Ride free on King Country Metro buses and Sound Transit on New Year’s Eve

As is the annual tradition, most regional public transportation will be offering free rides on New Year’s Eve.

King Country Metro, Sound Transit, Community Transit, Everett Transit, and the Seattle Streetcar will all be offering free fares to keep people off the roads on New Year’s Eve.

Here are the details for the fare-free travel on all regional public transportation options (from King County):

  • King County Metro: Buses will operate on their regular Saturday schedule and be fare-free from 3 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, through 3 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1. Other Metro services operating fare-free include DART, Via to Transit, Ride Pingo to Transit, Community Van, and Access service. Please note Via to Transit will only operate until 2 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1.
  • Sound Transit: Link light rail and Sound Transit Express buses are fare-free from 4 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, to 2 a.m. Sunday., Jan. 1. Sound Transit will operate extended Link light rail service on New Year’s Eve, with 15-minute, late-night service. The last southbound trip will leave Northgate Station at 1:58 a.m. The last northbound train will leave Angle Lake Station at 1:41 a.m. For more information go to the Sound Transit website.
  • Community Transit: All Community Transit buses, Zip Alderwood Shuttle, and Snohomish County DART paratransit services will operate on a Saturday schedule and are fare-free from 4 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 31 through the end of the service day. Please check the Community Transit website, as route times vary.
  • Everett Transit: All services will operate fare-free on a regular Saturday schedule – 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
  • Seattle Streetcar: Both streetcar lines will operate Saturday service hours. The South Lake Union Streetcar will operate on New Year’s Eve until 12:30 a.m. to accommodate fireworks viewing downtown.
  • King County Water Taxi: The water taxi will operate fare-free on Dec. 31 but will be out of service on Jan. 1. and Jan. 2.
  • Seattle Monorail: The monorail will collect regular fares and is scheduled to operate from Westlake to the Seattle Center until 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. After the evening’s events at Seattle Center, service to Westlake will run from 12:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.

“Transit systems across our region are offering you the opportunity to not worry about traffic, parking, or getting behind the wheel as you celebrate the start of 2023,” said Executive Constantine. “Whether you’re looking to enjoy the fireworks, meet friends to ring in the New Year, or have a quiet dinner at your favorite restaurant, you can leave the driving to us. We look forward to seeing you on board!”

On New Year’s Day and Monday, Jan. 2, all buses and other transit will be operating on a Sunday schedule.

Photo: King County Metro