Baseball season is here, and the Seattle Mariners [external link] once again have King County Metro Transit in their lineup. For only $2.50 each way, you can eliminate driving and parking hassles on your trips to Safeco Field.

Think of Metro as the Kazuhiro Sasaki of the roadways and highways. Sasaki is the best relief pitcher in Mariners history, and Metro is the best in the region at helping people relieve the stress of dealing with traffic congestion.

Metro offers a combination of regular routes and special shuttle service for trips to and from Mariners games at Safeco Field in Seattle. Over the past several years, baseball fans have averaged 107,600 trips a year on Metro. This year, the Metro-to-Mariners connection begins Tuesday, April 8 with the M’s season home opener.

Depending on the time of the start of the ballgame, there are several transit options:

Afternoon games, Monday-Friday: Travel to and from Safeco using regular Metro service. There are more than two dozen routes that stop at or near the ballpark. Metro’s convenient online Trip Planner allows you to easily research which routes will provide the best connection from your home or office to the ballpark.

For night games with start times after 5 p.m., Monday-Friday: Use regular Metro to arrive at the ballpark. For after the game, there are three choices: use the regular routes; the free shuttle that travels to downtown Seattle and makes several stops; or ride one of the special shuttles that run between Safeco and 12 outlying park and ride lots. The shuttles run only after the weeknight games, and the one-way fare is $2.50.

When shuttle service is available, the special buses serve the following park and ride lots: Northgate; the transit center at Northgate; South Kirkland; South Bellevue; Eastgate; Mercer Island (post-game only); Federal Way; Star Lake; Kent-Des Moines; Kent; South Renton; and Tukwila.

Weekend games: The special shuttles provide service both to and from Safeco for $2.50 each way, and the free downtown shuttle is in operation. There is also a variety of weekend Metro routes that serve the ballpark. Once again, the Trip Planner is a great way to figure out all the options.

If bus service doesn’t fit your needs, use Metro’s "Event Match" to find a carpool partner who has tickets to the same game you do. The Rideshare program offers an alternative way to get to the next Mariners game, concert, Seattle Center festival, or any number of special events going on in the Puget Sound area by sharing the ride. Registration is simple, just visit the Rideshare Online Web page.

Detailed information is available on Metro Online. Or, call (206) 553-3000 (voice) or (206) 684-1739 (TTY).

The one-way, cash-only fare for the Mariners premium shuttle service is $2.50. Passes and transfers are not accepted. Up to two children ages 5 and younger may ride free with a fare-paying adult at any time. The post-game downtown Seattle Shuttle is free.

Again this season, Sound Transit will provide Sounder train service to the Mariners Sunday home games with 1:05 p.m. start times. The Sounder train will serve the Tacoma Dome, Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent and Tukwila stations. It leaves Tacoma at 11 a.m. and arrives in Seattle at King Street Station about noon. It leaves King Street Station at 5 p.m.

For information about Sound Transit's special Sounder service for Sunday Mariners games, visit the Sounder Web site, or call (888) 889-6368 (toll-free voice), or (888) 713-6030 (TTY).