COVID-19 Response: King County Metro and Sound Transit Reduce Services
March 24, 2020
As coronavirus continues to impact King County, King County Metro and Sound Transit modify services to adapt.
King County Metro and Sound Transit are making changes to their services in response to COVID-19. Both agencies cite sharp declines in ridership and staff shortages as being a motivator behind the changes.
King County Metro and
Sound Transit are not collecting fares during this time. The agencies encourage riders to board and exit buses using the rear doors whenever possible.
King County Metro announced that buses will begin a reduced schedule starting March 23, 2020. Metro shared that these reductions mean that "buses run less frequently throughout the day. Some bus service may also start later in the morning and end earlier in the evening. Some routes will not operate and nearly all routes have individual trip cancellations." View this post to learn more
about the exact routes and rides changed by this decision. These service changes also mean that trip planning applications may not provide accurate information. Instead, riders can use Metro text departures
to stay updated on running services by texting a bus stop ID to 62550.
Sound Transit also announced the reduction of services on Link light rail, Sounder trains, and some ST Express routes. Click here
or here
to learn more about the specific service changes each mode will undergo. Sound Transit similarly states that trip planning applications may not be synced, and suggests riders sign up for rider alerts.
Both changes come alongside previously scheduled service changes that either agencies were implementing.
To learn more about the way transportation and mobility services are adapting to coronavirus concerns, contact Nathan Emory, Regional Alliance for Resilient and Equitable Transit (RARET) Workgroup Coordinator, at NEmory@hopelink.org. You can also subscribe
to RARET weekly updates on service changes.
Mobility News
Stories Shape Systems
What is Find a Ride Phase 2? Hopelink Mobility is currently developing the Phase 2 of our One-Call/One-Click program, Find a Ride . Find a Ride already serves as a comprehensive database of transit and specialized transportation services across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, along with a trip planner that incorporates those services. In Phase 2, we plan to expand this program by creating a way for Find a Ride users to check their eligibility for several of these services at once. To learn more about Find a Ride Phase 2, read the Find a Ride Phase 2 Readiness blog post or this document explaining the project! Hack for Social Impact Hack for Social Impact is, in their own words, “A 501(c)(3) tech non-profit organization dedicated to solving real-world challenges by connecting engineers and data scientists with non-profits, NGOs, and civic organizations.” Their flagship event is an annual hackathon where nonprofits bring live technology problems for participants to tackle. In April 2026, Hack for Social Impact hosted a hackathon in Seattle in partnership with the Women in Tech Regatta . Hopelink brought Find a Ride Phase 2 as a challenge for the participants, asking them to find a way to streamline eligibility determination processes and applications for transportation services in the Puget Sound Region. More details on this challenge, and our vision for Phase 2, can be find in the Find a Ride “Hack-Pack.” Outputs: Two teams took on the Find a Ride Phase 2 challenge and dedicated several hours to reimagining how people across the Puget Sound region enroll in specialized transportation services. Each took their own unique approach to developing a framework for Phase 2. Hopelink Team - This team focused on the rider experience from intake to approval. Their solution centers on a single application that instantly shows users which services they qualify for, complete with match scores and plain-language explanations for any services they don't qualify for. Key features include: Instant eligibility checking with a match score for each available service One centralized application submitted to individual services for review Upfront document requirements so riders know what they need before they apply Admin dashboard for Hopelink staff to manage vendors, track applications, and access data insights — such as why users declined certain services Client-side application tracker for services with longer approval timelines RideReady Team – This team took a bigger-picture approach, tackling the fragmentation across the nonprofit rideshare landscape. Rather than improving one intake flow, they proposed a statewide verification platform — verify your eligibility once with Hopelink, then use that credential to access dozens of partner organizations, much like logging into a website with your Google account. Key features include: "Verify once, use everywhere" — a single sign-on model compatible with partner rideshare organizations across Washington state Multi-language support — 6 languages available on the web interface, and 57 via a built-in voice chat assistant Voice chat assistant designed for accessibility, particularly for elderly riders and non-English speakers Results: The RideReady team won the Hackathon with their vision of Find a Ride Phase 2! Click here to see the site that they created. This site is a prototype and is meant to serve as proof of concept. The Find a Ride team will be taking insights into consideration from both projects as we develop Phase 2 but will ultimately continue to prioritize input from our partners. What made this hackathon so valuable wasn't just the quality of individual solutions — it was seeing two different teams independently confirm that the same core problems need solving: too much repeated data entry, unclear eligibility, and barriers that make accessing transportation harder than it needs to be. The ideas these teams prototyped, along with feedback from our dedicated partners, will inform how we shape Find a Ride Phase 2. We're grateful to Hack for Social Impact, the Women in Tech Regatta, and every participant who brought their expertise to this challenge. Stay tuned for more updates as Phase 2 continues to take shape! To learn more about Find a Ride Phase 2, read the Find a Ride Phase 2 Readiness blog post on the KCMobility website or join us at a Find a Ride Advisory meeting! For an invite, reach out to Grace Georgitsis at ggeorgitsis@hopelink.org, or by phone at 425-625-6836.
Thursday, May 21st 5:00-8:00pm, North Bend City Hall
With the support of two vendors, Anthro-Tech and Cambridge Systematics, and incorporating feedback from our Mobility Team, various Mobility Coalition Partners and individuals with disabilities, we are excited to bring you an updated version of Find a Ride.
Your Story Matters
Read the full 10-page report here: RARET Flooding 2025 Transportation Report
The Find a Ride Communications Toolkit contains information to share on your social media channels and to promote Find a Ride’s Trip Planner throughout Puget Sound at in-person events.
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