Metro will make changes to its bus service Saturday, Sept. 20, some of which affect Bellevue.

With ridership nearly 7 percent higher than this time last year, Metro Transit is adding two new bus routes and more service on 20 routes throughout King County.

For local bus riders, the changes include:

The new Route 211 replaces Route 942 with service between Eastgate and Seattle’s First Hill, with stops at the South Bellevue and Mercer Island park-and-ride lots. There are some routing changes, and the schedule for the Route 211 is adjusted to enable transfers to commuter trains at King Street Station;

The portion of Route 230 between the Bellevue Transit Center and Redmond Transit Center will have more eastbound service in the early evening Monday through Saturday, as will eastbound service on Route 253; and

There are some routing changes on Route 272 in the University District.

Also, in response to requests from the cycling community, Metro will launch a demonstration project that allows bicycles to be loaded and unloaded on buses at any stop in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel – not just the first and last tunnel stations.

“We’ve listened to riders, cities, and businesses and are pleased to have these improvements hit the road as ridership continues to climb and more service is needed,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. “So many more people are taking the bus here in King County that Metro is among the fastest growing large transit agencies in the nation.”

Metro’s ridership has recently climbed to about 400,000 boardings each weekday, and is expected to increase this fall. Most of the additional service for the September service change is funded through the voter-approved Transit Now initiative, and includes several partnerships with local cities and businesses.

Metro updates its routes and scheduling three times a year to improve service and keep up with the changing needs of transit customers. Bus riders can find all the September changes detailed in the Special Rider Alert, which is online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro. The information also is in the online Trip Planner at www.kingcounty.gov/tripplanner. Enter a travel date for Sept. 20 or later to find the changed service.