By Cormac Wolf — CHS Reporting Intern
Route 47, the storied ride along Summit and Bellevue Ave on Capitol Hill’s western slope, was shuttered during the pandemic. Now it seems likely King County Metro will restore service to the dense neighborhood, but without the 47. It’s hard to find anyone upset by the probable change.
As CHS reported earlier this month, Metro is shifting buses around in anticipation of the coming RapidRide G line on E Madison. They’re currently soliciting public opinion on whether to lend more buses to routes 10, 11, 12, and 49 (option A), or extend route 3 to include route 47’s old territory (option B). Option B would essentially revive route 47, serving Summit Slope residents every half hour.
We reached out to several community groups aiding riders to see what their consensus on the choice is and asked around about the line. We didn’t find much enthusiasm about saving the 47.
Central Seattle Greenways, the contingent of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways which works in Capitol Hill, was split on the potential options.
“Our members have conflicting feelings about the 47,” said Brie Gyncild, CSG co-chair. “Some welcome the possibility of resuming service to Summit and Bellevue north of Olive, while others aren’t sure it’s the best use of resources. So as a group, we’ve agreed to be silent on the issue.”
CSG also released a statement addressed to King County Metro, expressing opposition to “proposed frequency reductions that are being considered on Routes 10, 12, and 49 to fund service on the Madison Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – RapidRide G Line.”
UPDATE: Metro has asked us to clarify the description of its plans around the service changes, saying “the plan for funding of the future RapidRide G Line is that it will be funded with new service hours, not reallocation of service hours from other routes.” It gets complicated with Metro-funded hours and City of Seattle-funded hours at play. So, while CSG’s description isn’t totally accurate — the funds from any 10, 12, and 49 changes won’t go directly to RapidRide G — it would be, basically, the end result as far as riders near the lines would be concerned.
The abovementioned routes currently run at intervals of 15 minutes at peak times, but would change to intervals of 20 minutes under option A, and some to 30 minutes under option B. The survey does not mention that both options constitute frequency reductions.
The 47? This isn’t the first time the 47th has been offed. The line was permanently shuttered at the end of 2014 due to King County Metro budget shortfalls, but brought back later that year Seattle Transportation Benefit District bill, which instituted a $60 annual vehicle license fee and a .1% sales tax hike. Both these taxes are still in place.
CHS reached out to Seattle Transit Riders Union and Disability Empowerment Center in search of support for the 47th but did not hear back.
We also posted to the thousands of members-strong CHS Facebook Group and on social media, looking for anyone who wanted to speak about the potential 47th replacement. If you have something to say in defense of the 47th, let us know in the comments, below.
There is also time to tell Metro. The survey closes August 31st. You can take it at madisonstreetproject.com.
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Would appreciate the 47 resuming- having been hit by a car earlier this year, bus service closer to home would be nice. It changed my perspective regarding people who can’t easily walk a few extra blocks to another route. There are others in the neighborhood with mobility issues, elderly or families with young children in the area north of Olive Way.
I got by just fine walking up from Bellevue Ave East to light rail station after 47 service was suspended, but now with mobility issues, the distance is not so easy. Travel at night or in wet weather is also more of a concern with mobility issues.
I understand the 47 is low priority but it was very convenient when we had it available.
IDK what Metro has against the 47 route (or the 14 before it), but I can tell you that without it, an entire chunk of Capitol Hill is now unserved. Hiking up to Broadway from there is a non-trivial ask for ADA people. And walking 5 blocks out to Olive Way, just to wait on a connector, has its own challenges. It was a great thing to be able to get from downtown directly to the Bellevue Ave / Summit Ave areas north of Olive Way. Metro has not wanted to support this route since at least 2012, they finally managed to kill it off for good, looks like. Sad.
I voted to restore the 47 in the survey. I used to live in that area and when the 47 ran it would cut the time it took to go downtown by half or more and also made the businesses along Summit much more accessible.
The proposal also involves connecting the 47 to the 3 line, which would create even more route options and extend the 47 beyond something that just shuttles between cap hill and downtown. I’m always pro better public transportation coverage, and I thought reducing frequency of a couple routes by 5 minutes was more than worth it, especially considering we’ll be adding the new Rapidride line too, which runs very frequently.
Hi! I’m a Transit Riders Union member, and wanted to share my personal experience with the 47:
For several years, I lived a block off the route in north Capitol Hill. On mornings when I was running late and didnt have time to walk to my work bus, I used it to quickly make that connection. I was not alone in this – lots of tech badges on my fellow 47 riders. Sometimes it would be SRO by the time we crossed Denny. Also well represented: Older folks and people using mobility devices such as canes, scooters, etc.
Around the time the route was cut, two terrible things happened: my knee partially dislocated and the driver in my household moved out. I could barely walk even with a cane, and was in tons of pain. I definitely couldn’t make it up to Broadway or over to Denny, Olive, or Pine. When the 47 went away, my choices were to not leave my house, ask friends for help, or call a Lyft. I felt so isolated and suddenly dependent. I am privileged enough that I was able to pay for deliveries, lyfts, etc to bridge the gap but I know a lot of longtime residents in the neighborhood on fixed incomes would not be able to absorb such costs. And proximity to the 47 was a great selling point about the apartment I’d been renting, I felt like I was getting less value for my rent money once it was gone. I ended up moving to the southern edge of the neighborhood and a key driver of that decision was proximity to bus service.
I think it’s deeply unfortunate that transit support on this historic route is being taken away from such a densely populated corner of the neighborhood with its own tiny and beloved business core. I often think about the folks with mobility challenges that I used to see on the 47 and wonder how they’re getting around these days. I know the neighborhood along the 47 route isn’t the only pocket of Capitol Hill where the hill is steep and transit connections are far away. I really wish Metro would build on the 47 vs removing it.
All any of the decision makers had to do was look left and right while walking the route to see what a vital need this served. It’s one of those stretches populated by a massive number of people for which inexpensive transit was originally created for.
Yes! There are a lot of seniors and people with disabilities in this neighborhood. Metro doesn’t seem to take the topography of the Hill into consideration in these decisions. Metro did no outreach to people along the route about the survey. People in the neighborhood had to make up their own flyers to get the word out.
Please restore the 47 or any bus along the Summit/Bellevue route. First Rte 25 was abolished when the light rail station on Cap Hill opened, then the 47 disappeared. My neighborhood (Lakeview Blvd East) is now a complete transit desert.
As a metro operator who drove the route 47 I can tell exactly why it is being axed. Almost nobody used it, even during peak hours of traffic.
That might be true, but judging from the comments here it was vitally important to the people who did use it. One can say the same thing about late-night bus service — it usually doesn’t get a lot of ridership but those who ride it have little or no alternative if it goes away.
I remember the Link restructure that basically said “You won’t need as much bus service because there will be a train every four minutes eventually.” Fast forward to now when we have less bus service in the neighborhood and the train is coming every 15 minutes, if we’re lucky. So I’m a bit skeptical that RapidRide is actually going to come every 6 minutes, and service won’t be cut sometime in the future.
This scarcity approach treats transit like something you don’t want too much of, because people might actually use it. This survey seems like total BS outreach and is a waste of time. Not mentioning service reductions wasn’t an error, it seems very intentional.
So you’re having a hard time finding people to support Route 47? I find that curious.
Having lived here 35 years on Summit Avenue, and my whole life in Seattle, I can say with certainty that this route was crucial to many of the people living in the high rise condos and apartment buildings around here. Summit, Belmont, Bellevue, Melrose – are some of the most dense blocks you will find around here.
I would add my voice to the others, I am now in my 60s and walking up to Broadway is frequently not an option, especially if carrying something or in adverse weather, such as snow or ice — it’s impossible. I feel very sad that we would be passed over and ignored, when I have voted for many transit and bicycle related projects. Very sad.
And yes, I did give my input via surveys and emails as all of this has been going on, and I agree with the other person who said this was probably a done deal long ago, and the input was not really wanted.
The whole Madison RapidRide makes no sense to me. Yes, buses will be more frequent on that street, but getting there from North Capitol Hill will now take longer, maybe even twice as long?!
I filled out the survey in favor of option B for accessibility reasons. The continued use of the trolley wire and some of the restructures of the route appeared to be enhancements that would contribute to its usefulness. The Rapid Ride G does not enhance the real options for transportation and is taking away useful dollar hours from all the other routes involved.
Minor correction: I believe it should be “47” (no suffix) rather than “47th”.
I sincerely hope that they do bring some form of service back to this area.
Thanks. “The 47th” sounds like we are losing a congressional district or something. Fixed!
I moved to the Capitol Hill area three years ago. I made the decision to park my vehicle and take busses and light rail. I’ve traveled all over Seattle with Metro busses and have been quite happy with it. I have NEVER ridden a 47. I don’t even know where it goes! My main bus stops are Summit and Pine and Belmont and Pine. I primarily use the 11, 49, 60, 3, and 578. My needs are mostly fully met with these routes along with Light Link Rail and the Street Car.
Sondra, dear, you would know the 47 if it was the only bus within 4 blocks of you.
Sodra, Metro discontinued to the #47 in 2020 during the pandemic. If you moved here three years ago, you wouldn’t have had an opportunity to use it. What the survey asks in Option B is whether riders would like to see it brought back.
Please read the article before commenting. 🤦🏼♀️
47 absolutely needs to be reinstated. It should be a no-brainer that a densely populated area amongst steep hills needs public transit. Bring back 47!
Why was no outreach done within the neighborhoods around the line? I had no idea about the survey. I live near Top Pot and became partially disabled during the pandemic. Getting up to the 49 is a hassle on my cane. I, like others here, worry about the older and disabled folks who used to ride our beloved 47 pre-pandemic. I hope they will reconsider and bring it back, even as an extension to another route.