King County Metro Transit has several days of reduced service in the coming month, including a full week at the end of December.

On several of the upcoming legal holidays, Metro will use a Sunday schedule. And, there are planned reductions for holiday periods where Metro has historically seen 20-40 percent fewer weekday riders.

Sunday schedules will be used on the following holidays:

• Friday, Dec. 25 – Christmas

• Friday, Jan. 1 – New Year’s Day

The reduced weekday schedule will be in effect on:

• Thursday, Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve

• Monday-Thursday, Dec. 28-31 – winter holiday period

• Monday, Jan. 18 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On days with reduced weekday schedules, some commuter and school-oriented routes will not operate, and other routes will have individual trips canceled. Many routes will have no changes. Regular fares apply on most of these days.

An overview of all the holiday service is online.

The reduced weekday schedule was used on a limited basis last winter. It features more bus service than on weekends, but somewhat less service than on normal weekdays. This schedule is being used on 10 days in 2009, and is estimated to save Metro more than $1 million each year.