What is Swift?

Swift is Community Transit’s bus rapid transit (BRT) service. Everything about Swift – the buses, stations, routes, and the way you pay – makes getting around Snohomish County faster and easier. Swift connects you with regional transit options, getting you farther faster. Swift buses arrive every 10-15 minutes on weekdays, and every 20 minutes on early mornings, evenings, and weekends, meaning you don’t even need to check a schedule.

What is the Community Transit Swift network?

Currently, you can ride:

• Swift Blue Line along Hwy 99 between Aurora Village Transit Center and Everett Station.
• Swift Green Line along Hwy 527, 128th St SW, and Airport Rd between Canyon Park Park & Ride and Seaway Transit Center.

Community Transit is expanding our Swift network. In addition to the Swift Green Line Extension, we are:

• Building the Swift Orange Line between McCollum Park, Mill Creek, Ash Way Park & Ride, Alderwood Mall, Lynnwood Transit Center Light Rail Station, and Edmonds College. We plan to open the Swift Orange Line in spring 2024.
• Getting ready to build the Swift Blue Line Extension from Aurora Village Transit Center to the Shoreline North/185th Light Rail Station. We plan to open the Swift Blue Line Extension when Sound Transit opens light rail service to Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood in 2024.
• Planning for the Swift Gold Line between Everett Station, Marysville, and Smokey Point Transit Center in Arlington. We expect to open the Swift Gold Line between 2027 and 2029.

What will new Swift stations look like?Swift Blue Line station at Hwy 99 and 196th St SW, similar to the stations that will be used on the Swift Green Line Extension.

The new Swift Green Line Extension stations will include a roof, lighting, real-time information signs, seating, windscreens, digital signage, and ticket vending machines. You can check out what the stations will look like at the Swift Blue Line Station on Hwy 99 and 196th St SW.

Swift and zero emissions

Every time you ride the bus, you’re contributing to a cleaner, greener future by choosing a lower emissions alternative to driving your own vehicle. At Community Transit, we’ve prioritized sustainability, and we’re going one step further to preserve our beautiful environment in Snohomish County by transitioning to zero-emissions buses. As part of that transition, there will be new buses, including Swift buses. Visit our website to learn more about our zero emissions fleet transition or send us your input at engage@commtrans.org.

We will add up to six new pairs of stations between Canyon Park Park & Ride, downtown Bothell, and UW Bothell/Cascadia College.

We evaluated and identified recommended station locations using a variety of data on:

• Population and employment
• Connections for people biking and walking
• Ongoing and planned development and other land uses
• Key travel destinations
• Existing transit service and ridership

Learn about the recommended station locations, as well as the other options we evaluated, by clicking on each station location. During the comment period, participants could take a survey and comment on the map to give your input on the Swift Green Line Extension and station locations.

We identified northbound and southbound stations at Bothell Way NE and 228th St SE. These station locations, located in the Canyon Park Regional Center, would:

Serve the surrounding shopping centers and businesses, including Canyon Park Place and Canyon Park Shopping Center.

Provide easy transfers to local Community Transit routes.

We identified northbound and southbound stations at Bothell Way NE at 240th St SE.

These station locations would:

• Serve the nearby Safeway, Lakeside at Canyon Park shopping center and Lake Pleasant RV Park.
• Serve ongoing and future developments, as well as existing homes along Bothell Way NE and 240th St SE.
• Create an additional crossing on the north side of the Bothell Way NE and 240th St SE intersection.

Map of recommended Swift station location areas at 240th St SE and Bothell Way

We evaluated two options for northbound and southbound potential future infill station locations: Bothell Way NE at NE 201st Pl and Bothell Way NE at NE 196th St. That means these stations will not open with the rest of the project, but we may add them to the Swift Green Line Extension in the future after it is already operating. Proactively planning for future infill stations saves money on overall design and engineering and gives us flexibility to construct the stations at a future date as development around the station increases.

We identified northbound and southbound stations at Bothell Way NE at NE 201st Pl as the recommended potential future infill stations. These station locations would:

• Serve existing homes, as well as ongoing and future residential developments.
• Create a new crosswalk on Bothell Way NE near the stations.

We evaluated two options for northbound and southbound station locations in downtown Bothell: Bothell Way NE at NE 190th/191st St and Bothell Way NE at Reder Way. Both station locations will not be part of the Swift Green Line Extension.

The recommended station locations at Reder Way, located within the dense downtown Bothell core, would:

• Serve the west end of downtown Bothell, including Pop Keeney Stadium. McMenamins, and the Bothell Park & Ride.
• Provide access to existing homes, apartment complexes, and planned residential and multi-use developments nearby in a high-density population and employment area.

We propose to share eastbound and westbound stations with Sound Transit’s Stride S3 Line at:

• NE 185th St and 104th Ave NE
• Beardslee Blvd at UW Bothell/Cascadia College

These stations would provide easy connections for riders and efficient use of resources for both Sound Transit and Community Transit. Sound Transit will construct these stations.

Evaluated Future Infill Station: Bothell Way and 196th St

We evaluated two options for northbound and southbound potential future infill station locations: Bothell Way NE at NE 201st Pl and Bothell Way NE at NE 196th St. That means these stations will not open with the rest of the project, but we may add them to the Swift Green Line Extension in the future after it is already operating. Proactively planning for future infill stations saves money on overall design and engineering and gives us flexibility to construct the stations at a future date as development around the station increases.

Both station locations would not be considered as future infill stations as part of the Swift Green Line Extension.

We evaluated northbound and southbound stations at Bothell Way NE at NE 196th St. We did not select this location as a proposed station location due to:

• No nearby cross streets with access to residential areas to the east and west.
• Limited population density near the station.
• The steep hillside, which would require costly grading and structural modifications to support the station.

Evaluated Station Location: Bothell Way and NE 190th/191st St

We evaluated two options for northbound and southbound station locations in downtown Bothell: Bothell Way NE at NE 190th/191st St and Bothell Way NE at Reder Way. Both station locations would not be part of the Swift Green Line Extension.

We did not select the NE 190th/191st St location as a proposed station location. Relative to the proposed Reder Way station location, this location has limited population and employment density near the station.

Community engagement

The community had the opportunity to give input on the proposed station locations in fall 2023. More than 600 people visited this online open house to take the survey and leave comments on the map.

The community indicated general support for the project, with a majority noting that the Swift Green Line Extension would make travel in the area more convenient. Many also expressed support for serving UW Bothell/Cascadia College, as well as other key community locations.

The Community Transit project team reviewed community input and conducted additional analyses to determine the recommended station locations.

Next steps

• We are preparing for design and permitting. We will keep you updated on our progress.
• Sign up for the Swift Network News to stay up to date on the project.

What are our partners doing to prepare for the Swift Green Line Extension?

Planning for the Swift Green Line Extension is closely tied to the City of Bothell’s Bothell Way NE Multimodal Project. The project involves widening Bothell Way NE, which is required to accommodate Swift service. Working on these projects at the same time also helps us to minimize the impacts of construction and reduce overall costs.