Lakeside School

Light rail is a popular way for Lakeside students to get to and from school — it’s free, dependable, and easy. All youth 18 and younger can ride regular Metro transit, including the light rail, for free. Students can use a Youth ORCA card or show their Student ID to the driver as they board and to any transit official upon request. Youth who do not have a Youth ORCA card or Student ID can still ride for free.

Lakeside is accessible by taking the 1 Line (from Lynnwood to Federal Way) or the 2 Line (Lynwood to Downtown Redmond) on Link light rail to the Shoreline South/148th Street Station. The light rail station is about a 10-minute walk to our Upper School campus and a 15-minute walk to the Middle School campus. Check out the Sound Transit's trip planner for more information about how to get from your house to the station. 

To complete the trip between both campuses and the light rail station, Lakeside provides a free transfer service that runs in the morning, afternoon, and evening. While it is free, students must be enrolled in the custom bus program in order to use the transfer service. In the event of capacity challenges, preference will be given to those students who have selected light rail as their primary home-to-school method during the custom bus registration process.

Lakeside School is also accessible via several bus routes; check Metro's trip planner to find your best route.

Learn more and register for the transfer service for the 2026-2027 school year. Questions? Don't hesitate to contact the business office at transportation@lakesideschool.org.

Nearly 40% of Lakeside students take part in our custom bus program, which stretches from Redmond to Rainier Beach and South Park to Kenmore. The buses run on six morning/afternoon and two evening routes that are specially designed to bring our students to and from school. Buses are provided by King County Metro and ZUM, a private school bus provider, and the program is a partnership with University Prep and The Evergreen School.

Please read the following information closely and, if you have questions about the custom bus program, please contact our transportation team at transportation@lakesideschool.org. For real-time questions about buses en route, call (206) 440-2801 and leave a voice message. Our bus monitoring team actively monitors routes and will respond as soon as possible.

As of mid-August 2026, there is still space available on our custom bus routes for this coming year. Click here to register for the custom bus program.

Students must be enrolled in the custom bus program in order to take the bus; the program does not allow for occasional riders. Ridership is nontransferable and nonrefundable. Students enrolled in the program receive a custom bus sticker to be affixed on the back of their student ID card that must be shown to the driver when embarking. Riding the custom buses while not enrolled in the program is against Lakeside’s Statement of Community Expectations. 

Costs

Program costs are based on the direct costs that Metro and ZUM charge the school. The school covers all overhead costs of the program. For the 2026–2027 school year, the cost of the custom bus program is $375 per month. Families receive bus registration information in late May.

Financial aid is available and automatically applied for students receiving tuition financial aid. Please contact financialaid@lakesideschool.org with questions about financial aid.

Routes

The custom bus routes are commuter-style, running on major arterials with occasional stops, and serving the greatest number of families in the shortest amount of time. Families generally drive or carpool to the stops.

The program does not allow for mid-year route changes. Requests for route changes are reviewed each December for implementation in the following academic year. Route-specific information and maps are located below.

Bus Stops

Students should be waiting at the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to depart. Riders must be at the stop, not sitting in cars where the driver cannot see them. Students should not ask drivers for special stops. 

What are the buses like to ride?

The majority of our custom buses are regular King County Metro buses designed to meet the needs of commuters. If a student has never ridden a Metro bus before, we encourage parents and guardians to take a trip on a Metro bus with their student before the beginning of the school year and discuss expectations and respectful and safe behavior on public transit. As on all Metro buses, there are occasions where students may need to stand. In the 2026-2027 school year, ZUM, a private yellow school bus provider, is operating two routes for our students.

While the special routes are used primarily by our students and employees, non-students looking for transportation along the Metro routes can find them on Metro’s website and use these buses if they pay the custom fare. This does not happen often.

All bus timetables are constructed to take traffic into account. However, traffic and weather are beyond our control, and buses can sometimes run late.

What happens during inclement weather?

If Lakeside is in session, the buses will be running. When snow or ice is present, bus routes with hills will be affected, some stops may be eliminated, and there will most likely be significant delays. Find more details about snow routes below, and sign up for transit alerts from King County Metro to stay up-to-date. 

ORCA cards

An ORCA pass is not required nor valid on the school’s custom buses; however, it can be used to ride regular Metro transit, including the Light Rail, for free. We encourage students to apply for a Youth ORCA Card at Free Youth Transit Pass. See the "Public Transportation" tab for more information.

Helpful links  

2026-2027 Bus Schedule 

2026-2027 Google Maps

Custom Bus FAQs and Expectations for Riders

Light Rail Transfer Bus Service 

Light Rail 1 Line Train Schedule

Light Rail 2 Line Train Schedule 

King County Metro Service Advisories

Custom Bus Snow/Adverse Weather Routes

Many families form a carpool, driven by older students or parents and guardians. Carpools receive prioritized parking permit access at the Upper School. 

In 2026-2027, there are two tools available to families interested in forming groups to walk, bike, take transit, or carpool either daily or occasionally (such as for all-school events).

1. Veracross family portal: A search function within the family portal allows you to find households within a certain distance of your residence. Click on the “Online Directories” button. From the "Households" tab, click on the "Nearby Student Households" link to access a list of nearby families.Using this household list, you can call or e-mail other families to set up shared trips.
2. SchoolPool Pilot Program: This school year, Lakeside has been invited to participate in a King County Metro pilot program, leveraging the existing RideShareOnline platform. Families who opt in to the pilot will be able to create trips and utilize a map to identify other Lakeside families who match on the days, times, origins, and destinations you specify. You choose what information to share and which trips to create. Because this will be a private network composed of only Lakeside families, the program will work best when more families opt-in and create trips! Whether you need a ride or can give a ride, whether you want to carpool or create a transit-riding group, this tool provides our most robust option to-date for creating shared trips with other Lakeside families. Opt-in by logging into the Veracross family Portal and clicking on the link to Opt-In to SchoolPool!

Families are encouraged to review safe walking and biking routes with their students and to form groups for even safer trips.

Bike racks are available on both campuses. At the Middle School, racks are located between the gym and the main building. At the Upper School, there are racks at the southeast corner of The Paul G. Allen Athletics Center, on the north and west sides of Pigott Memorial Library, and in between the Vassar Center and Allen-Gates Hall.

In addition to the outdoor bike racks, there is a secured bike cage at the PGA building. Students who are interested in accessing the bike cage can submit a request using this form.

Lakeside has several on-campus parking areas. With the exception of visitor parking, anyone parking in a Lakeside parking lot before 3:15 p.m. on school days must have a valid parking permit. Please note that cars parked on campus without proper identification or inappropriately parked on campus or neighboring streets may be towed.

Visitor parking and check-in
Middle School visitor parking is located near the flagpole at the school’s main entrance on NE 137th St. Please start your visit by checking in and registering your vehicle with the main office. The office staff can answer questions. Please note that the Middle School admissions office is located in the main office of the Middle School.

Upper School visitor parking is located in front of Allen-Gates Hall. Turn into the main driveway from 1st Ave. NE, and then take an immediate right followed by an immediate left. Please start your visit by checking in and registering your vehicle in the main office in Bliss Hall (the building with the clocktower). The main office staff has maps available and can answer questions. Prospective students and families with pre-scheduled visits to campus should check into campus at the admissions office in Fix Hall.

Accessible parking
The visitor parking lot, between Allen-Gates Hall and 1st Ave. NE, has four stalls reserved for accessible parking; The Paul G. Allen Athletics Center parking lot has two spots reserved. Cars must have a valid accessible parking permit to park in these spaces.

Event parking
For major events, signs will direct attendees to available parking.

Parent and guardian parking
Parents and guardians may park in the visitor lot or on a neighboring street. See below for a map of off-campus parking. 

Off-campus parking
There is limited street parking in the area around Lakeside. Please be considerate of our neighbors; Seattle’s municipal code states that there is no parking within five feet of a driveway, mailbox, or alley. View a map of parking around both campuses.

Student parking
Starting in August 2026, new student parking guidelines and processes are in place. All students who want to park on campus must submit an application. Permits will only be issued for the number of student parking spaces on campus. Priority will be given to carpools, then seniors, then juniors. We will not be issuing parking permits to sophomores or to students licensed less than six months, unless they are carpooling with immediate family members also attending Lakeside.

The first-round application for 2026-2027 parking permits opens Aug. 12 and closes on Aug. 21. Applications submitted after Aug. 21 will be reviewed and assigned to parking on a first-come, first-served basis. Vehicles parked in student parking must be registered with the school and must display a parking permit at all times. 

Learn more about student parking in this article and this parking-specific FAQ. 

Please note that construction in the neighborhood may impact travel to and from our campuses. See our Construction and Neighborhood News page for links and more information, and the "Parking" tab above for information about where to park on and near our campuses.