The two routes that most Bellevue bus riders used to leave town, Sound Transit's 550 to downtown Seattle and Metro's 271 to the University District, both ended on Aug. 29, 2026. Sound Transit lists the 2 Line and Route 556 as the replacements for the 550. King County Metro split the 271 among a new Route 270, Sound Transit's 556, Route 203 and a revised Route 249.
Two months later, the new map has a clear pattern. Buses now carry riders the short distance to Bellevue Way or a light rail station, and the train makes the trip across the lake. If you learned your routes before August, almost every regular trip now has a different first step, and some only work well at certain hours.
The trip to Seattle belongs to the train
The 2 Line has crossed Lake Washington on the I-90 floating bridge since it opened on March 28, 2026. It serves Mercer Island and Judkins Park and meets the 1 Line at International District/Chinatown. On opening day, KUOW reported that the ride from downtown Bellevue to the Chinatown International District took about 20 minutes.
Under the current 2 Line timetable, which runs from Sept. 30, 2026 through March 26, 2027, weekday trains between Redmond and International District/Chinatown come every 8 minutes at peak, every 10 minutes off-peak and every 12 to 16 minutes late at night. The 2 Line now runs all the way north to Lynnwood City Center. Between Lynnwood and International District/Chinatown, the 1 and 2 Lines together run a train every 4 minutes at weekday peak. The adult fare is $3. Riders 18 and under ride free, and seniors and riders with an ORCA LIFT card pay $1.
That frequency is why the 550 could go. Taking it out also changed the job of every bus that used to connect with it. Riders from Issaquah lost the 554 to Seattle on the same day, with the 2 Line and the 556 listed as the alternatives. On the Eastside, the bus network now mostly brings people to the stations.
Bellevue Way picked up the work
The street that gained the most in this change is Bellevue Way. Going south, the 556 stops on Bellevue Way NE at Main/NE 4th, then on Bellevue Way SE at SE 3rd, SE 10th/SE 11th and SE 16th, and ends at South Bellevue Station. Stop pairs differ slightly by direction. Its schedule runs from 5 a.m. to midnight, generally every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes in the late evening.
Going north, the new Route 270 leaves Bellevue Transit Center, stops at Bellevue Way NE & NE 10th Street, and crosses SR 520 by way of Evergreen Point Station on its way to the University District. Seattle Transit Blog's guide to the fall changes notes that the 270 replaces part of the old 271 and part of Route 249 on north Bellevue Way.
That second part matters for anyone who used the 249. The route still connects South Kirkland Park & Ride and downtown Bellevue, but it now runs through Medina, Clyde Hill and Hunts Point and no longer uses Bellevue Way.
The eastern half of the old 271 is now its own route. New Route 220 runs between Eastgate Park & Ride and downtown Bellevue by way of Bellevue College, Lake Hills and East Main station. It runs every 15 minutes during the weekday daytime and every 30 minutes on weekends. To the south, Route 111 no longer goes to downtown Seattle. It now runs all day, every day, and starts and ends at South Bellevue Station.
Here is how the common trips changed:
| Trip you used to take | How it works since Aug. 29 |
|---|---|
| Downtown Bellevue to downtown Seattle on the 550 | 2 Line from a Bellevue station, or the 556 down Bellevue Way to South Bellevue Station |
| Downtown Bellevue to the U District on the 271 | Route 270 via Bellevue Way NE and SR 520 |
| Eastgate or Bellevue College to downtown Bellevue on the 271 | Route 220 via Lake Hills and East Main station |
| Issaquah to downtown Bellevue on the 271 | ST Route 556 via Eastgate, or Route 203 between Issaquah and Eastgate via Newport Way |
| Downtown Bellevue to Medina on the 271 | Route 249, which now runs through Medina, Clyde Hill and Hunts Point |
The transit center itself is under construction
Downtown Bellevue's main transfer point is the one place where the new pattern is hardest to follow this fall. Sound Transit's service alerts say Routes 220, 240, ST 556 and ST 566 are rerouted around Bellevue Transit Center for construction from Aug. 29 through Dec. 20.
During that time, the stops are split by direction. Route 220 riders headed to Bellevue Transit Center or Eastgate Park & Ride, and 556 riders headed into Bellevue, use a temporary stop on 110th Avenue NE just south of NE 6th Street. The 566 to Auburn and the 556 to Issaquah board at Bay 1. Separately, Route 240 to Renton has moved from Bay 1 to Bay 9.
So for the rest of the year, two of the routes that replaced the 271 and the 550 stop on a side street rather than at their usual bays. If your regular stop is the transit center, check the alert before you walk over.
Where the new map gets thin
Most of these replacements work well on weekday daytimes. They run less often in the evening and on weekends, and the differences are large enough to change plans.
The 270 is the clearest example. Its weekday timetable runs from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with departures generally 15 minutes apart during the day and 30 minutes apart in the evening. On Saturdays and Sundays it runs from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Service is generally every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and hourly in the early morning and evening. A weekday evening event in the U District that ends after 9:30 p.m. is past the last scheduled 270 back to Bellevue.
Going south, the 556 runs until midnight, and the 2 Line has the longest hours of all. For late trips across the lake, the train is now the most dependable option. After the trains stop, Sound Transit added overnight Route 547 between Redmond and downtown Seattle, scheduled from about midnight to 4:50 a.m.
Relying on the train also means its maintenance affects you. On the weekend of Oct. 17 and 18, buses replaced 2 Line trains between International District/Chinatown and South Bellevue. Trains kept running between Downtown Redmond and South Bellevue, and shuttle buses came about every 10 to 15 minutes. Late on Oct. 19 and 20, shuttles replaced trains between International District/Chinatown and Judkins Park from 11 p.m. to the end of service. When the 550 still ran, a closure like that was one transfer away. Now it closes the main route across the lake, so Sound Transit's service alerts page is worth checking before a weekend trip to Seattle.
Dates to keep this holiday season and into spring
- Thursday, Nov. 26, Thanksgiving: Metro buses, Sound Transit Routes 522, 542, 545, 547, 556 and 566, and both Link lines run on a Sunday schedule, according to Metro's service change page.
- Sunday, Dec. 20: The scheduled last day of the construction reroute around Bellevue Transit Center for Routes 220, 240, 556 and 566.
- Friday, Dec. 25, and Friday, Jan. 1: Sunday schedules again on Metro, the same ST Express routes and Link.
- Friday, March 26, 2027: The current 2 Line timetable and the Route 270 timetable both run through this date, so expect the next round of schedule changes after it.
King County Metro described the August changes as improving frequency, operating hours and connections to 2 Line stations. For a Bellevue rider, that means a weekday trip to Seattle now starts with a walk or short bus ride to a station on or near Bellevue Way. A late or weekend trip takes a little more planning around the 270's hours and the 2 Line's maintenance weekends.
Changes like these affect how close a home feels to the places you go every day, and a station or a frequent bus line nearby can matter as much as the drive. If you are weighing a move within Bellevue or across the Eastside and want to talk through how the new routes connect to different blocks, the team at Rebecca Mitsui is happy to help.
