EDMONDS, Wash. — A new transit line in Snohomish County, the Swift Orange Line, opened on Saturday with the goal of changing how riders travel between Edmonds to Everett — and the future light rail station in Lynnwood.
"It's a dream come true,” said Rosalind Mckinsey, a Community Transit rider. “It stops at a lot of places that I have been going to in the past where I had to switch buses."
On Saturday, Community Transit officially opened its "Swift Orange Line." The $83 million project is the agency's third "Swift Bus Rapid Transit Service" (BRT) line. It consists of an 11-mile route linking Edmonds College, Alderwood Mall and Mill Creek as well as the future light rail station in Lynnwood.
"There's a great need because there's so many bedroom communities in this area to connect them with public transit that's available for everyone,” said Dan Mullene, a Community Transit rider. “Runs frequently, it has nice facilities, has nice buses, has good stations, all of those things make it much easier for everyone to get out of their car and get into the bus."
Officials with Community Transit said ridership on the Blue and Green Lines accounted for almost 2.5 million, or more than a third, of total boardings last year and expect those record numbers to continue growing with the Orange Line.
"We had a lot of people riding those lines,” said Monica Spain, the public information officer with Community Transit. “And we have actually surpassed pre-pandemic numbers, more people are riding these lines than any other community transit line."
The BRT services begin at 4:15 a.m. weekdays and as early as 6 a.m. on Saturdays and 7 a.m. on Sundays, with each bus departing every 10 to 20 minutes. A service Community Transit hopes will serve the community for decades to come.
"This is just a labor of love for our community,” said Spain. “I think the thing that gets us excited is being able to help people get from where they are to where they need to be."
The Lynnwood Link Extension is set to open later this year. It'll be 8.5 miles, serving four stations between Shoreline and Lynnwood. Officials with Sound Transit expect 47,000 to 55,000 daily riders by 2026.