Community Transit Express Route Ridership Data

Community Transit has transformed its network over the past few years. Since its founding in 1976, Community Transit (CT) has operated a mix of local routes in Snohomish County and commuter routes to Seattle and other significant employment centers. Following Sound Transit’s Link extension to Lynnwood in August 2024, CT deleted all but one of the Commuter routes to Seattle. The last Commuter route ended service on June 12, 2026.

Commuter routes were replaced with Link, improved local service, a new Swift route, and Express routes. Most Express routes provide peak-only service between a community and Link. In exchange for a required transfer to get to Seattle, Express routes run more trips and have improved reliability than their Commuter route predecessors.

Overall ridership on Commuter/Express routes decreased between October 2023 and October 2025 from 4,254 to 1,085 average weekday passengers. This is due to a few factors:

1. Passengers at Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace switched to Link
2. Some commuter routes were replaced with improved local service (eg: 417 -> 117 + Link)
3. New park & ride spaces at Link stations in Snohomish County and Shoreline
4. Transfer penalty to infrequent Express routes

All four factors are supported by the relatively strong Link ridership in Snohomish County. In October 2025, Lynnwood City Center and Mountlake Terrace stations had 2,758 and 2,565 average weekday boardings, respectively. Combined, this is more passengers than previously used all Commuter routes. Additionally, ridership on CT’s local routes increased almost 30% from 2023 to 2025. An upcoming article will discuss the ridership patterns for local routes in Snohomish County.

Factors 3 and 4 are related and likely the biggest cause for decreased Commuter/Express ridership. Prior to 2024, someone could drive to a local park & ride for a Commuter bus to Seattle. While the route was infrequent, the passenger timed their journey to match the route’s schedule. Now, this same passenger has two options. They can drive to the same P&R to catch a bus to Link, or just drive to Link directly. Given the infrequent nature of the Express routes, most people in this position will prefer the slightly longer drive to a Link station. This will result in a shorter trip time and gives them more flexibility without risking a long transfer penalty on their return trip.

Unlike feeder bus route capacity, parking near Link stations is quite limited. Lynnwood City Center has 1,896 parking spaces and Mountlake Terrace has an additional 870 spots. Anecdotally, these garages fill up early most weekdays. As parking garages are not scalable, this strong demand emphasizes the need for Community Transit to improve the frequency and coverage of its local and Express routes.

Ridership Charts per Route

The charts below show the average weekday ridership by stop in each direction, color-coded by time of day. For a more detailed breakdown of how the plots are set up, please refer to the How to Read the Plots section of the article discussing Route 70.

Route 901

Route 901 connects Silver Firs and McCollum Park Park & Ride with Lynnwood City Center station. The route runs every half hour to Lynnwood in the morning and from Lynnwood in the afternoon. Passengers can transfer to the Swift Green Line at 132nd St & 16th Ave and to the Green and Orange Lines at McCollumn Park P&R. Ridership is moderate with an average 179 passengers across the route’s 20 trips (9 inbound, 11 outbound) each weekday. Route 901 replaced Route 412 in 2024. Route 412 served the same stops but traveled to downtown Seattle instead of the Link station in Lynnwood. In October 2023, Route 412 carried an average 236 passengers each weekday on 10 trips (5 each direction).

Route 903

Route 903 travels between Lake Stevens and Lynnwood City Center station. Lake Stevens Transit center is the primary source of ridership in Lake Stevens with 20-25 passengers per day. The other stops in the Lake Stevens have minimal ridership (1-2 people per day). This peak direction route carries about 106 passengers each weekday on 16 trips (7 inbound, 9 outbound). Route 903 was preceded by Route 425. In October 2023, Route 425 had 143 passengers each weekday on 7 trips (4 inbound, 3 outbound).

Route 904

Route 904 provides express service between Marysville and Lynnwood. The route only has seven stops in each direction, but still has about 145 passengers each weekday. Like most other Express routes, Route 904 only carries passengers in the peak direction with 10 inbound trips in the morning and 11 outbound trips in the afternoon. Almost all passengers travel between one of the P&Rs in Marysville and South Everett Fwy Station and Lynnwood City Center station. Before the Lynnwood Link Extension opened, Marysville was served by two Commuter routes: 421 and 821. Route 421 carried 241 passengers to/from downtown Seattle each weekday while Route 821 was used by 158 passengers. About half of the passengers on routes 421 and 821 traveled between Seattle and Lynnwood.

Route 905

Route 905 is Community Transit’s longest and busiest Express route. The 40-mile long route runs every hour in each direction throughout the day, transporting 281 passengers each weekday between Stanwood, Smokey Point TC, Marysville, and Lynnwood. All-day service is a significant upgrade from the 4 daily trips provided by Route 905’s predecessor, Route 422. Route 422 was only used by 66 passengers each day in October 2023.

Route 907

Route 907 is the only Express route that does not stop at a Link station. Instead, it provides a quick route between Stanwood, Arlington, Marysville, Everett, Seaway Transit Center, and Paine Field. The route has 8 daily trips, 4 to Paine Field in the morning and 4 return trips in the afternoon. Across these trips, Route 907 has 43 passengers each weekday. Most of these passengers traveled to/from Seaway Transit Center. Less than one passenger per day uses Route 907 to commute to the Everett Boeing Plant at Paine Field. Route 907 was proceeded by routes 227 and 247. These routes each had 4 daily trips and a weekday ridership of 21 and 23 passengers, respectively.

Route 909

Route 909 is Community Transit’s only Express route connecting ferry passengers with Link. As a result, the route is timed with the Edmonds/Kingston WSF route. About 219 passengers board a Route 909 trip each weekday, making it the second busiest Express route. Ridership is fairly even throughout the day. Prior to August 2024, passengers traveling between downtown Edmonds and Seattle during peak hours used one of the 8 daily trips on Route 416. In October 2023, Route 416 saw 103 passengers each weekday.

Route 424

Route 424 was the only remaining Commuter route after the the Lynnwood Link Extension opened. The route was finally retired on June 12, 2026 and replaced by Express Route 908. The route’s 4 daily trips (2 per direction) carried 112 passengers each weekday in October 2025. Most of these passengers traveled between Monroe P&R or Totem Lake and downtown Seattle. This is an increase from the 79 passengers who used the route each day in October 2023.

Final Thoughts

Community Transit’s Express routes fill a crucial role in the County’s transit network and are a better use of the agency’s limited resources than their Seattle-bound predecessors. However, many passengers are deterred from using Express routes due to the limited service span, low frequency, and required transfers. Additional investments to boost frequencies and lower transfer penalties will go a long way to making these routes accessible and appealing to as many passengers as possible.