King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. King County Metro formally began operations on January 1, 1973, but can trace its roots to the Seattle Transit System, founded in 1939, and Overlake Transit Service, a private operator founded in 1927 to serve the Eastside. Metro is also contracted to operate and maintain Sound Transit's 1 Line Link light rail line and eight of the agency's Sound Transit Express bus routes along with the Seattle Streetcar lines owned by the City of Seattle. Metro's services include electric trolleybuses in Seattle, RapidRide enhanced buses on six lines, commuter routes along the regional freeway system, dial-a-ride routes, paratransit services, and overnight “owl” bus routes.
Metro Transit[]
1973–1995[]
King County Metro began operations as Metro Transit in 1973, replacing the Seattle Transit System.
1995–2001[]
The logo was changed in 1995, replacing the former symbol with the then symbol of King County.
King County Metro[]
2001–2008[]
In 2000, Metro Transit was officially changed to King County Metro Transit, better reflecting that they serve all of King County. The new logo started being seen around 2001, but the previous logo with the previous name could be seen for years after before being fully phased out.
2008–present[]
Following King County's decision to replace the crown in their log to a picture of Martin Luther King Jr., King County Metro adopted an updated logo in 2008 and has continued to use it since though the previous was still seen until at least 2019.