long and offer 13 stations or station stop pairs. [...] Community Transit plans to operate the Orange Line with a large span of service and on weekdays regular daytime service will be every 10 to 12 minutes. [...] During early morning, nights, and on weekends, service will be less frequent as every 15 to 20 minutes.”

Later in the year, Community Transit will connect the Blue Line, which currently terminates at Aurora transit center in Shoreline, to the 185th Street Station in Shoreline, providing another direct connection to light rail.

BRT RapidRide G Line:

Set for next fall is King County Metro’s eighth RapidRide frequent bus line, the G Line. The closest to gold-standard bus rapid transit that Metro has tried to implement, the $130 million project will connect downtown Seattle with First Hill, Capitol Hill, and Madison Valley with very frequent buses throughout most of the day — every six minutes between 6am and 7pm.

After 7pm and on Sundays, service levels will drop to every 15 minutes, not quite hitting the mark of an all-day network.

With the exception of the Madison Valley segment of the route and a few blocks downtown, the G Line will operate in its own dedicated right-of-way, with center-running bus lanes on First Hill that will keep buses fully separated from turning vehicles. Riders will enter and exit buses along this stretch on median islands in the middle of the street, and new 5-door diesel buses (not trolleys) sourced from New Flyer will allow boarding from either side, depending on the stop.