Last October we reported on a partnership between Metro and SDOT to overhaul the last remnants of the vestigial night owl network (defined as service between 2:15-4:30am). The plan announced then would eliminate Routes 82/83/84 while beefing up service on a number of key corridors:

If approved by the County Council, the proposal would boost total overnight service by roughly 50%. The proposal would: Replace Route 82 with Night Owl trips on Routes 3 (to Seattle Pacific), Route 5, and Route 62 (to Roosevelt only).

Replace Route 83 with Night Owl trips on Route 70

Replace Route 84 with Night Owl trips on Routes 3 and 11

Add Night Owl trips on Route 120

Upgrade RapidRide C, D, and E to hourly overnight service , up from 75-90 minute frequencies currently

, up from 75-90 minute frequencies currently Extend Route 124 to SeaTac Airport when Link isn’t running.

In response to public feedback, and because SDOT money is funding 80% of the new service hours, SDOT and Metro have since worked together to tweak the October proposal. Some of the most prominent feedback from the first round was the omission of overnight service in NE Seattle, particularly in Lake City and Northgate. In revisions released today, the new plan adds trips on a number of additional corridors, including Routes 44, 48, 65, and 67. Doing so not only provides NE Seattle with all-night service, but also considerably beefs up service to the UDistrict and UW Station area in the hours in which Link isn’t running.

The new proposal includes one deletion, Route 62. Originally slated to do 4-5 short trips only as far as Roosevelt, SDOT and Metro are paying for NE Seattle service in part by deleting these trips. There would be no Owl service across the Fremont bridge, though Route 5 would still operate, providing access to Fremont for those willing and able to walk down the hill from 39th/Fremont. Wallingford would no longer see Owl service from Downtown or Fremont, but would see service added from Ballard and the UDistrict on Route 44.

The historic Night Owl network has been strictly radial, providing overnight service from Downtown to the pre-1954 Seattle city limits. But in this new proposed network, routes might be able to be timed to provide late-night transfers outside of Downtown, exponentially multiplying the number of trip pairs accessible overnight. New transfer points could be 15th/Market (D/44), 46th/Aurora (E/44), 15th/Campus Parkway (44/70/65/67), 23rd/Madison (11/48), 23rd/Cherry (48/3), and Mount Baker Transit Center (7/48).

Other concepts from the original proposal remain, including overnight service on Routes 3, 5, 7, 11, 49, 70, C, D, and E. Routes 120 and 124 (with an extension to SeaTac) also remain, as these are Metro-funded additions ineligible for a Prop 1 boost from SDOT.

Check out the slides below from the presentation last month at the Seattle Transit Advisory Board. The proposal will now move to the County Council, and if approved the new network would be implemented in September. King County’s media release is reprinted after the jump.