line. King County Metro now operates a replacement bus line that mirrors the route. The proposed City Center Connector project would connect the South Lake Union and First Hill streetcars into a single line with a routing along 1st Avenue in Downtown Seattle. In 2009, the ORCA Card was introduced as a new way for fare payment between the seven transit agencies in the Puget Sound region. The card uses RFID technology to handle payment from either passes, vouchers, or the E-purse, a stored value debit account. ORCA's precursor, PugetPass, will be retained as one of the several passes that can be loaded automatically onto the card. The system also calculates transfers for a two-hour window for those paying with the E-purse. Since 2022, all transit agencies in the Puget Sound area have waived fares for passengers under the age of 18 as part of a statewide program. The Seattle Center Monorail, constructed for the Century 21 Exposition, runs approximately between Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne and Westlake Center in Downtown. Local transit agencies offer trip planners on their web sites that provides information for public transit in Seattle and surrounding areas (King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties). Riders enter their intended origin and destination, along with optional time, date, and other information, and the trip planner displays itineraries showing the stops, departure and arrival times, and times to get from the origin to the destination. Trip planning, schedules, and real-time arrivals are also available on third-party maps, such as Google Maps, and through dedicated apps such as OneBusAway. BoltBus began offering Seattle's first curbside intercity coach service in May 2012, with Portland as its first destination. The service later expanded with stops in Everett and Tacoma, but was discontinued by parent company Greyhound in 2021. Public transportation statistics The Seattle metropolitan area has historically had robust ridership for a predominantly bus-based transit system. It was one of the few major transit systems to gain ridership in the 2010s, in a period of increased ride-hailing services and lower gas prices. Only 10% of King County Metro riders rely on the eagency for all or most of their trips and do not have access to a vehicle. As of 2016, 48% of all trips to downtown were on transit. According to Moovit, the average amount of time Seattle-area commuters spend using public transit on a weekday is 74 minutes. 27% of