Sound Transit Express
Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses operated by the multi-county transit agency Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) in the Puget Sound region. Sound Transit Express ranks first in the nation in the number of commuter bus passengers carried and in vehicle miles driven. The first nine routes and 114 buses began carrying passengers on September 19, 1999. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 9,809,600, or about 31,100 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2025. Unlike a typical transit bus service, Sound Transit Express routes typically make limited stops as they travel longer distances on the freeways. Most routes operate seven days a week, with runs throughout the day. Where available, buses use transit-only lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, high-occupancy toll lanes, express lanes, bus bypass shoulders, and direct access ramps to speed travel times. While Sound Transit oversees, plans, and funds the service, operation and maintenance of the buses is contracted out to Community Transit (who subcontracts with Transdev), King County Metro and Pierce Transit.
 | |
 A double-decker Sound Transit Express bus on Route 513 at Mountlake Terrace Freeway Station | |
| Parent | Sound Transit |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
| Locale | Puget Sound region |
| Service area | King, Pierce, and Snohomish |
| Service type | Express bus service |
| Routes | 24 |
| Hubs | 8 |
| Fleet | 312 buses |
| Daily ridership | 31,100 (weekdays, Q4 2025)[1] |
| Annual ridership | 9,809,600 (2025)[2] |
| Fuel type | CNG, Diesel, and Diesel-electric hybrid |
| Operator | Community Transit, King County Metro, and Pierce Transit |
| Website | www.soundtransit.org |
Sound Transit Express (ST Express) is a network of regional express buses operated by the multi-county transit agency Sound Transit. The routes connect major regional hubs throughout 53 cities in three counties (King, Pierce, and Snohomish) in the Puget Sound region. Sound Transit Express ranks first in the nation in the number of commuter bus passengers carried and in vehicle miles driven.[3] The first nine routes and 114 buses began carrying passengers on September 19, 1999.[4][5] In 2025, the system had a ridership of 9,809,600, or about 31,100 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2025.
Unlike a typical transit bus service, Sound Transit Express routes typically make limited stops as they travel longer distances on the freeways. Most routes operate seven days a week, with runs throughout the day. Where available, buses use transit-only lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, high-occupancy toll lanes, express lanes, bus bypass shoulders,[6] and direct access ramps to speed travel times.
While Sound Transit oversees, plans, and funds the service, operation and maintenance of the buses is contracted out to Community Transit (who subcontracts with Transdev), King County Metro and Pierce Transit.[7]
Fares
[edit]ST Express uses a flat fare system, where each ride costs the same regardless of distance.
The fares are as follows:
| Fare type | All | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | $3.00 | |
| Senior (65+) / Disabled / Medicare (Regional Reduced Fare Permit required) |
$1.00 | |
| Low-income (ORCA LIFT card required) |
$1.00 | |
| Youth (6–18 years) |
Free | |
| Children (0–5 years, with fare paying passenger) |
Free | |
Paper transfers are not accepted or issued on Sound Transit routes. Passengers who use ORCA may transfer between ST routes or routes operated by most other agencies within two hours of initial payment. If the fare for the second route is higher, the difference will be charged.
Sound Transit reduced the fare to match Link Light Rail fare in March 2025 [8]
Routes
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24 Sound Transit Express bus routes are overseen by the agency.[9] Buses are operated under contract by King County Metro, Pierce Transit and Community Transit (who subcontracts with Transdev).[10] When Sound Transit implements a new bus route, changes are frequently made to existing routes that serve the area to avoid overlapping.
The ST Express routes and operators as of March 28, 2026[update] are:[11]
| Route | Off-peak service | Weekend service | Start | Via | End | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 510 | No (use route 512) |
No (use route 512) |
Downtown Seattle | I-5, South Everett Freeway Station, Mountlake Terrace Freeway Station | Everett Station
Downtown Everett (select trips only) |
Community Transit |
| 512 | Yes | Yes | Lynnwood City Center Station | Ash Way Park & Ride, South Everett Freeway Station | ||
| 513 | No | No | Ash Way Park & Ride, Eastmont Park & Ride | Seaway Transit Center | ||
| 515 | No | No | I-5, Mountlake Terrace Freeway Station | Downtown Seattle | ||
| 522 | Yes | Yes | Roosevelt Station | Lake City Way, Bothell Way NE, Ballinger Way, Kenmore Park & Ride | University of Washington, Bothell/Cascadia College
Woodinville Park & Ride (select trips only) |
King County Metro |
| 532 | No (use routes 535 & 512) |
No | Downtown Bellevue | Bellevue Transit Center, Totem Lake Freeway Station, Brickyard Freeway Station (reverse peak only), I-405 & NE 195th (reverse peak only), Canyon Park Park & Ride, Ash Way Park & Ride, South Everett Freeway Station | Everett Station | Community Transit |
| 535 | Yes | Saturday only | Bellevue Transit Center, Totem Lake Freeway Station, Brickyard Freeway Station, Bothell Park & Ride, University of Washington, Bothell/Cascadia College, Canyon Park Park & Ride, Alderwood Mall | Lynnwood Transit Center | ||
| 542 | Yes | Yes | U District Station | University of Washington, University of Washington Station, Evergreen Point Freeway Station, Yarrow Point Freeway Station, Overlake Transit Center, SR 520 & NE 51st Freeway Station, Downtown Redmond | Redmond Transit Center | King County Metro |
| 545 | Yes | Yes | Downtown Seattle | Capitol Hill (select trips), Montlake Freeway Station (closed since 2019),[12] Evergreen Point Freeway Station, Yarrow Point Freeway Station, Overlake Transit Center, SR 520 & NE 51st Freeway Station, Downtown Redmond, Redmond Transit Center | Bear Creek Park & Ride | |
| 550 | Yes | Yes | Mercer Island Park & Ride, South Bellevue Park & Ride, Bellevue, Bellevue Transit Center | Bellevue (Library) | ||
| 554 | Yes | Yes | Mercer Island Park & Ride, Eastgate Freeway Station, Issaquah Transit Center, Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride | Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride
Redmond (185th Avenue NE & Redmond/Fall City Road, select weekday trips only) | ||
| 556 | No | No | U District Station | University District (Seattle), University of Washington, University of Washington Station, Evergreen Point Freeway Station, Yarrow Point Freeway Station, Bellevue Transit Center, South Bellevue Park & Ride, Eastgate Freeway Station, Issaquah Transit Center | Issaquah Highlands Park & Ride | |
| 560 | Yes | Yes | Bellevue Transit Center | Newport Hills Park & Ride, Kennydale Freeway Station, Renton, Renton Transit Center, Sea-Tac Airport, SeaTac/Airport Station, Burien Transit Center | Westwood Village | Pierce Transit |
| 566 | Yes | No | Redmond Technology Station (select trips)
State Route 520 & NE 40th St (select trips) |
Bellevue Transit Center, Newport Hills Park & Ride (off peak only), Kennydale Freeway Station (off peak only), Renton, Renton Transit Center, Kent Station (select trips), Auburn Park & Ride (select trips) | Kent Station (select trips)
Auburn Transit Center |
King County Metro |
| 570 (owl route) | Yes | Yes | Downtown Seattle | Tukwila International Boulevard Station | SeaTac/Airport Station | |
| 574 | Yes | Yes | Sea-Tac Airport | SeaTac/Airport Station, Kent/Des Moines Freeway Station, Star Lake Freeway Station, Federal Way Transit Center, Tacoma Dome Station, SR 512 Park & Ride | Lakewood Transit Center | Pierce Transit |
| 577 | Yes | Yes | Downtown Seattle | I-5 | Federal Way Transit Center | |
| 578 | Yes | Yes | Federal Way Transit Center, Auburn Station, Sumner Station | Puyallup Station | ||
| 580 | No | No | Puyallup Station | 9th St SW | South Hill Park and Ride | |
| 586 | No | No | University District (Seattle) | University of Washington Medical Center, SR 520, I-5, Federal Way Transit Center | Tacoma Dome Station | |
| 590 | No (use route 594) |
No (use route 594) |
Downtown Seattle | SODO Busway, Tacoma Dome Station | Tacoma Dome Station
Downtown Tacoma (one early morning trip only) | |
| 592 | No | No | SR 512 Park & Ride, Lakewood Station | DuPont Station | ||
| 594 | Yes | Yes | SODO Busway, Tacoma Dome Station, University of Washington Tacoma, Downtown Tacoma, SR 512 Park & Ride | Lakewood Station
DuPont Station (select trips only) | ||
| 595 | No | No | SODO Busway, Tacoma Community College Transit Center, Narrows Park & Ride, Kimball Drive Park & Ride | Gig Harbor (Purdy Park & Ride) | ||
| 596 | No | No | Sumner Station | SR 410 | Bonney Lake Park & Ride |
Fleet
[edit]Sound Transit owns a fleet of 360 buses[13] operated by three different local transit agencies. Sound Transit buses are painted white with aqua, turquoise, and blue waves along the sides, representing the Puget Sound region ST Express serves, and most feature a freely-adapted representation of the Sound Transit bus and train system map on the seating fabric.
Occasionally, vehicles that are not in Sound Transit livery are used on Sound Transit routes by the operating agencies. Also, Sound Transit vehicles may also be used by the local agencies for other commuter routes. This is due to vehicles having mechanical problems, vehicle allocation issues, and assignment errors.
| Manufacturer and model | Image | Length | Passengers | Purchased | Qty | Fleet numbers | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Flyer DE60LF | 
|
60' | 56 (seated) | 2008 | 2[14] | 9622–9623 | King County Metro |
| 2010 | 13[14] | 9624–9636 | |||||
| Motor Coach Industries D4500CL | 
|
45'[15] | 57 (seated) | 2008 | 7[13] | 9713–9719 | Pierce Transit |
| 2009 | 3[13] | 9720–9722 | |||||
| 2010 | 17[13] | 9723–9739 | |||||
| New Flyer D60LFR | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
60' | 56 (seated)[16] | 2010 | 13[17] | 9553–9565 | Community Transit |
| 2011 | 1 | 9566 | Community Transit | ||||
| 17 | 9567–9583 | King County Metro | |||||
.jpg){kind=spacer}
|
60' | 56 (seated) | 2011 | 3 | 9584–9586 | King County Metro | |
| 10 | 9587–9596 | ||||||
| 2012 | 14 | 9800–9813 | |||||
| 5 | 9818–9822 | ||||||
| New Flyer DE60LFR | 
|
60' | 56 (seated) | 2010 | 11[17] | 9637–9647 | King County Metro |
| 2011 | 4[13] | 9648–9651 | |||||
| Gillig Low Floor BRT Hybrid | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
40' | 35 (seated)[18] | 2012 | 22[18] | 9201–9222 | Pierce Transit |
| Gillig Low Floor BRT | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
40' | 35 (seated) | 2012 | 2[13] | 9122–9123 | |
| 2015 | 3[13] | 9124–9126 | |||||
| New Flyer Xcelsior XDE60 | 
|
60' | 57 (seated) | 2014 | 8[13] | 9652–9659 | King County Metro |
| 2014 | 7[13] | 61401–61407 | Pierce Transit | ||||
| 60' | 52 (Seated) | 2020 | 31 | 9660–9690 | King County Metro | ||
| New Flyer Xcelsior XD60 | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
60' | 57 (seated) | 2014 | 4[13] | 9814–9817 | King County Metro |
| 2014 | 3[13] | 51401–51403 | Pierce Transit | ||||
| Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC | 
|
42' | 82 (seated) | 2015 | 5[13] | 91501–91505 | Community Transit |
| 2017 | 32 | 91701–91732 | |||||
| 42' | 82 (seated) | 2020 | 13 | 91901–91913 | |||
| Gillig Low Floor BRTPlus CNG | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
40' | 35 (seated) | 2015 | 17[19] | 41501–41517 | Pierce Transit |
| 2016 | 5 | 41601–41605 | |||||
| Motor Coach Industries D4500CT CNG | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
45' | 57 (seated) | 2016 | 12 | 9301–9312 | Pierce Transit |
Retired fleet
[edit]| Manufacturer and model | Image | Length | Passengers | Purchased | Retired | Qty | Fleet numbers | Operator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OBI Orion V CNG (05.501) | 
|
40' | 42 | 1994 | 2008 | 27 | 801–827 | Pierce Transit | Ex-Pierce Transit; bought in 1998. Retired in 2008. |
| Breda DuoBus 350 (ADPB 350) Dual-mode |
|
60' | 63 | 1990 | 2005 | 20 | 5019–5021, 5194–5210 | King County Metro | Leased from King County Metro Transit in 1999. Replaced by New Flyer DE60LFs. |
| Gillig Phantom 40' | 
|
40' | 42 | 1999 | 2014 | 70 | 9000–9069 | King County Metro / Pierce Transit / Community Transit | |
| 2001 | 2014 | 20 | 9070–9089 | King County Metro | Retired in 2014. | ||||
| 2005 | 2020 | 2 | 9090–9091 | King County Metro | Replaced by New Flyer XDE60s. | ||||
| 2008 | 2020 | 8 | 9114–9121 | Community Transit | Replaced by ADL Enviro500 MMC. | ||||
| 2008 | 2026 | 22 | 9092–9113 | Pierce Transit | |||||
| New Flyer DE40LF | 
|
40' | 34 | 2003 | 2020 | 1 | 9200 | King County Metro | Replaced by New FlyerXDE60s. |
| New Flyer C40LF | 40' | 39 | 2001 | 2014 | 20 | 9400–9419 | Pierce Transit | Replaced by Gillig CNG Low Floor BRT. | |
| New Flyer D60LF | 60' | 56 | 1999 | 2016 | 25 | 9500–9524 | Pierce Transit / King County Metro / Community Transit | ||
|
2000 | 2019 | 12 | 9525–9536 | Community Transit / King County Metro | ||||
|
2004 | 2020 | 16 | 9537–9552 | Community Transit / King County Metro / Pierce Transit | ||||
| New Flyer DE60LF | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
60' | 56 | 2005 | 2020 | 22 | 9600–9621 | King County Metro | Replaced by New Flyer XDE60s. |
| Motor Coach Industries D4500 | .jpg){kind=spacer}
|
45'[15] | 57 (seated) | 2005 | 2022 | 13[20] | 9700–9712 | Pierce Transit |
References
[edit]- ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2025" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. February 20, 2026. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
- ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2025" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. February 20, 2026. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
- ^ Rogoff, Peter (January 29, 2016). "CEO Report for January 29, 2016". Sound Transit. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
- ^ Collins, Eric (September 20, 1999). "Sound Transit's airport bus hits road". The News Tribune. pp. A1, A10. Retrieved November 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Regional transit history 1997 - 2003". Sound Transit. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ Gutman, David (November 9, 2018). "Buses can avoid morning congestion by using I-5 shoulder lane in Snohomish County". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Matthew (December 10, 2015). "Q. Who's driving those Sound Transit buses and trains?". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- ^ https://www.soundtransit.org/get-to-know-us/news-events/news-releases/sound-transit-approves-st-express-fare-change
- ^ "Sound Transit: ST Express Regional Bus Service". Sound Transit. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
- ^ "Lost and found". Sound Transit. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ "Spring service change in effect beginning March 28" (Press release). Sound Transit. March 22, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
- ^ "Montlake Freeway Station closure begins June 22, 2019" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. May 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Draft 2015 Service Implementation Plan - Appendix B: Fleet Plans" (PDF). Sound Transit. p. 111. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
- ^ a b "MOTION NO. M2009-15: Contract with New Flyer Corporation" (PDF). Sound Transit. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b "ST Express 45-foot Long-Haul Bus Specifications (MCI)". Sound Transit. Archived from the original on September 19, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
- ^ "Sound Transit: Sound Transit board approves purchase of clean diesel and hybrid buses". Sound Transit. February 24, 2011. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
- ^ a b "MOTION NO. M2010-01: ST Express Bus Procurement – ST2 Expansion Service" (PDF). Sound Transit. January 14, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
- ^ a b "MOTION NO. M2011-04 Purchase 24 Forty-Foot Replacement Buses" (PDF). Sound Transit. February 24, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
- ^ "MOTION NO. M2014-06" (PDF). March 27, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ "MOTION NO. M2009-09: Contract with Motor Coach Industries" (PDF). Sound Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
External links
[edit]
Mass transit in the Puget Sound region | |
|---|---|
| Local and express bus | |
| Light rail | |
| Streetcar | |
| Commuter rail | |
| Bus rapid transit | |
| Ferry | |
| Monorail |
|
| People mover | |
| Historic | |
| Other | |
Italics denote lines or services which are planned, under construction, defunct, or otherwise not operating at the present time. | |
