Now that prop 2 has passed (thanks, Saulty!), the folks at the county are busy making plans to expand bus service. The first changes will happen in February (even before the tax increase takes effect). Here’s what the County Kingpin tells us we can expect in the near term:

Route 8 – Several trips would be added at the edges of the peak periods and would operate between Seattle Center and Capitol Hill, the most heavily-used segment of this route

Route 44 – Early evening service on weekdays would be revised (one trip added in each direction) to achieve a 15-minute frequency rather than the longer spacing between trips which now contributes to overloading and operational delays

Route 101 – Add two morning trips and one afternoon trip at the edges of the peak periods when ridership has started to outgrow the existing levels of service

Route 120 – Improve Saturday service frequencies from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes through a greater part of the day

Route 140 – Improve midday weekday service frequencies from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes

Route 194 – On Saturdays and Sundays, add two earlier morning trips from downtown to Sea-Tac Airport to better serve airport workers and travelers with early morning flights

Route 234 – Extend service later on weekdays (to 9 PM)

Route 245 – Increase frequency of Sunday service from every 60 minutes to every 30 minutes through the main part of the day, similar to current Saturday levels of service

I see there’s still no love for those of us at the “other” end of the 8 route. (Hmph!) Moving on…

New buses (175 total) will start arriving in spring, at which time some of the more meaningful of the promised improvements will begin to be implemented. And while I’m on the subject…

Folks who live in areas that will actually benefit from these improvements: You can show your fellow taxpayers your appreciation by leaving your cars at home and actually getting on those brand-new buses. Come on! Everybody’s doing it.