Transit Alert – Starting 12/19 there will be more bus stop announcements & volume adjustments on-board Metro buses

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 12/18/2015 03:31 PM PST

Beginning Saturday, December 19, riders on 80 more Metro and Metro-operated Sound Transit bus routes will hear announcements for all scheduled stops instead of intermittent announcements as has previously been the case. This is in addition to the 20 routes that were updated in November.  

Also on Saturday, external announcements will be automatically muted at stops served by only one route. Then, during the week of December 21, volumes for external route and destination announcements will be adjusted to improve service for transit customers with visual disabilities on approximately 50 test coaches.  Full fleet updates to meet volume needs for all transit customers will occur after this initial test.

Improved on-board stop, route and destination announcements will meet or exceed Federal Transit Administration requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and will benefit all riders. An on-site FTA audit in 2014 found deficiencies in Metro’s compliance with ADA regulations on stop and route announcements. Metro is committed to making route, stop and destination information fully accessible to all riders.

Routes that will have internal announcements at all stops starting December 19 are: Metro routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 48, 50, 60, 65, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 101, 102, 105, 106, 107, 113, 120, 121, 218, 150, 153, 166, 167, 179, 180, 187, 190, 200, 201, 208, 212, 214, 216, 221, 224, 226, 242, 244, 255, 271, 277, 301, 308, 312, 342, 345, 355, 373, Group Health Express, 891, 892, 980, 981, 995, RapidRide C, D and E lines, and Metro-operated Sound Transit Express routes 522, 540, 542 and 545.    

In the coming months, King County Metro Transit will phase in comprehensive on-board stop announcements on all routes to ensure that riders with disabilities and others who may need the information are consistently better served.

Thank you for riding and for using Metro’s services.