February will bring a bevy of bus changes for Capitol Hill area riders — including a brand new route 309 serving as an express between Lake City Way and North Seattle and First Hill’s Boren Ave — as Metro transitions service across its entire system with longterm construction in downtown Seattle and preparations for the start of tolling on the 520 bridge this spring. Here is Metro’s explanation for the adjustments:

Metro is making some scheduling changes to reduce costs, preserve bus service, and operate more efficiently. You may notice some differences in the schedule for your route, along with longer wait times for transfers or different spacing between bus trips. Unfortunately, due to reduced sales-tax revenue for transit, Metro also had to delete some trips on some routes. These reductions were chosen to minimize the disruption to service.

Some of the changes for Capitol Hill routes are part of these efforts to reduce service and are relatively minor — though, of course, for somebody who is a regular rider of, for example, route 10 at a specific time, any change is significant. Metro changes for routes 10 and 14 are noted below in the announcement from King County. Details say 10 is losing one early morning and one late night run while the 14 is also losing one run a day and has some schedule adjustments.

These cuts are likely only a sign of things to come over the next two years as Metro faces a budget situation that some are saying will require cutting the equivalent of 15 routes from the system. We last wrote about the shortfall in November.

Also starting February 5th, the new route 309 will carry commuters traveling between northeast Seattle and First Hill. You can learn about it and changes for all routes affected by this round of Metro updates on this Service Changes page.

Later in February, Metro will also increase the service of route 255 across the 520 bridge in preparation for the start of electronic tolling later this year. Seattle Transit Blog has reported studies that show transit demand is expected to rise between 15 and 35% when 520 tolling starts.

Here’s the announcement from Metro. More at http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/scvchange.html

Metro updating bus service starting Feb. 5

New Route 309 provides new connections to First Hill

Starting Saturday, Feb. 5, King County Metro Transit is updating its bus service. This includes routing and bus stop changes for approximately two dozen bus routes from various areas of the county that pass through downtown Seattle. The downtown changes are designed to keep people moving during the long-term construction along the Seattle waterfront and SODO area.

That’s not the only change coming up in February. Bus riders across Metro’s service area should check winter schedules for the routes they use most often to see what’s new. They can prepare by picking up a new blue timetable and the Special Rider Alert brochure, which is also posted on Metro Online. Or, use the online Trip Planner for some advance research. Be sure to input a date of Feb. 5 or later, when using the Trip Planner.

Here are the highlights of the February changes for bus service in the Capitol Hill area:

•    New Route 309 will connect Kenmore with First Hill via Lake City and South Lake Union with commute-time express service;

•    Select trips will be deleted on routes 10 and 14, and there are schedule changes for the Route 14. Check the blue timetables or online Trip Planner for details;

•    In downtown Seattle, there are other bus routes shifting from First Avenue to Third Avenue; from Third Avenue to Second/Fourth avenues; and new bus stop locations on Third Avenue for several routes. This affects several local routes traveling into downtown; and

•    Route 99 will loop to travel north on First Avenue and south on Alaskan Way in Seattle, and buses will no longer be “wrapped” to look like the old waterfront streetcars.

Metro updates its routes and scheduling three times a year to improve service and keep up with the changing needs of transit customers.

Beyond bus service, Metro’s Rideshare Services provides resources for carpooling, vanpooling or vansharing. Carpooling and vanpooling match people traveling to common destinations. VanShare helps those who need to make a connection to or from bus service. You can VanShare from home and connect to your bus, or use VanShare from the bus stop or park-and-ride lot to complete a trip to work.

For information about all the services Metro provides, visit Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or call Metro Customer Information at (206) 553-3000.