Metro Transit will cut one bus route in the Newcastle-Factor area and eliminate DART service there as well following adoption Monday of a new transit plan.

Hours allocated to those routes will be assigned to more heavily used routes, mostly in Seattle.

The change, approved by the Metropolitan King County Council, are the first service adjustments since the adoption of the County’s Transit Strategic Plan. The changes reflect the plan’s goals of allocating service hours to higher-performing bus routes to address overcrowding, on-time performance, and adding service to underserved corridors with the goal of making the overall bus system more productive.

“This is another step in the long march towards reforming how Metro serves King County riders,” said Council Vice Chair Jane Hague. “Eastsiders over the course of this process are also going to see an overall increase in their service hours.”

Route 219 serves a circular route between Newcastle and Factoria in the early morning and late afternoon. The 925 DART route, an on-call bus service, serves the same general area.

Two bus routes, 114 and 240, serve part of the area being eliminated.

The systemwide route changes are the first step in the shifting of at least 100,000 service hours to address high priority needs in the transit system.