RapidRide D Line
The D Line is one of eight RapidRide lines operated by King County Metro in King County, Washington. The D Line began service on September 29, 2012, running between Carkeek Park in Crown Hill, Ballard, Interbay, Lower [Queen Anne, Seattle, Washington|Uptown], and downtown Seattle. The line runs via Holman Road NW, 15th Ave NW, 15th Ave W, Elliott Ave W, W Mercer Pl, Queen Anne Ave N / 1st Ave N and 3rd Ave.
Prior to March 2016, the D Line was through-routed with the C Line, with buses continuing to West Seattle from downtown.
History
This corridor was previously served by Metro routes 15 and 18, which carried a combined average of 7,630 riders on weekdays during the last month in service. 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.Later developments
The city of Seattle made major improvements to the RapidRide C and D lines after their opening with funds generated by Proposition 1.The first improvements came in June 2015 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.
In March 2016, the city split the previously interlined RapidRide C and D lines apart after additional funding for the two routes was approved. C Line buses now continue north through Belltown onto Westlake Avenue in the South Lake Union neighborhood, 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.