Seattle night owls, red-eye fliers and graveyard-shift workers are finally getting something they have been asking about for years: a way to reliably get to and from Sea-Tac in the dead of night without begging a friend for a ride or gambling on a pricey car share.
Sound Transit is rolling out a pilot overnight bus route between Sea-Tac Airport and downtown Seattle on March 28. The service will run roughly every 30 minutes between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m., timed to cover the gap when Link light rail and many other routes shut down. The pilot is scheduled ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when the region is bracing for a swarm of late-night arrivals and departures.
Official announcement and schedule
In a press release via Sound Transit, the agency confirmed the overnight pilot will enter service on March 28 and operate about every 30 minutes between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. Officials say more details are coming, including finalized timetables and exact stop locations, as the launch date gets closer.
Route and stops
According to reporting by FOX 13 Seattle, the overnight buses will serve SeaTac/Airport and Tukwila International Boulevard, then head express into downtown Seattle. Planned stops include areas near SODO, Stadium, the International District/Chinatown, Pioneer Square, Symphony and Westlake. The exact curbside locations and on-street bays are still being finalized with partner agencies.
Filling a late-night transit gap
For years, riders catching late flights or clocking out of overnight shifts have had few reliable options between midnight and the first morning trains, especially for airport trips. The Urbanist reports that the Sea-Tac overnight bus is part of a broader push to build a regional overnight ST Express network that would close those gaps and sync up with King County Metro’s Night Owl service.
Who benefits and how to stay informed
Sound Transit says the pilot is aimed squarely at two big groups: passengers with late-night and early-morning flights, and the large workforce that keeps the airport running around the clock. The agency is encouraging riders to sign up for automatic email service alerts so they are not caught off guard by any tweaks to the new route.
In a press release via Sound Transit, CEO Dow Constantine said, "This overnight pilot will ensure 24-hour transit access from Seattle to the airport." For anyone who has ever tried to drag a suitcase onto a half-awake rideshare at 3 a.m., that promise will likely sound pretty appealing.
Next steps and the bigger picture
Transportation advocates and agency staff see the Sea-Tac overnight line as a test case for something bigger. The pilot is the first move in a planned overnight network that could add routes from Everett, Redmond and Lakewood later this year, according to The Urbanist.
Officials say that how quickly the network grows, and exactly where it goes, will depend on coordination with partner agencies including King County Metro, Community Transit and Pierce Transit. For now, though, late-night travelers finally have a concrete date when the airport ride gets a little less stressful and a lot more predictable.
