RapidRide D Line

This corridor was previously served by Metro routes 15 and 18,^[4] which carried a combined average of 7,630 riders on weekdays during the last month in service.^[5]

On September 29, 2012 (13 years ago) (2012-09-29), the D Line began service, running between Carkeek Park in Crown Hill, Ballard, Interbay, Uptown, and downtown Seattle.^[6]

In 2014, the city of Seattle planned major improvements to the RapidRide C and D lines after their opening with funds generated by Proposition 1 (which increased sales tax by 0.1 percent and imposed a $60 annual car-tab fee).^[7]

In June 2015, the first improvements came when headways on the RapidRide C and D lines were improved. Buses arrive every 7–8 minutes during weekday rush hour; every 12 minutes during midday hours on weekdays, and during the daytime on Saturday; and every 15 minutes on Sundays and during all nights.^[8][9]

Since the implementation of RapidRide on the corridor, ridership has grown 53 percent, and the D Line served an average of 11,700 riders on weekdays in spring 2015.^[2]

Prior to March 2016, the D Line was through-routed with the C Line, with buses continuing to West Seattle from downtown.^[3]

In March 2016, the city split the previously interlined RapidRide C and D lines apart after additional funding for the two routes was approved.^[7] C Line buses now continue north through Belltown onto Westlake Avenue in the South Lake Union neighborhood,^[10] terminating on Valley Street near the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center campus. D Line buses instead continue south on 3rd Avenue into Pioneer Square, using layover space on 5th Avenue south of Terrace Street.^[11]