We would like to make a point contrary to Metro’s philosophy that Mercer Island buses are underutilized and therefore should be canceled. We believe that if Metro provided bus routes that catered to the needs of Islanders then we would have much greater bus patronage.  Our example is the 205 route that shuttles folks between Mercer Island and the UW via Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood.  It turns out that there is a large demand on Mercer Island for rush hour buses for Mercer Island but only  if those buses meet the needs of Islanders.   The largest demand seems to be between the Island and the hospitals on First Hill.  The photos show the riders on the 205 route at 4:15 pm and at 7:00 am.

W. Clark Powell