Until this summer, one bus covered the Issaquah-to-Seattle trip. ST Express Route 554 ran from Issaquah to downtown Seattle without a transfer. On August 29, 2026, Sound Transit discontinued it and named the 2 Line and Route 556 as the alternatives. That change came five months after light rail began crossing Lake Washington on March 28, 2026. The Crosslake Connection completed the 2 Line and added stations at Mercer Island and Judkins Park.
Every Issaquah trip to Seattle by transit now includes a transfer to the train. Where that transfer happens depends on which part of Issaquah the trip starts from. Issaquah Highlands now has several routes straight to Mercer Island Station. Front Street, Gilman Boulevard and the Issaquah Transit Center area depend on one route, which meets the train at South Bellevue. For transit riders, how long the Seattle trip takes now depends on the starting address within Issaquah.
Two Issaquahs on one timetable
The table below uses the fall 2026 schedules from King County Metro and Sound Transit, which run August 29, 2026 through March 26, 2027.
| Starting point | Routes that reach a Link station | Where you board the train | Park-and-ride spaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issaquah Highlands P&R | 215, 269, 218 and 556 | Mercer Island via 215, 269 or 218; South Bellevue via 556 | 1,010 |
| Issaquah Transit Center | 556 | South Bellevue | 819 |
| Front St and Gilman Blvd stops | 556 | South Bellevue | None listed |
| Eastgate Freeway Station | 215, 269, 218 and 556 | Mercer Island or South Bellevue | 1,614 at Eastgate P&R |
The parking counts come from King County Metro's park-and-ride list. According to Metro's schedules, Routes 215, 218 and 269 stop at Issaquah Highlands P&R and Eastgate Freeway Station on the way to Mercer Island. None of the three serves Issaquah Transit Center.
The two areas are a few miles apart. After August 29, they have very different transit options.
Central Issaquah: one bus, then the train at South Bellevue
The rebuilt Route 556 now carries every central Issaquah trip toward Link. The City of Issaquah's August 17 notice describes the change. The 556 now goes to Bellevue Transit Center and Bellevue Downtown Station instead of University District Station, adds stops in Issaquah, and runs every 15 minutes. Westbound, it stops at 9th Ave NE and NE Ellis Dr, along East Sunset Way, at Front St N and NE Crescent Dr, and at three stops on NW Gilman Blvd. Then it reaches Issaquah Transit Center and runs express to Eastgate, South Bellevue Station and Bellevue Downtown Station.
The weekday 6:00 a.m. trip shows how the timing works:
- Leaves Issaquah Highlands P&R at 6:00 a.m.
- Issaquah Transit Center at 6:15 a.m.
- Eastgate P&R at 6:25 a.m.
- South Bellevue Station at 6:29 a.m.
- Bellevue Transit Center at 6:38 a.m.
On that trip, a rider boarding at Issaquah Transit Center reaches South Bellevue Station in 14 minutes. The westbound train goes from there into Seattle. Sound Transit's own estimate, as KING 5 reported it, is 21 minutes from Bellevue to International District and 26 minutes from Bellevue to Westlake. When the cross-lake segment opened, Sound Transit said trains at the new stations would come about every eight minutes at peak. Waiting for the train is now part of every Seattle trip that used to be a single bus ride.
The Seattle Times described the change the day before it took effect. The 554 would retire, the 556 would be shortened to downtown Bellevue, and commuters going farther would transfer to the 2 Line.
The Highlands: three more routes, all ending at Mercer Island
Issaquah Highlands P&R is the first stop on the 556, and three Metro routes also leave from it for Mercer Island Station. Seattle Transit Blog's August 20 rundown lays them out:
- Route 215 is new. It runs between Mercer Island and North Bend by way of Eastgate, Issaquah Highlands and Snoqualmie. Buses come every 30 minutes between Mercer Island and the Highlands, and every third trip continues to North Bend. Service between Issaquah and North Bend improves from every 120 minutes to every 90, and that segment now runs on Sundays.
- Route 269 now runs from Marymoor Village to Mercer Island. Weekday peak service improves from every 30 minutes to every 15, and the route adds daytime weekend service. It no longer stops in Issaquah's local neighborhoods or at Issaquah Transit Center.
- Route 218 now ends at Mercer Island. It runs every 30 minutes in the peak direction from 5:30 to 9:00 a.m. and from 4:15 to 7:15 p.m., up from five trips a day.
These three routes take the Highlands to a train station that is closer to Seattle than South Bellevue. Sound Transit's 2 Line timetable shows about 16 minutes from Mercer Island to Westlake on regular trips. Metro Routes 204, 215, 218, 269 and 630 and ST Express 547 all stop beside Mercer Island Station.
Reader comments on Seattle Transit Blog's thread came to the same reading. One commenter called the Highlands "the real winner in terms of more service." Another said central Issaquah was "more of a mixed bag," with one bus to Link and the transfer at South Bellevue. These are riders' opinions. Nobody has published a measured comparison yet.
The Bellevue trip got better for everyone
For Issaquah households headed to Bellevue rather than Seattle, the change looks mostly like a gain. The 556 now runs all day between Issaquah and Bellevue, every 15 minutes during the day, every day. In downtown Bellevue it uses the Bellevue Way stops the 550 used to serve. The fall timetable lists the first weekday westbound trip leaving Issaquah Highlands at 4:05 a.m. and the last trip at 12:00 a.m. On that first trip, the ride from the Highlands to Bellevue Transit Center takes 37 minutes. The adult fare is $3.
Riders traded the one-seat ride to Seattle for more frequent service, longer hours and a direct link to downtown Bellevue. One commenter on the same thread pointed to evening service: 13 buses after 7 p.m. on the new 556, compared with 7 before. For a Gilman Boulevard address, that makes Bellevue easier to reach and Seattle a two-step trip. For a Highlands address, the 556 covers Bellevue and the Mercer Island routes cover Seattle.
Other routes changed too. Metro deleted Routes 208, 212 and 271. Route 203 now runs on 12th Avenue NW, Lake Drive and 10th Avenue NW, and no longer stops at 11th Avenue NW on NW Sammamish Road. If a listing's commute description names one of these routes, it was written before August 29.
Data that doesn't exist yet
Six weeks in, several useful numbers haven't been published. Sound Transit has reported systemwide Link ridership but not boardings at Mercer Island or South Bellevue stations. Neither agency has published occupancy figures for the Issaquah Highlands, Issaquah Transit Center or Eastgate lots since the change. No door-to-door comparison of the old 554 trip against the new bus-and-train trip has been published.
Parking capacity is one thing to watch. Mercer Island Park-and-Ride has 447 spaces and South Bellevue Station has 1,524, according to Sound Transit's parking inventory. In a March 2026 Seattle Times story, republished by the Spokesman-Review, the Mercer Island garage reached capacity almost as soon as it opened in 2008 and was still at capacity. The 1,500-space garage at South Bellevue had not yet filled every spot. That reporting came before rail service began. Highlands riders who use the Mercer Island routes board at the Highlands P&R, which has 1,010 spaces, so the small lot at the island end doesn't limit them. A driver from central Issaquah who skips the 556 and drives to a station would be competing for parking at one of those two station lots.
These schedules are also temporary. The current timetables expire March 26, 2027, so the spring service change could adjust the details.
FAQ
Is there still a bus from Issaquah directly to downtown Seattle? Not on ST Express. Sound Transit discontinued Route 554 on August 29, 2026, and lists the 2 Line and Route 556 as alternatives.
Does any Mercer Island route stop at Issaquah Transit Center? No. Metro's schedules for Routes 215, 218 and 269 list Issaquah Highlands P&R and Eastgate Freeway Station, not Issaquah Transit Center. From the transit center, the 556 connects to Link at South Bellevue Station.
Where does the 556 meet the 2 Line? At South Bellevue Station and Bellevue Downtown Station, according to the City of Issaquah's notice and Sound Transit's stop list.
If you're comparing the Highlands with central Issaquah and your commute will help decide it, Andrew Jackson can work through how the fall 2026 routes serve the specific streets you're considering, using the trip you'd actually make. Let's Connect.
