King County Metro is the local public transit operator in Seattle and King County, Washington, United States. , Metro operates the seventh largest fleet of buses in the United States, with a total of 1,583 buses. The agency's buses traveled a total of and transported over 123 million passengers in 2019.
Upon taking over transit operations on January 1, 1973, Metro used buses acquired from predecessor agencies Seattle Transit System and the Metropolitan Transit Corporation, still painted in their original colors. Metro acquired the 91-bus fleet of the Metropolitan Transit Company in December 1972 at a cost of $2.75 million. The first fleet of new buses ordered by Metro arrived in June 1976, consisting of 145 diesel coaches manufactured by AM General. In 1978, Metro became the first large transit agency in North America to introduce articulated buses to its fleet, which required some bus stops to be rebuilt to accommodate coaches. The fleet of 151 buses were manufactured by German maker MAN as part of a bulk order with other large U.S. transit agencies.
Vehicle types
In 1978, Metro was the first large transit agency to order high-capacity articulated buses (buses with a rotating joint). Today, King County Metro has one of the largest articulated fleets in North America (second only to MTA New York City Transit) and articulated buses account for about 42% of the agency's fleet.
In 1979, the agency ordered some of the first coaches in the U.S. equipped with wheelchair lifts to provide accessibility for disabled passengers. Early lifts often became stuck and had a very short platform, which was replaced by more reliable models in the 1980s. Metro's entire fleet became wheelchair-accessible in 1999.
Metro was reluctant to adopt low-floor buses, not buying any until 2003; all new fleet additions since then have been low-floor and the last high-floor buses were retired in March 2020.
Trolleys
Metro maintains a fleet of electric trolleybuses that serve 15 routes along almost 70 miles of two-direction overhead wire. This is the second largest trolleybus system in the United States by ridership and fleet size.Webb, Mary (Ed.) (2009). Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2009-2010. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. . The trolleybuses are valued by Metro both as zero-emission vehicles,Metro Vehicles King County Metro. and as vehicles well adapted to Seattle's hilly terrain.
Metro's trolleybus fleet consists of 174 entirely low-floor New Flyer Xcelsior coaches. Of the total, 110 are vehicles (model XT40) and 64 are , articulated buses (model XT60). The buses include an auxiliary power unit, to allow them to operate off-wire for up to .
Occasionally Metro will use diesel or diesel-electric hybrid coaches on trolley routes. Reasons for doing this include construction (weekends only), overhead wire maintenance or events that require coaches to go long distances off-route, "coach changes" (replacing a bus in service that has developed a problem) or to add temporary additional capacity. The latter two cases sometimes lead to diesel buses being used, in order to get the replacement or supplementary vehicle into service as quickly as possible; diesel buses can reach the point of entry into service faster, as they do not need to follow the overhead wires when deadheading.
Diesel-electric hybrids
Metro operates the largest fleet of hybrid buses in the country. The first hybrid buses were purchased in 2004 for use with routes that operated in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory conducted a one-year comparative study between conventional diesel and hybrid-powered buses operating on a typical King County drive cycle. Results showed that the hybrid powered buses lowered fuel consumption by 23%; NOx by 18%; carbon monoxide (CO) by 60%; and total hydrocarbon (THC) by 56% when compared to conventional diesel buses. Those results have led Metro to purchase hybrid buses exclusively since 2005 (with the exception of the all-electric trolley buses)."New Flyer Receives Order for Up To 715 Buses From King County Metro Totaling Up To US $514 Million" Metro now has over 700 hybrid buses in the fleet, with more on order.
Hush mode Buses equipped with the GM-Allison EP50 and the Allison H 50 EP parallel hybrid systems had a special "hush mode" that allowed the buses to operate solely on electric power, reducing tailpipe emissions and noise while operating in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Before entering the tunnel, the operator pushed a button that put the coach into hush mode. While buses were inside stations, the coaches operated solely on electric propulsion (although, while the doors are closed, the engine still rotates in order to operate auxiliary loads). In between the tunnel's stations, the buses used electric traction to get to , after which a combination of the electric and diesel motors were used. The operation of the diesel engine allowed the batteries to recharge. Hush mode would normally be deactivated by the operator as they exited the tunnel, but the mode will be automatically deactivated after the coach had traveled a certain distance.
Buses have not operated in the tunnel since March 23, 2019.
Series hybrids
Metro's newer hybrid buses are equipped with the BAE Systems HybriDrive, a series hybrid system. In these buses an electric motor turns the wheels, with power provided by a generator attached to a diesel engine and regenerative braking. Any excess power is stored in batteries on the roof of the bus. Because the diesel engine is not directly propelling the bus, it can operate at a more steady, fuel-efficient speed.
Buses delivered after 2014 are equipped with the upgraded HybriDrive Series-E which uses electrically powered accessory systems (alternator, air conditioning, air compressor, cooling fans and steering pump) to increase fuel efficiency and allow the diesel engine to stop when the bus is stopped and the batteries are sufficiently charged.
Battery electric buses Metro began testing three new Proterra Catalyst battery electric buses in 2015. The coaches are capable of traveling over 26 miles before the battery needs to be recharged. A special fast charge station located at the Eastgate Park and Ride allow the bus to be fully recharged in under 10 minutes, during the driver's normally scheduled layover. These new vehicles get the equivalent of 20.8 MPG, which is over 6 times better than the 3.18 MPG seen on Metro's series hybrid electric coaches. The coaches were purchased with support from a $4.7 million Federal Transit Administration grant and entered revenue service on February 17, 2016. They operate on shorter routes (due to their limited range) on the eastside, specifically Routes 226 and 241. Metro has committed to purchasing 120 electric buses with the option to purchase up to 80 additional vehicles by 2020. In 2017 and 2018, Metro tested electric buses with ranges of 140 miles from several manufacturers, and plans to have a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040.
Historic preservation Metro has a special fleet of more than a dozen historic motor buses and trolleybuses ranging from ones built in the late 1930s and early 1940s through to ones only recently retired. The coaches are restored, maintained and operated under an agreement with the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association (MEHVA), a non-profit organization formed in 1981. A temporary display of four historic Seattle Transit System buses was installed at Occidental Park in Pioneer Square for several days in November 1984 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the city's streetcar system. Metro maintains ownership of the historic fleet, providing coverage under its fleet self-insurance along with storage, work space and parts on an as available basis.
Money to operate the coaches and purchase parts not in Metro stock is generated by selling tickets to public excursions. The first trips took place in 1984, and nowadays MEHVA typically operates six to eight per year. Each excursion has a different route and a different emphasis.
MEHVA was established in 1981, as Metro prepared to retire trolleybuses that had been operating in Seattle since the 1940s. Since that time, MEHVA acquired other retired transit vehicles which were formerly operated in King County. Often these retired coaches were purchased by private citizens and left on the owner's property for many decades, leaving them in need of restoration. The collection of vehicles has gradually expanded over time, with the addition of newly retired buses when deemed historically notable and not yet represented in the collection.
Liveries
The original Metro livery, named the "Sunrise" and used on all buses, was primarily white with yellow and brown accents; it was chosen in 1973 in a contest after defeating two other options. The initial fleet of buses, retained primarily from the Seattle Transit System and Metropolitan Transit Company, used a total of 15 different color schemes. Since 1996, Metro's buses have been painted in various color schemes that are assigned based on their type. Regular buses generally have their bottom half painted in yellow with a different color on top—either teal, blue, or green. The livery was modified in 2004 and later expanded to add red for RapidRide buses and purple for electric trolleybuses.Trolleybus Magazine (UK) No. 319 (January–February 2015), p. 30. A new livery, adopted in 2023 for new battery electric buses, is primarily yellow and light blue for conventional coaches and red and purple for RapidRide.
Several buses also have special liveries, including a "Ride with Pride" coach, a Black Lives Matter design by transit operator Robert L. Horton, and a mural for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Buses are also available for advertising wraps that are installed to generate revenue.
Current fleet roster
Make/Model LengthThumbnail Propulsion Year Fleet Series(Quantity)NotesNew Flyer DE60LF diesel-electric hybrid (53)First articulated buses in fleet with separate air conditioning units for front and rear sections. New Flyer DE60LFA (20) Dedicated to RapidRide routes. Unit 6000 was built as a prototype and has a rear window, a feature that was eliminated from the production coaches. OBI Orion VII (199) First buses in fleet to be equipped with series diesel-electric hybrid propulsion. New Flyer DE60LFR (135) , , (93) Dedicated to RapidRide routes. New Flyer Xcelsior XDE35 2013-2014 (60) First buses in fleet with HybriDrive Series-E system that shuts off diesel engine while stopped to decrease emissions and fuel consumption. Buses originally ordered from Orion, order transferred to New Flyer after closure of Orion factory. New Flyer Xcelsior XDE40 2015 (60)Buses originally ordered from Orion, order transferred to New Flyer after closure of Orion factory. New Flyer Xcelsior XT40 electric trolleybus (110)First trolleybuses in fleet with low-floor design, air conditioning and a battery power system to allow coaches to operate off-wire for short distances. New Flyer Xcelsior XT60 2015–2016 (64)Trolleybus Magazine No. 330 (November–December 2016), p. 188. National Trolleybus Association (UK). New Flyer Xcelsior XDE60diesel-electric hybrid20156200–6219(20)Dedicated to RapidRide routes.2018(22)Dedicated to RapidRide routes.2019(28)Ordered for the RapidRide H Line (85)Equipped with three doors for use on urban routes. (100)Equipped with two doors for use on suburban routes. 2018 (100)Equipped with three doors for use on urban routes. Coach 8261 is New Flyer's 10,000th Xcelsior. Units 8270–8289 renumbered to 6270–6289 and wrapped in the RapidRide livery. Gillig Low Floor 2017–2019 (195) New Flyer Xcelsior XE40 battery electric 2021 (20)4700 delivered October 2021 for inspection and testing. First bus entered service on March 30, 2022. New Flyer Xcelsior XE60 (20) 140-mile range with a 525 kWh battery. First bus was delivered in April 2021.