Three times a year, King County Metro Transit updates its bus service to meet changing customer needs. The winter service change begins Saturday, and will affect about nine bus routes.

Most changes are minor schedule or routing adjustments, but there are three routes being renumbered and changed from fixed routing to more flexible Dial-A-Ride-Transit service.

They are:

• Route 149 changes entirely to DART Route 907 serving Renton, Maple Valley, Black Diamond and Enumclaw.

• Route 186 will have some individual trips convert to DART Route 915 serving Auburn and Enumclaw.

• Route 251 changes entirely to DART Route 931 serving the University of Washington Bothell Campus, Woodinville, Avondale and Redmond.

Last summer, when the King County Council approved a $20 congestion reduction charge to preserve Metro service, it also directed Metro to move ahead with strategies for alternative service delivery – referred to as “right-sizing.”

Converting the three routes will meet that goal of offering a more personalized service at a lower cost per rider in areas within or adjacent to low density rural areas that also tend to have lower ridership.

Details about all the winter bus service changes are available online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or by calling Metro at 206-553-3000. You can also pick up a new red timetable at Metro information stands and on board buses.