King County Metro Transit is updating its bus service, beginning Saturday, Feb. 5. This includes several changes for buses serving Kirkland and the Eastside.

The biggest change is on hold until Feb. 26, when the new Kirkland Transit Center reopens at Central Way and Third Street. Until then, the buses will remain on the reroutes that have been in place since 2009.

For the other changes that begin Feb. 5, bus riders should check winter schedules for the routes they use most often to see what’s new. They can prepare by picking up a new blue timetable and the Special Rider Alert brochure, which is also posted on Metro Online. Or, use the online Trip Planner for some advance research. Be sure to input a date of Feb. 5 or later, when using the Trip Planner.

Here are the highlights of the February changes for Kirkland-area riders:

• There are more trips on routes 255 and 311 as part of the additional bus service for the State Route 520 corridor to provide more alternatives to driving when bridge tolling begins this spring;

• New Route 309 will connect the Kenmore Park-and-Ride with First Hill via Lake City and South Lake Union with commute-time express service;

• Route 342 southbound trips from Aurora Village at 6:24 a.m. and 6:49 a.m. will end at the Wilburton Park-and-Ride instead of continuing to Renton, and the northbound trip to Shoreline Park-and-Ride at 4:37 p.m. will originate at the Wilburton Park-and-Ride;

• On Feb. 26, routes 230, 234, 236, 238, 245, 248, and 255 return to the rebuilt Kirkland Transit Center, existing reroutes continue until that date.

There are routing and bus stop changes for approximately two dozen bus routes from various areas of the county that pass through downtown Seattle. The downtown changes are designed to keep people moving during the long-term construction along the Seattle waterfront and SODO area.

Metro updates its routes and scheduling three times a year to improve service and keep up with the changing needs of transit customers.

Beyond bus service, Metro’s Rideshare Services provides resources for carpooling, vanpooling or vansharing. Carpooling and vanpooling match people traveling to common destinations. VanShare helps those who need to make a connection to or from bus service. You can VanShare from home and connect to your bus, or use VanShare from the bus stop or park-and-ride lot to complete a trip to work.

For information about all the services Metro provides, visit Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or call Metro Customer Information at (206) 553-3000.