Bus Transfers To and From Seattle Airport

The cities of Seattle and Tacoma are linked to Seattle airport by two different bus operators, King County Metro Buses and Sound Transit buses.

King County Metro Buses

Bus stops for King County Metro Buses are located on International Boulevard (State Highway 99) and South 176th Street, right by the Link Light Rail Station. Signs will direct you to the Sound Transit Link Light Rail Station and the exit that leads to International Boulevard.

King County Metro buses that pick up from stops by the Link Light Rail station are:

• Rapid Ride A Line (heading to Federal Way)
• Route 180 (heading to Burien/Auburn)
• and Route 156 (heading to Southcenter/Des Moines)

Bus time tables are available at the Ground Transportation Information Booth on the Baggage Claim level, where printed versions are kept near Exit 16, which is just across from baggage carousel #12. Departure times are also displayed on information signs at the bus stops.

Example: Route 156 runs approximately every 30 minutes. The first bus leaves Highline College at 5.03 am, arriving at SeaTac bus stop #60902 at 5.28 am, heading to Southcenter, where it arrives at Andover Park W & Baker Blvd bus stop #59312 at 5.44 am. The last service of the day arrives at SeaTac at 9.57 pm and at Southcenter at 10.13 pm.

Sound Transit Buses

Two express bus lines pick up and drop off passengers at the Sound end of the main terminal. Bus stops are located on the lower drive level. The Sound Transit Line 560 (Bay 2 from Sea-Tac) serves Burien, Renton and Bellevue, WA. Sound Transit Line 574 goes south, linking the airport with Federal Way, Tacoma, before going to its final destination, Lakewood, WA.

Tickets

You can pay on the bus, paying cash or using ORCA card payment. Drivers do not carry change, so you must hand over the correct fare, if paying cash. Tickets cost around $2.75 per person (aged 19 to 64). Young travelers aged 6 to 18 pay just $1.50 per ticket, and kids aged 5 or less go free.

You can get route/ timetable info at King County Metro Bus: https://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/ and Sound Transit: https://www.soundtransit.org/tripplanner

You can also download an App from the King County Metro Bus website that allows you to pay easily online for your ticket.

How to get to Link Light Rail Station and Bus Stops

From either end of the Baggage Claim area or the gate and ticketing level you can follow the signs to 'Link Light Rail'. The escalator at the north end of the terminal leads to the right level, where you can cross the skybridge to reach the fourth floor of the Airport Parking Garage. Now continue left on the covered walkway and follow signs about 1,200 feet to the Link Light Rail Station. It takes only a minute or so to reach the station.