Ride Free Area

Riding Metro Transit is free between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily in Downtown Seattle.

The Ride Free Area (RFA) extends from the north at Battery St. to S. Jackson St. on the south, and east at 6th Avenue to the waterfront on the west. Metro routes 116, 118 and 119 are not included in the Ride Free area.

Metro does not permit bicycles inside buses for safety reasons.

Bicycles may be loaded or unloaded at any bus zone at any time except in the Ride Free Area between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily. During these hours, loading and unloading bikes is restricted to a route's first and last ride free stop. This is a safety policy to reduce the potential of too many cyclists being between buses in heavy downtown traffic.

• See the list of actual first and last stops in the Ride Free Area by route number [.PDF 21kb]

For routes that use the tunnel, loading and unloading is possible only at Convention Place Station and the International District Station. The platform at the International District Station is much higher now (14 inches) than previously, and the road surface has a short sloping area before flattening out. Read and print the cyclists' safety message [.PDF 27kb] for other safety warnings.

• Downtown Seattle Map [66 kb] shows the boundaries of the Ride Free Area.