King County Metro

In 1939, a new transportation agency, the Seattle Transit System, was formed, which refinanced the remaining debt and began replacing equipment with "trackless trolleys" (as they were known) and motor buses.

[7] The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle was created by a local referendum on September 9, 1958, as a regional authority tasked with management of wastewater and water quality issues in King County.

The authority was formed after civic leaders, including those in the Municipal League, noted that solutions to regional issues were complicated by local boundaries and a plethora of existing special districts.

[8] The state legislature approved the formation of a combined transportation, sewage, and planning authority in 1957, but the countywide referendum was rejected by a majority outside of Seattle.

Metro, as the authority came to be called, was restricted to sewage management and given a smaller suburban jurisdiction ahead of the successful September referendum.

[17] After completion of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel project in 1990, attention was drawn again to developing a regional rail system.

[31][32] Since 2003, Metro has contracted with senior charities to operate the Hyde Shuttle system, which provides free rides to elderly or disabled passengers in Seattle and other cities.

[33][34] Metro formerly funded a shuttle system named Ride2 that served West Seattle and Eastgate using contracted private buses, which ended in 2019.

Metro also operates custom routes to major employment sites (like Group Health Cooperative in Tukwila and the Boeing Everett Factory).

Custom routes are also occasionally established to serve as shuttles for large local events, including Seattle Seahawks and Washington Huskies football games.

Since 2008, Metro has maintained an Emergency Snow Network plan to be implemented during major snowstorms and other periods of inclement weather.

Most stations and some stops in Downtown Seattle have ORCA card readers that allow passengers to pay before the bus arrives and board at any of the buses' three doors.

The RapidRide corridors are: Metro operates many peak-hour commuter routes serving park and rides that use 244.52 miles of the region's network of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.

[46] Metro also takes advantage of new HOV direct-access ramps and freeway stations constructed by Sound Transit to improve speed and reliability of its commuter routes.

King County Metro contracts with Hopelink to operate a weekend express shuttle between Seattle and hiking areas in the Cascade foothills called Trailhead Direct from April to October.

The flat rate of $2.75 for adults and $1 for senior, disabled and qualified low-income passengers[57] replaced a previous system with two zones—divided between Seattle and the rest of the county—and peak period surcharges.

[59][60] Fares can be paid using cash, a paper transfer, the e-purse or passes on ORCA cards, or the Transit Go smartphone app.

It formerly carried bus traffic alongside light rail trains, stopping at a fifth station in the north and connecting to the SODO Busway in the south.

[67] Crews lowered the roadway to match the height of Central Link's low-floor light rail vehicles, replaced the overhead trolley wire with catenary wire, and built a stub tunnel where trains could reverse direction and allowed for construction of the University Link extension to the north (which was completed in 2016).

[72] By 1988, it had 37 lots across King County, mostly concentrated on the Eastside, and monitored property crimes with a team of four police officers and hired guards.

[77] Following the 2024 stabbing of an operator in the University District, Metro proposed the adoption of separate compartments for bus drivers in newer buses that are scheduled to arrive in 2026.

[78] The adopted 2025 budget for King County allocated $2.12 billion to Metro for operating and capital expenses related to its transit services.

[83] The sales tax is Metro's primary funding source, comprising 55.8 percent of anticipated revenue in 2025, followed by payments from Sound Transit.

[85] A 2016 lawsuit from the American Freedom Defense Initiative was decided in Metro's favor by the Ninth Circuit of Appeals and was declined to be heard by the United States Supreme Court.

[87] Metro's higher-than-average cost per boarding can be at least partially attributed to its high percentage of commuter routes, which run at peak hours only, and often only in one direction at a time.

[91] Collaborating with several local jurisdictions, Metro was an early adopter of Transit Signal Priority (TSP), a system that can extend green lights to allow buses to get through.

It will also be used in conjunction with GPS technology to provide frequent and accurate location updates for next bus arrival signs at RapidRide stations.

[101] The buses are painted in separate colors based on their vehicle type and intended services, with purple reserved for electric trolleybuses and red for RapidRide.

The current livery and color scheme was adopted in 2004 and is intended to be replaced in 2025 with the introduction of a larger battery electric fleet.

[2] In 1979, the agency ordered some of the first wheelchair lift equipped coaches in the nation,[105][106] promising a completely new level of independence for disabled residents.

Seattle Street Railway 's first streetcar at Occidental Avenue and Yesler Way with Mayor John Leary and city officials in the fall of 1884
A Downtown Seattle bus stop on Pine Street with a sign for the Magic Carpet zone, 1975
RapidRide bus running on the C Line in West Seattle
King Country Metro bus (which no longer run in the tunnel) passing a Link light rail train at Symphony Station in 2010