News / Published on Sep 17, 2024

Getting to Seattle with Community Transit

Riders have new transit options for traveling between Snohomish County and Seattle
A woman sits on the light rail and looks out the window.

Do you commute to Seattle for work, or catch public transit to Seahawks games or concerts in the city? Whatever your reason for heading to Seattle, new transit options are available as Link light rail now connects to Snohomish County.

As of Sept. 14, Community Transit has made major changes to bus service, modifying or replacing many routes. Now, you can easily catch buses that connect you with light rail at Lynnwood City Center Station (formerly Lynnwood Transit Center), Mountlake Terrace Station (formerly Mountlake Terrace Transit Center), and the brand-new Shoreline North/185th Station.

Lynnwood City Center Station

Mountlake Terrace Station

Shoreline North/185th Station

* Indicates no bus service on weekends.
** Indicates no bus service on Sundays.

Driving to a park & ride? View the list of routes connecting to light rail, then find which park & ride closest to you serves those routes here. 

Planning your trip on light rail

Link light rail trains are scheduled to run every 8 minutes during peak travel hours and every 10-15 minutes during non-peak hours. Visit the Sound Transit Website for schedule details.

You can use Community Transit’s Plan My Trip to plan your trip from bus to light rail. Be sure to plan your return trip. Keep in mind Link light rail operates trains later than Community Transit bus service, so if your return trip is at night check to make sure your bus is still in service.

Planning to transfer between Community Transit and King County Metro bus service? King County Metro has just increased service and frequency to many bus routes. Learn more about King County Metro's service changes.

How to pay for the bus and light rail

  • Pay for your ride on Link light rail by purchasing a ticket at the Sound Transit ORCA vending machines or by tapping your ORCA card inside the light rail station before going to the platform.
  • Pay for your ride on Swift by purchasing a Swift ticket at the vending machines or by tapping your ORCA card at the ORCA card reader at the Swift stations.
  • Pay for your ride on a regular bus by boarding the bus and paying with exact change or tapping your ORCA card on the reader located at the front of the bus.

Sign up for Rider Alerts to stay informed

Sign up for Community Transit’s email or text Rider Alerts to stay up to date on changes to your bus. Get real-time Rider Alerts about bus delays, reroutes or cancellations, and learn about changes to the routes you ride. Sign up for Rider Alerts here.

If you plan on riding the light rail, it’s also a good idea to sign up for Sound Transit’s service alerts for light rail. Sign up for Sound Transit alerts here.

Learn more about Community Transit’s recent service changes

Learn more about Community Transit’s recent changes to bus service on the Service Change webpage.  

To talk with a person about the new changes to Community Transit bus service and for personalized trip planning, contact the Community Transit Customer Care team via the information below.

Community Transit Customer Care:
Monday–Friday, 6:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
Saturday, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
(800) 562-1375
(425) 353-RIDE (7433)
TTY: 711
riders@commtrans.org

Community Transit Ride Store:
Located with Lynnwood City Center Station
20110 46th Ave W. Lynnwood, WA 98036
Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–6 p.m.
Saturday, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

A woman with long blonde hair wearting a black t-shirt and denim jacket.
Written by Samantha Menzimer, Communications Strategist