Light rail to Lynnwood means big changes for Community Transit
Aug 13, 2024, 6:00 AM | Updated: 11:34 am
A Link light rail train stopped at the Lynnwood Center Station during service testing. (Photo: Peter Bohler, courtesy of Sound Transit)
(Photo: Peter Bohler, courtesy of Sound Transit)
Transit riders are rejoicing at the opening of Sound Transit’s light rail expansion into Lynnwood, but it will come with a price for thousands of bus riders in Snohomish County.
When trains start rolling into Lynnwood on Sept. 1, Community Transit bus riders will have about two weeks to make sure they know where to find their buses. The 48-year-old transit agency is eliminating 22 bus routes, changing the schedules on 24 other routes and creating 10 new routes, all as a direct result of light rail making it to Snohomish County.
“This is the largest restructure of our local network since the agency was founded, Community Transit’s Chris Simmons said. “From that standpoint, we’d really encourage every rider in Snohomish County to take a look at their trips ahead of time. Think about some different ways that they can do things.”
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All these changes go into effect about two weeks after the trains start rolling, on Sept. 14.
One of the biggest changes is that Community Transit will no longer provide service to Seattle or Northgate. Anyone wanting to go that far south will have to catch a bus that goes to the Lynnwood light rail station and catch a train.
That’s where all southbound service will be directed.
“The rail is going to be able to provide much more in the way of seating and trips than we ever could as a bus agency trying to send all these trips up and down I-5,” Simmons said.
It’s all about efficiency and providing as much access throughout the county as the agency can.
“What we’ve done is we’ve created many more pathways to allow people to make their trips, not just in those commute periods, but frankly, on an all-day connection, to be able to travel between your area to the east of Mill Creek, or, frankly, all the way up in my area, in Arlington, to be able to make those trips using light rail,” Simmons said.
Community Transit is encouraging every rider to check their current trips against the upcoming schedule to make sure they aren’t caught off guard when the changes happen. All you have to do is check the trip planner and put in your route.
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But Simmons said there’s one important catch.
“If you’re a commuter and you’re worried about what’s going to happen the Monday after the service change, put in Sept. 16 and figure out what’s going on with your trip,” he said.
You have to put in a date after the service change to make sure you have the most up-to-date information.
Community Transit will also implement new fares on Sept. 14. $2.50 for all adult fares. $1.25 for the discounted fares, for those who qualify.
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