Transit Alert - Celebrate New Year’s Eve with free rides on Metro and Seattle Streetcar service; Metro operates Sunday service on Monday, New Year’s Day

All day on New Year’s Eve, from Sunday, December 31 at 4:00 AM, to Monday, January 1 at 4:00 AM, Metro and the City of Seattle will provide free rides on all regular bus and streetcar routes, as well as on Access and DART service. Do not tap your ORCA card or pay a fare on New Year’s Eve on these services.

Regular fares are required on all Sound Transit service on Sunday, including Link light rail and Sound Transit Express buses operated by Metro, as well as on all area transit service on Monday, New Year’s Day

Downtown Bellevue - holiday traffic reroutes 
Transit reroutes continue in downtown Bellevue through Sunday, January 7, in order to to mitigate service delays due to holiday activities.

Transit GO
Transit GO mobile ticket holders with new mobile devices are reminded to transfer unused tickets before disabling old phones.

New Year’s Eve transit service
Extra buses will be added to the existing schedules of several Seattle area Metro routes to help mitigate crowded buses heading to or from New Year festivities. All riders are advised to use the regularly posted timetables for their routes to plan transit trips.  No service is being added past the normal operating times of any routes, however extra buses will be added to routes where it is needed.  Metro has recently added regularly scheduled late night service to several routes and neighborhoods, and that service will operate as scheduled.

Sound Transit Express bus service on New Year’s Eve
While a regular Sunday fare is required on all Sound Transit regional express bus (including that operated by Metro) and Link light rail service on New Year’s Eve, extra buses will be added where needed to help mitigate crowding on Metro-operated ST routes 550 and 554.

Link light rail on New Year’s Eve
Link will operate an extra hour until 2:00 AM from the downtown transit tunnel, with the last train from Angle Lake at 1:30 AM, and the last train from University of Washington Station at 2:00 AM.    

Seahawks – Sunday at 1:25 PM
Riding transit is always a great way to get to the Seahawks game as well as to any other weekend or holiday event.

Metro does not currently operate non-stop park-and-ride shuttles for Seahawks games. Riding regularly scheduled transit service is still a great way to get to and from games. Metro encourages Seahawks fans to plan ahead, allow plenty of extra time, and expect possible crowded buses or delays on transit routes that travel near CenturyLink Field.

Almost every transit route that serves downtown Seattle goes to or near the stadium. Riding Link light rail is a great way to get from south King County, the Rainier Valley, Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill and the University of Washington to Seahawks games. There is also regularly scheduled service from the locations that were formerly served by Seahawks shuttles.

Eastgate
Sound Transit Express Route 554 provides regularly scheduled direct service from Eastgate to 5th Av S at S Jackson St near CenturyLink Field.  Fans may want to consider other options such as Sound Transit Route 550.

Northgate
Metro Route 41 provides frequent service to International District/Chinatown Station near CenturyLink Field. Fans may want to consider other options, such as direct bus service from nearer to their starting points in many north Seattle and north King County neighborhoods, or north end bus service that connects with frequent, fast Link light rail service at University of Washington Station.  Metro’s Sunday service that stops near the Link station includes routes 31, 32, 43, 44, 45, 48, 65, 67, 71, 73, 75, 271 and 372.

South Kirkland
Metro Route 255 provides direct service to International District/Chinatown Station near CenturyLink Field from the Kirkland area. Fans may want to consider other options, such as Sound Transit routes 522 or 545.

New Year’s Day service
Regular Sunday fares are required on all service on Monday, New Year’s Day, after 4:00 AM. Transit will operate a Sunday schedule on New Year’s Day.

Other holiday transit service notes
Besides Metro’s Sunday schedule operation on New Year’s Day,

• The Vashon Island and West Seattle Water Taxis will not operate on Monday.
• DART routes 773 and 775 will not operate on Monday.
• The South Lake Union and First Hill streetcars will operate a Sunday schedule on Monday.

Construction
Known construction-related impacts to transit service are posted in Metro’s online Service Advisories table.  It’s a good idea to always check for a service advisory before you travel.

Transit service during unexpected or civic events
In areas where there are crowds, traffic or civic events, whether scheduled or unexpected, disrupting normal travel patterns or activities, transit riders are advised to be aware of conditions in their immediate vicinity – such as street closures, detours, police directions, etc. - and be prepared for delays or to make revisions to travel plans – such as using a different bus stop or a different route, based on specific circumstances.

During these kinds of events, be prepared for unexpectedly revised traffic or routing, and for delays in transit service. Transit riders are encouraged to know the alternate stops or routes that may be in the vicinity of their starting points and destinations.

Depending on the time and the nature of such events, Metro may not be able to provide real-time information or service updates via email or text.  Event start and end times and other details may be subject to change.

Additional information
Visit Metro’s website for complete information about Metro and regional transportation services.

Visit Metro’s Service Advisories page for information about revised bus service, routing and stops for planned events.

Visit Metro’s online or mobile regional Puget Sound Trip Planner to plan your travel, and for bus stop, schedule, predicted times at stops and other information.

Visit the King County Water Taxi site for information about regular and holiday Water Taxi operation.

Visit the Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit or Washington State Ferries websites for information about services provided by Metro’s regional transit partners.

For non-transit traffic or other local updates, check media sources, follow @seattledot or visit
- https://twitter.com/seattledot
- https://twitter.com/SeattlePD

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

Metro wishes you a good and safe New Year.