Metro riders in Queen Anne will have to keep a little more change handy in the new year. King County Metro Transit is increasing fares starting in January 2011.

Beginning Jan. 1, all adult Metro riders will see a 25 cent fare increase. Fares for other Metro products, such as passes and ticketbooks, will also increase. Youth fares will remain unchanged.

Fares will also be changing for Access customers. Access fares will increase by 25 cents and monthly passes will cost $45.

Metro-only annual and monthly reduced fare passes will no longer be sold, though existing ones will continue to be honored until they expire.

Check here for more information about upcoming Metro fare adjustments.

Bus riders, take note: Metro is revising some routes on its current schedule, beginning this Saturday, October 2. Routes that go through Queen Anne undergoing changes include:

• Route 17—There are routing changes in downtown Seattle for both northbound and southbound trips—Northbound trips to Sunset Hill will operate via 3rd Ave north of Virginia St and on Blanchard St between 3rd Ave and Westlake Ave N. These trips will no longer operate on Virginia St between 3rd Ave and Westlake Ave, and on Westlake Ave between Virginia St and Blanchard St. Southbound trips to downtown Seattle will operate via 9th Ave south of Republican St, on Bell St between Denny Way and 3rd Ave, and on 3rd Ave between Bell St and Virginia St. These trips will no longer operate on Westlake Ave south of Blanchard St or on Stewart St.
• Routes16—On weekdays, the northbound 12:40 am trip will leave 15 minutes earlier at 12:25 am. Discontinued: The northbound trips to Northgate from the Seattle Ferry Terminal at 12:10 am weekdays and 12:38 am Saturday.
• Route 26—Discontinued: On weekdays, the southbound express trip to downtown Seattle from Woodlawn Ave N & Ravenna Blvd at 7:02 am.
• Route 28—Discontinued: On weekdays, the southbound express trip to downtown Seattle from Aurora Ave N & N 143rd St at 5:34 am and all shuttle trips operating between Aurora Ave N & N 143rd St and Fremont Ave N & N 34th St.
• Route 30—Weekend service between the Seattle Center and the U-District will begin about 6 am on Saturday and 10 am on Sunday. With the addition of 80 trips per week, there will now be service between the Seattle Center and the U-District until midnight seven days per week.
• Route 31—Discontinued: The westbound Route 31 trip to central Magnolia from 12th Ave NE & NE Campus Pkwy at 6:23 am.
• Route 45—Discontinued: The eastbound trip to the U-District leaving Roy St & Warren Ave N at 7:02 am.

Metro says it’s making the schedule and route changes to save money, preserve bus service, and operate more efficiently. Bus riders should check fall schedules for the routes they use most often to see what’s new. You can prepare by picking up a new orange timetable, Special Rider Alert brochure, or use the online Trip Planner for some advance research. When using Trip Planner, be sure to input a date of October 2 or later.

While driving around Seattle, it’s hard not to notice the overhead wire that runs above about 70 miles of pavement in and around the city. King County Metro Transit has a fleet of 159 electric trolley buses that operate along those lines, which had 19.7 million boardings on its routes in 2009—about one-fifth of Metro’s total average weekday ridership.

Photo courtesy of King County Metro Transit

Queen Anne is a neighborhood that happens to have quite a few trolley lines going through it, (including routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, etc.).

The county needs to replace all 159 existing vehicles by 2015, with an order deadline at the end of 2012.

(Photo provided by the City of Seattle, depicts the central corridor of the King Country Metro Trolley Bus Network as of 2010).

King County Executive Dow Constantine has sent the King County Council a plan for a proposed evaluation in its imminent replacement of this fleet. It focuses on the technology of electric trolleys and diesel-electric hybrid buses, with a goal toward finding the most fuel-efficient, best value for the system. The Trolley Bus System Evaluation (.pdf) is expected to continue through the middle of next year. It will explore the costs, impact on the environment, funding opportunities and legal issues.

Metro plans additional public meetings for discussion of the evaluation as results become available. The next one is in Mount Baker on Sept.13.

Metro has already conducted a preliminary evaluation of several potential propulsion systems, including electric trolley, diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, compressed natural gas, electric battery, and hydrogen fuel cells.

Last week we reported that Metro is considering replacing the city’s warn down fleet of electric trolley buses with diesel ones, which are cheaper to produce and thus less of a budget constraint.

The county is holding an open house tonight, Tuesday, June 22 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Plymouth Congregational Church, located at 1217 6th Ave, and invites the public to take part in the discussion. The meeting will cover the Trolley Bus System Evaluation, a study that will examine the 14-route trolley system and “help the county make an informed decision about the best vehicle technology to use on these routes as the current trolley buses wear out.” For more information, check out the City of Seattle’s electric trolley bus network data (.pdf).

Ever noticed how much quieter some buses (routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, etc.) are than the many others that run through Queen Anne? You can thank those overhead wires — and the electric trolley buses they power — for that respite from noise pollution. The trolley buses also produce much less air pollution than diesel buses.

Despite those benefits, Metro is considering whether to replace its aging fleet of trolley buses with diesel ones, which cost less.

Our news partner The Seattle Times covered this story last month. On Tuesday, June 22, the public will have an opportunity to learn more about the Trolley Bus System Evaluation, a study that will examine the 14-route trolley system and “help the county make an informed decision about the best vehicle technology to use on these routes as the current trolley buses wear out.”

(Photo provided by the City of Seattle, depicts the central corridor of the King Country Metro Trolley Bus Network as of 2010).

The open house will be held downtown at Plymouth Congregational Church (1217 6th Avenue) from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, see the City of Seattle’s electric trolley bus network data (.pdf).

What do you think of the trolley buses and their possible replacement with diesel buses or other alternatives?

Metro is planning to close a number of bus stops along the #3 and #4 routes beginning Saturday, June 26, as part of its stop-spacing consolidation project for both lines.

Much like a similar project announced for the #28 route back in March, this plan would remove 27 of the 116 stops north of Denny Way and east of 5th Avenue, many of which are in Queen Anne along Taylor Ave N, Boston St., Queen Anne Ave N and other streets.

Metro says the plans to remove closely spaced stops along this stretch “will help buses move faster and operate on a more reliable schedule, cut energy consumption, and reduce Metro’s operating and maintenance costs.”

Sixteen stops in Queen Anne are on the chopping block, including both the north and southbound stops at Second Ave N and Blaine Street, Queen Anne Ave N and W Howe Street, Fifth Ave N at Crockett Street, and Taylor Ave N at Galer and Garfield streets. Get the full list of proposed closures here. In addition to the closings, Metro plans to open two more stops: one northbound at Taylor Ave N and Prospect Street, the other westbound at Boston Street and 2nd Ave N.

Currently the average distance between stops for these two routes is about 700 feet. After the stop-spacing project is complete, Metro estimates the average distance between stops will be closer to 950 feet. According to Metro, these changes will only directly affect eight percent of riders, who will now have to catch their bus at a different stop than they have in the past, stating that “When the project is completed, all riders should have a faster, more reliable trip.”

A few readers have expressed concern with the proposed changes. Jeff writes,

While some of the stops aren’t used much, they are cutting some of the more popular stops such as Galer and Taylor that is off of the stairs that run up the hill that many people access. I know of several disabled riders that get on at the Taylor condos that would have to walk several blocks down or up the hill to get to a stop. Cutting the rarely used stops I understand, but it seems like they cut based on spacing ignoring the riders that use the stops.

The public is invited to comment on the proposed consolidation project through Friday, June 11. Metro says it will be considering comments sent in from the community and will keep the neighborhood updated with any changes to the plan. You may comment on the project by filling out this online survey, sending an e-mail to community.relations@kingcounty.gov ( be sure to put “Route 3+4″ in the subject line), or calling Metro’s message line at (206) 296-4511 and leaving a message that includes the location of your stop.

(Thanks to Jeff and Luke Hizer for the tips!)

It’s Presidents Day which means schools, post offices, government offices and some liquor stores are closed (except the Queen Anne store and these (.pdf) others, which are open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Most banks are also taking the holiday and parking on city streets is free. Transfer stations are open though, and Metro is also running on their “When no UW” schedule.