So many King County Metro buses are out of service, routes will be cut for months

On a recent Friday morning in June, King County Metro reported 612 buses unavailable for service, all with open work orders for maintenance. That’s nearly 42% of the fleet of 1,479 coaches, a mammoth number that highlights just how deep a hole the state’s largest bus service must dig itself out of to return to normal operations.

The repercussions of the backlog are already being felt. Metro has begun shaving routes and stops off its schedule months ahead of a planned September rollout of a pared-back network. And while the schedule now looks slimmer, in reality it’s only reflecting what riders have felt for months now in the form of last-minute cancellations or buses that never show up.

“It’s definitely the highest I’ve seen in my 10-year tenure,” Maggie Brubaker, deputy division director of vehicle maintenance, said of the maintenance demands.