New Routes 109 and 209 showing strong ridership numbers

Route 109 at the Lake Stevens Transit Center

It has been three months since Community Transit launched Routes 109 and 209 to help serve the rapidly growing area of east Snohomish County – with both routes connecting at the Lake Stevens Transit Center.

A resident of Lake Stevens, I know firsthand just how congested and backed up traffic gets along Highway 9 and the trestle. It can be a nightmare. And I know I’m not the only one feeling the frustration – the evidence is in our rider numbers for these new routes.

On an average weekday, more than 250 riders take Route 109 between Lake Stevens and the Ash Way Park & Ride in Lynnwood with a big spike of people heading to Mariner Park and Ride.

Our data shows people from Lake Stevens and Snohomish are finding it easier to get into Mill Creek and Lynnwood, with more and easier connections to places such as University of Washington – Bothell. Continued growth in the east and southeast parts of the county will increase demand for this route, especially as new stops are added.

Route 109 is one of our longer local workhorse routes that covers a lot of distance with large stretches of rural area and no stops. The route was set up to help build a stronger grid of service in the east county and will continue to get stronger with more stops under development. We are working with Snohomish County and the Snohomish School District to add a pair of new stops near Glacier Peak High School, likely in mid-2017. More stops are being considered where they can be safely added.

While Route 109 moves people between Lynnwood and Lake Stevens, Route 209 serves riders further north. On an average weekday, more than 180 people are using Route 209 between Lake Stevens and the Tulalip Resort Casino near Marysville. People are traveling from the Monroe area into Marysville without going to Everett by taking Routes 109 and 209.

Route 209 outside the Tulalip Resort Casino

The real story on Route 209 is that ridership stays strong on the weekends. With hourly service on the weekends we are seeing just a small drop-off from 180 riders on weekdays to an average of 165 riders on Saturdays and around 115 riders on Sundays. Those numbers show that people are using the route for more than the Monday through Friday work commute. They’re also taking advantage of its entertainment and shopping destinations like the Tulalip Resort Casino, Seattle Premium Outlets and Cabela’s.

Route 222 was restructured in Marysville to complement the new Route 209. Route 222 now offers service to Marysville Getchell High School and the Marysville Library as well as its longstanding service to the Tulalip Hibulb Center.

Community Transit continually reviews and evaluates the needs of the riders – and that’s exactly what you see with Routes 109 and 209. If you haven’t taken a ride, I encourage you to hop onboard and see just how easy it is to get where you need to go without ‘driving’ yourself mad. 

More on our new routes here.

***Sean Christensen is a Public Information Specialist for Community Transit. He joined the company in October 2016. Sean comes from a background in media, athletics, communications, and production.***