Ride Transit For Free On New Year's Eve In Puget Sound

SEATTLE — Holiday revelers across Puget Sound will be able to take public transit for free on New Year's Eve, as part of a regional effort to encourage safe travels over the holiday. Free fares will apply across King County Metro, Sound Transit, Pierce Transit and Community Transit, in addition to the Seattle Streetcar.

"Whether you're ringing in the New Year from home with friends and family, or planning a night on the town, we are teaming up across the region to offer free transportation and get everyone home safely this New Year's Eve," said King County Executive Dow Constantine. "This is our way of thanking riders, and offering those who celebrate late into the New Year a safe alternative to getting behind the wheel."

Most transit options, including the Link light rail and Sound Transit Express buses, will be free from early in the morning on New Year's Eve until early New Year's Day.

Here are the details from the King County Executive's Office:

• King County Metro: Buses will operate on a Sunday schedule and be fare-free from 4 a.m. Friday, Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve), through 4 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day).
• Other Metro services operating fare-free include DART, Via to Transit, Ride Pingo to Transit, Community Van and Access service. Via to Transit will operate until 2 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 1, to accommodate New Year’s Eve celebrations.
• The fareboxes and ORCA card readers on Metro buses will be covered to remind customers not to pay.

• Sound Transit: Link light rail and Sound Transit Express buses are fare-free from 4 a.m. Friday, Dec. 31, to 2 a.m. Saturday, 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 1:46 a.m. The last northbound train will leave Angle Lake at 1:37 a.m. Sound Transit will also extend service on select ST Express bus routes. For more information go to the Sound Transit website.

• Community Transit: Buses will operate on holiday schedules. For New Year’s Eve, buses and DART service will operate a Sunday bus schedule and will be fare-free from 4 a.m. Friday, Dec. 31, to 4 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 1.

• Pierce Transit: Buses and paratransit SHUTTLE services will run on a Sunday level of service and are fare-free all-day Friday, Dec. 31, from the start of service (first route begins at 6:30 a.m.) to the conclusion of service (last route ends at 9:50 p.m.) On-demand Ruston and Tideflats Runner services are also fare-free Dec. 31, running from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. JBLM Runner will not operate Dec. 31 due to the Sunday service level.

• Seattle Streetcar: Both streetcars will operate fare-free New Year’s Eve and operate regular service hours.

• King County Water Taxi will not operate on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

• Seattle Monorail will collect regular fare and is scheduled to operate from Westlake to the Seattle Center until 10:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Service from the Center to Westlake will run from 12:20 a.m. to 1 a.m. after the events at the Center.

Travelers should plan to pay fares again on New Year's Day, and most buses and trains will be operating on Saturday schedules. The Tacoma Link will run on its Sunday schedule.