Bellevue commuters who ride Route 271 to the University District or catch Sound Transit's 556 to Seattle will need new plans starting Saturday, Aug. 29, when King County Metro and Sound Transit roll out a sweeping set of Eastside bus service changes.

Route 271, the longtime connector between Bellevue, Eastgate, Issaquah and the U-District, will be deleted entirely. In its place, two new routes split the work: Route 270 will run between downtown Bellevue, Evergreen Point Station and the U-District, while Route 220 will cover Eastgate, Bellevue College and downtown Bellevue.

Sound Transit Route 556 will no longer terminate at University District Station. Instead, it will serve Bellevue Transit Center and Bellevue Downtown Station, giving Eastside riders a direct bus-to-rail connection with the 2 Line.

Frequency jumps to every 15 minutes. Sound Transit Route 554 will also be deleted, with its service absorbed by the rerouted 556 and the 2 Line.

For riders heading to Mercer Island or Seattle from Issaquah Highlands, Route 269 extends to Mercer Island Station via I-90, with 15-minute peak frequency on weekdays and new weekend service added for the first time.

Route 111, connecting Renton and South Bellevue Station, expands to all-day, all-week service with earlier morning and later evening trips, according to the city of Bellevue's traffic advisory.

The changes are part of a system-wide Metro expansion adding nine new routes and more than 3,000 weekly trips across King County. "This marks the single largest bus service investment in South King County in a generation," King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said of the broader package when announcing it Aug. 3. Metro called the Eastside improvements the most significant in the overhaul.

Construction at Bellevue Transit Center adds another wrinkle. Crews are retrofitting the bus depot to accommodate Stride double-decker battery electric buses, with work expected to last through February 2027, the city's advisory notes.

King County Metro held a virtual information session on the Eastside changes at noon Wednesday, Aug. 19. The Aug. 29 service changes remain in effect through March 26, 2027, and updated maps and schedules are available in English, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese on the King County Metro website.