Aurora Bus Service Improvements

Revised May 18, 2005

King County Metro Transit, in partnership with the City of Seattle, has provided bus service enhancements for faster and more reliable bus service for the Aurora Corridor between North 145th Street and downtown Seattle.

What has been done?

• Increased Bus Frequency - In September of 2003, Metro increased the frequency of the Route 358 on Aurora. Peak hour service is every 5-10 minutes; midday and evening service was increased to every 15-20 minutes and service on weekends to 15 minutes on Saturday and 20 minutes on Sunday.
  
  
• Reliable Service - Also in 2003, the City of Seattle, increased the speed and reliability of transit by providing a Business Access and Transit (BAT) lane during the morning commute, southbound from North 62nd Street to North 38th Street. This outside lane of the roadway is designated for transit vehicles as well as traffic taking right turns into or out of properties along Aurora. The improvement has made taking the bus more reliable and saves a minute per trip for every bus rider, or 2,740 person hours annually in just the morning commute. In 2002, we installed transit signal priority at key intersections to improve transit service.
  
  
• Attractive, Well Lit Boarding Areas - New bus shelters, lighting and litter receptacles have been installed throughout the corridor. This makes bus stops safer and more pleasant for passengers.
  
  
• Customer Information - Electronic reader boards at North 46th Street tell transit riders when the next bus will be arriving.

How does a BAT Lane work?
BAT lanes are created to save time for bus riders by enabling buses to bypass the areas of heaviest traffic congestion. Moving buses and right turning vehicles into a BAT lane increases capacity in existing lanes of traffic, enabling more people to move through this busy corridor.

What does a BAT lane look like?
For the most part, a BAT lane looks like a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane with a large diamond or "bus only" painted on the pavement. The difference is that BAT lanes are for buses only (carpools or vanpools are not allowed). Signs indicate that vehicles are permitted to use a BAT lane when entering or exiting an adjacent property or intersection. There is currently a northbound BAT lane on Aurora from North 110th Street to North 145th Street.