King County Metro is temporarily canceling bus routes after drivers reported a steering column problem.
A total of 126 buses, or 8% of the county’s fleet, are out of service.
The transit agency said in October and November, two drivers reported some kind of problem with the steering column, saying it just didn’t feel right.
King County Metro said workers inspected all 1,500 buses in their fleet and pulled 126 New Flyer Xcelsior models of various lengths from service.
On Thursday and Friday, Metro is suspending service on seven routes: 9, 15, 17, 18, 29, 64 and 121.
Those are mostly commuter routes where passengers have other options.
“We do apologize for the inconvenience. There’s never a good time for your coach not to come and we’re trying to make sure people can get where they need to go without too many disruptions to their schedule,” said Al Sanders of King County Metro.
Because there is no estimate for when this problem will be fixed, Metro will be announcing more cancellations next week.
The best advice for anyone who relies on the bus is to sign up for transit alerts.
Metro officials say the cost of the fix is not yet clear, but it will be covered by the bus maker.
There have been no accidents because of this problem and Metro emphasizes that the buses in operation now are safe.