King County Metro is resuming dozens of routes Monday after the coronavirus pandemic forced service cutbacks.
Twenty-three routes that were canceled or reduced in March or April are resuming. Water taxi services are also increasing.
This will return Metro to 85% of its pre-coronavirus service level.
King County Metro says ridership is still 70% lower than this time last year, but they are resuming routes even with lower demand as it allows people to distance on board.
Fares are still not being collected. Riders still need to board at middle or back doors unless they need to access the ADA area or required boarding assistance.
Metro says some of these changes may be short term.
It’s expecting a loss of $280 million dollars this year from sales tax revenue and fare collections. More changes will come this September, and they will include cuts and suspensions to routes, as well as workforce.
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