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FAQ: Your Metro Reimagined Questions Answered
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When Metro Transit unveiled its draft plan for Metro Reimagined a few weeks ago, we knew it would be a popular topic for current MetroBus riders, regional stakeholders and transit enthusiasts.
We’re receiving valuable feedback regarding the draft plan via our Customer Service team, on social media and at various informational meetings around town. A lot of you have questions about the proposal, so we’ve gone ahead and answered a few of the most common questions we’ve been hearing from you.
Q: What is Metro Reimagined?
A: Metro Reimagined is an in-depth study of the Metro Transit system. Using research along with feedback from you, we’ve developed a draft of a new transit service plan that’s designed to provide new and existing customers with faster service, shorter wait times, and more reliable connections.
Q: Why do we need to change the system?
A: We need to adapt so we can provide you with services that meet your travel needs. In recent years, MetroBus ridership has been on the decline for the past several years, as is the case for most transit agencies across the country. While there are always a variety of factors that can impact this number, one thing is clear: the Metro Transit system, as it is today, could work better for the St. Louis region.
Q: What are the highlights of Metro Reimagined?
A: The draft plan will increase frequency to the 12 most-popular MetroBus routes (these routes accommodate more than half of today’s MetroBus ridership in Missouri) so that they would arrive at bus stops every 15 minutes or better. Most other MetroBus routes would be upgraded to 30-minute frequency. The draft plan also provides faster, more direct trips and new transit technology options.
In addition, for the areas in the region where a 40-foot bus isn’t the best way to move riders, we are looking at new options to provide better service – options like smaller vehicles, shuttles or on-demand services.
Q: How much will this plan cost?
A: The enhancements from Metro Reimagined will be supported using Metro Transit’s existing operating budget.
Q: What MetroBus routes will be cut under this plan?
A: Metro Transit will continue to serve all areas of the St. Louis region – but the system will look different under the proposed plan. We are working hard to minimize the impact of these changes, but you may need to make adjustments to your commute.
However, with these changes, you will have a faster, more reliable transit system with more frequent service than you enjoy today. And for the majority of riders, your current commute should take less time overall under the proposed plan than it does now.
Q: How does Metro Reimagined address safety?
A: The draft plan includes shorter wait times at bus stops, and coordinated connections between buses and trains. This means we can deliver you to destinations faster and safer. Metro will also introduce new technology to help you feel safer and more secure while on the system. For example, riders can now sign up for SafeTrek, a mobile personal safety app that notifies law enforcement of emergencies at the touch of a button. In addition, we will be launching a new text messaging service that riders can use to contact Metro Public Safety.
Our law enforcement partners have also increased their patrols and presence on the Metro system, and efforts are underway to have St. Clair County Sheriffs begin patrolling areas on the Missouri side of the river.
Q: When will changes go into effect?
A: We’ll be accepting public comments until May 4, and then incorporate changes to finalize the plan, which we will share this summer. We anticipate rolling out service improvements and network changes in phases from 2018 to 2021. While most of the planned changes will not occur until 2019 at the earliest, some shorter-term implementation activities could include: conducting demonstration projects of new service types, introducing new technology and customer amenities, as well as new vehicles to our fleet; beginning to make adjustments to some bus routes.
Let us know what you think.
There are several ways you can share your thoughts and comments about the draft service plan.
- Provide feedback through our Online Survey
- Email your questions or comments to [email protected]
- Attend a public meeting
- Call us at 314-982-1406
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Minimize the impact? By eliminating my way to work and the grocery store? My two routes #80 and #14 are slated to be killed. The #80 is my way to work – the BJC campus where tons of people ride public transit to get to and you’re taking away transportation from the neighborhoods folks moved to to be close to work????? This is a load of crap!!!
Robin, we saw your similar comment on our Facebook page and have answered your comment there. We’ll make sure this is sent over to our Planning Department as well. Thank you.
I also rely on the 80 bus to get to/from work. My roommate and I both have eye issues and are dependent on the 80 bus. Our neighbor is totally blind and uses the bus when needed. He teaches Braille at the blind school. I don’t understand helping the busier routes by eliminating other needed routes.
Please explain why you’re once again screwing me? I had issues with cutting the 30 route that I p8cked up on 10th street to the Civic Center. The new 32 bus gets me to the Civic Center 10 minutes after every 80 bus leaves. I was ignored then, I will be ignored again by your company.
Jeffrey Shell
Jeffrey, thanks for your comments. The plan presented now is a draft, so know we hear your challenges about the proposed changes.
While the #80 as it runs today is not a route in the proposed plan, segments of the existing route will be covered by other proposed service (such as the proposed #8 travelling along the Tower Grove Ave. corridor). Additionally in the same area of the City, we propose running 15-minute service along Jefferson with the #11, and 30-minute service along Chouteau with the #31 (both of which would travel to Civic Center). Are either of those routes accessible to you from where you start your journey? While boardings are consistently low along certain segments of the #80, we understand it is frustrating to see proposed bus realignments that could present challenges in a person’s daily life.
From what I can gather from your comment, it sounds perhaps like you are travelling from the Park Ave. corridor or maybe from the Shaw neighborhood? If you are willing to share, we’d like to learn more about the places and times that you travel on the current #80 (for instance, approximately where/when you board and where you travel to).
Let us know where you are boarding and at what times and we can walk you through the process more effectively. Email us at [email protected].
Looks as if you are taking away almost all stops on Rte 73, in the County. Two adults with disabilities in this household rely or will rely on this route to get to work and to stores. How does moving the route to I 55 help those needing service in the more local area?
Deborah, first of all, keep in mind this is a draft proposal. We’re still tinkering with the service plan as comments from riders like yourself come in. We are accepting public feedback during this round until May 4. In terms of your specific route, the #73 Carondelet is proposed to become the #73 Broadway Carondelet. The portion of the route in St. Louis County will remain the same under the draft plan. The #40X I-55 Express, which is stopping at Lindbergh Boulevard and Barracksview, will not serve south of this area on Lemay Ferry under the proposed plan. Thanks again for providing your feedback.
I was at the HQ on the 7th floor and I am glad that the #56 will run on Sundays once again since that bus serves several churches. I forgot to mention about the update on the #73 Carondelet bus since I was the one that wanted that bus to be put either to Meremac Bottom Road and Lemay Ferry Road or to push it into Arnold and have it terminate at Dierberg’s.
I too rely on the #80 bus as I work next door to Missouri School for the Blind.
Please do not cut the #80
I am confused I was finally able to access the map today and I live in the Olive West of 270 Corridor. The main bus we use is the Olive and it looked like you are taking out a big chunk of that route and replacing it with community point to point service. We depend on this route to go Chesterfield shopping via Olive bus at Chesterfield Mall and then transferring to the 258 to go out to Chesterfield Commons. We lost our Olive bus before and it was a nightmare for us. We are both legally blind. Add to that the fact that if you cut out fixed route and we are no longer within a 3/4 of a mile of a fixed route stop on either end we would no longer qualify for Call A Ride ADA services. We fought for a long time to get out to the Premium outlets and when we could get a trip it was $8 to $12 each way not the ADA fare. When service was cut several years back we lost our bus service and we were right at the 3/4 of a mile point so were able to continue call a ride service. It could have easily cost us our jobs. There are many people who are blind and disabled in this part of the county as well as far north and south counties who rely on public transit. Many have jobs in Chesterfield Valley and to be quite honest they are building a new Barnes West County hospital and several new medical buildings out here which will require transit particularly as traffic increases. There is life outside the 270 loop and at present due to increased crime on metro we seldom go east anymore. Can you give me a clearer idea about how far out the Olive bus will travel in case I am reading this wrong. Also if you are cutting fixed rout out in the valley?
Robyn, one of our transit planners would like to talk to you about your transit commute. Would you mind emailing us a good phone number to reach you? Email us at [email protected].
What do you see as the best way to get to the Botanical Garden without the 14 or the 80? During the special events and the Jazz Festival the direct routes are really the best way to get there.
The #8 will serve Tower Grove at Shaw.
What will be replacing the Green Line?
Kaityln, the Green Line is funded a little differently than the rest of our bus service, which is why it’s not included in this draft of the Metro ReImagined service plan. However, we are currently exploring if and how we can retain bus service to destinations along the existing Green Line. To that end, it would help us to learn about how you use the Green Line today (approximately when/where you board and where you travel to).
What’s going to happen to the #8 bus? I ride it to work 3-4 days a week and use it to get to the store too. I live in tower grove
Our planning team will be emailing you back directly.
I was unable to make any of the information meetings as I was busy on the days they were held. A neighbor did go and she said the #30 Arsenal will be cut up on our south city end. I board on Watson at Fyler and ride downtown when I am working. She said low ridership on this section and they will set up some kind of feeder bus for that section. I was not happy to hear this, I already have to transfer from #30 to #32 at new transit center to get me to work at 11th & Cole at United Way. I used to board bus in my neighborhood and ride all the way to work on old #30 Soulard. So I hate the idea of more cuts & transfers. I have been a bus rider for years, going back to the days of the Lindenwood line. Saw many changes and many different buses, but I was always able to get one bus from home to downtown, even if I had to walk to Jamieson or to Washington coming home. So far, the transfer at new Metro Center has been working ok, but if one bus is late, that will mess me up, as they are now 40 mins apart instead of 30 mins. Metrolink does not help me as I’d have to take a bus to Shrewsbury and then have a 6-8 block walk from Civic Center stop. I don’t work all the time but nice to know the service is there when I need it. Please keep me posted and I wish I had been able to make one of the planning meetings. Thank you
Mary, thank you for your comments about Metro Reimagined and the proposed changes to MetroBus service in Missouri. The plan presented today is a draft, so we are using input like yours to inform the revisions to the draft plan through this spring, and then we will share that updated draft for further public review this summer. Any major changes to the fixed route system would not occur any sooner than next year.
You’re correct. The alignment of the #30 is proposed to change at its western end, terminating at the Maplewood-Manchester Metrolink Station (to make connections with other routes heading west) rather than at the Shrewsbury-Landsdowne I-44 MetroLink Station as it does today. This needed connection as well as lower ridership along the stretch of Watson where you board led to this proposal to take the #30 west rather than south. So now, to reach the #30 for your commute as you make it today, you’d have to walk about a half-mile up to Arsenal (approximately the same distance from Watson and Fyler as it is out to Jamieson when you catch the #16 on occasion, as you mentioned). That #30 bus (as well as the #32) would come every 30 minutes rather than every 40 minutes as it does today. The tradeoff we are exploring here and across our entire service area is creating faster, more frequent bus service with better connections that some customers will have to walk/journey a bit farther to access than today. Please stay tuned as we revise this draft plan through the spring. Thank you again for your comments!
Several people use the #59 to commute to jobs at the Washington University Medical Center complex in the Central West End. This is a more direct route than having to transfer to another bus or Metrolink to get to work or go home, so making trips starting and ending at Forest Park community college is problematic. If low ridership is a problem, the 59s that only go from CWE to FPCC can be eliminated and a standard #59 route could be kept, accommodating workers and students.
Hello Niki, if you don’t mind sharing, we’ve been asking customers to tell us approximately where they board and get off the bus, as this information allows us to better meet people’s travel needs. That being said, the proposed changes to the #59 are primarily due to low ridership along this route. Outside of the CWE and Euclid stops at the eastern end of this bus route (which of course have higher boardings), the only other stops along the current #59 where there is a significant number of people (for instance, an average of 50 to 100 riders total per day) getting on and off the bus is at the St. Louis Community College – Forest Park campus. As we revise the draft plan through this spring, we are figuring out if we can extend the proposed #59 at least up to Hampton to make connections with the #90. We have talked about taking it back through Dogtown, but the ridership is just so light in that neighborhood, and that area also has access to other bus routes (like the #90 and the #31) within walking distance.cNo major changes would occur to fixed route service like the #59 until 2019 at the earliest, so any alterations would not be happening immediately.
Now I am glad that the 56 will continue to run. I missed seeing the low-floor bus for Call-a-Ride. I don’t know if Hino made anything similar to what we have or not. But I have seen many party buses with the original truck cabs such as International where a passenger can ride shotgun on Call-a-Ride or on a route like the #17 that carries a handful of people. My legs hasn’t totally quit on me yet. I would like for us to get some Internationals as well. Like the International 4300 or an IC bus. Ever since we gone to cut-away medium duty trucks for Call-a-Ride, I have never seen anything to where the windshield wipers lean towards the middle. Only vehicle that does have those type are the Gilligs. Another bus builder that builds small buses for these midday routes would be the Opus bus by Optima. That bus has wipers similar to Call-a-Ride but they hang from the top like on the buses you see in London. For this Call-a-Ride and for my idea of proposed all-day-service in Eureka, I hope something did get worked out. Because if they did work something out to where Call-a-Ride patrons can go to Eureka for $4.00 or have the Eureka Express to be run as an all day shuttle, that would be great.