Route 41 (King County Metro)

Route 41 was an express

The route was created in 1970 by the city-run

Route 41 was moved to the downtown transit tunnel in 1991, and expanded into an all-day route in 2002. It became one of the busiest routes operated by King County Metro, with over 10,000 daily riders. The service was moved out of the downtown tunnel in 2019 and was retired on October 2, 2021, with the opening of Link light rail service to Northgate.

Route

Route 41 began in the

Route 41 ran at a frequency of 6 minutes during peak hours on weekdays, and 15 to 20 minutes at other times. Some trips were truncated to Northgate instead of serving Lake City.^[2] In spring 2015, Metro estimated that 10,000 daily riders used route 41 on weekdays.^[4]

Connections

Route 41 was the trunk service for North Seattle, connecting with local buses at

Increasing congestion on Interstate 5 and declining bus ridership led city officials to propose a rapid transit service using the freeway's reversible express lanes. In 1966, the federal government approved planning of an express bus service, named "Blue Streak" by Seattle Transit, that would use the express lanes between Northeast 110th Street and Cherry Street in Downtown Seattle.^[9][10]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $1.03 million (equivalent to $6.89 million in 2023 dollars)^[11] in January 1968 to Seattle Transit to develop the Blue Streak project,^[12] but the launch was delayed by a shortage in suitable buses.^[13] In May, HUD awarded a further $2.39 million (equivalent to $16 million in 2023 dollars)^[11] to purchase 70 diesel buses, which were delivered in November.^[14][15]

The continued financial problems with Seattle Transit put the Blue Streak program in jeopardy, leading to calls to suspend the program before it launched.^[16] Service was originally slated to begin in 1968, and delays led to the federal government establishing a deadline in early 1969 for a city decision on whether to move forward.^[17] A park and ride lot in Northgate was secured in August 1969, settling the demands of the federal government.^[18] The United States Department of Transportation approved $2 million (equivalent to $13.4 million in 2023 dollars)^[11] in operating funds for Blue Streak in January 1970, providing two-thirds of the system's operating budget for the first two years of service.^[19]

Blue Streak service on Route 41 began on September 8, 1970, traveling on local streets between Sand Point, Lake City and Northgate Mall, and proceeding onto Interstate 5 non-stop to Downtown Seattle. Blue Streak buses were given exclusive use of the Columbia and Cherry ramps on the Interstate 5 reversible express lanes, as well as a bus-only lane on 5th Avenue.^[20] Buses traveled primarily on 3rd Avenue through Downtown, heading northbound during morning inbound trips and southbound during afternoon outbound trips towards Northgate.^[21] Buses ran at a frequency of 7 to 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays.^[22] The trip between Northgate and downtown took an average of 15 minutes, and took near-full busloads on the first day.^[23] The 22 buses on Blue Streak service were initially colored red, but were later repainted blue to match the branding.^[17]

US Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe praised the Blue Streak system during a speech on opening day, calling the express buses "an example [of] imaginative, innovative use of existing transportation facilities and equipment".^[24] The Blue Streak experiment attracted interest from mass transit advocates and officials from across the nation.^[25] The Blue Streak system was expanded to other routes in the 1970s and served as the model for modern park-and-ride express service in the Seattle metropolitan area and across the United States.^[26] In its first year of service, Blue Streak routes increased ridership in North Seattle amid an overall decline in Seattle Transit ridership.^[27]

Seattle Transit general manager Lloyd Garber said that demand for parking was higher than expected and that it was too early to analyze ridership;^[23] after the first week of service, Seattle Transit began surveying riders to determine whether motorists had been lured by the new service.^[28] The study determined that 75 percent of surveyed patrons had switched from their personal automobiles, and that Blue Streak was responsible for a decrease of 400 vehicles on Interstate 5 at rush hour.^[29] By late October, demand at the Northgate park and ride prompted the State Highway Department to offer funding for an auxiliary lot.^[30]

Seattle Transit cancelled Saturday service on the Blue Streak routes in March 1971, citing low patronage and the near-empty parking lot at Northgate.^[31]

Metro Transit

After a countywide public transit system was approved by voters on September 19, 1972,

A major restructure of Northeast Seattle service occurred in 2002 to accommodate the new Sound Transit Express route 522 from Seattle to Woodinville via the State Route 522 corridor. As part of the restructure, route 307 was eliminated and replaced by route 522 as well as increased service on route 41, which was extended to Lake City and given service 7 days a week with frequencies as high as 15 minutes at midday on weekdays.^[41][42]

Beginning in September 2005, the downtown transit tunnel was closed for renovations to accommodate light rail service. Route 41, the tunnel's most popular bus route,^[43] was routed onto surface streets within Downtown Seattle, primarily using 3rd Avenue between Jackson and Virginia streets until the tunnel reopened in September 2007.^[44][45][46] Buses were permanently removed from the downtown transit tunnel on March 23, 2019, as construction at Convention Place station had severed access to the north portal.^[47] Route 41 was relocated onto 3rd Avenue, serving stops near the transit tunnel stations, as well as Olive Way and Stewart Street.^[48] In July 2019, inbound southbound buses were moved from Stewart Street to Union Street to reduce morning travel times by 10 minutes.^[49]

Route 41 was permanently retired on October 2, 2021, following the extension of Link light rail service to Northgate Transit Center. The express portion was replaced by the Link 1 Line, while the local portion was replaced by a realignment of Route 75.^[50][51]

References