 SCPTBA Public Transit , nicknamed the " Blue Bus " for its blue livery , carried 951 @,@ 200 passengers in its first year of service on 15 local routes and 16 commuter express routes to Downtown Seattle and Northgate , contracted through King County Metro as a continuation of service provided by the Metropolitan Transit Corporation to southern Snohomish County prior to its merger with Seattle Transit System in 1973 . The buses ran for 16 hours a day , charging a base fare of 20 cents ( equivalent to $ 1 @.@ 00 in 2016 ) . Among the most popular lines was Route R14 , accounting for 21 percent of system ridership in the first three months , running from the Edmonds waterfront to Lynnwood and the Boeing Everett Factory . The agency acquired its first federal subsidies from the Urban Mass Transit Administration for the 1978 fiscal year , to be used on the purchase of 18 new buses as well as bus stop amenities , such as stop signs and shelters . 
