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MetroLink Passengers to be Shuttled by Bus August 22 and 23
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MetroLink passengers will be transported by bus between the UMSL South, Rock Road, Wellston and Delmar Loop MetroLink Stations on Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23, and they should allow extra time for their commutes that weekend.
MetroLink trains will not operate between those stations to allow crews to make modifications to the train power system and perform track work on that section of the MetroLink system. MetroLink Station Shuttles will transport riders by bus between those stations, and passengers can expect delays of 20 to 30 minutes.
The following stations will be served by MetroLink Station Shuttles:
- UMSL South MetroLink Station
- Rock Road MetroLink Station
- Wellston MetroLink Station
- Delmar Loop MetroLink Station (Express shuttle available)
- North Hanley MetroLink Station (Express shuttle available)
Transferring to MetroLink Station Shuttles – Eastbound
Eastbound Red Line MetroLink passengers heading to the Delmar Loop MetroLink Station or to stations farther east can board an Express MetroLink Station Shuttle at the North Hanley MetroLink Station. This shuttle will directly connect passengers from the North Hanley Station to the Delmar Loop Station, without making any stops in between the stations. Passengers can then continue their eastbound trips by boarding a Red Line MetroLink train at the Delmar Loop Station.
- Eastbound Red Line MetroLink passengers making connections at the UMSL South, Rock Road or Wellston Stations should ride MetroLink to the UMSL South Station to board a MetroLink Station Shuttle. This shuttle will pick up and drop off passengers at the Rock Road, Wellston and Delmar Loop MetroLink Stations. Passengers will be able to travel farther eastbound by boarding a Red Line MetroLink train at the Delmar Loop Station.
Transferring to MetroLink Station Shuttles – Westbound
Westbound Red Line MetroLink passengers heading to the North Hanley MetroLink Station or Lambert-St. Louis International Airport can board an Express MetroLink Station Shuttle at the Delmar Loop MetroLink Station. This shuttle will directly connect passengers from the Delmar Loop Station to the North Hanley Station, without making any stops in between the stations. Passengers can then continue their westbound trips to the airport by boarding a Red Line MetroLink train at the North Hanley Station.
- Westbound Red Line MetroLink passengers making connections at the Wellston, Rock Road, UMSL South or UMSL North Stations should not take the Express Shuttle, and instead board a regular MetroLink Station Shuttle. This shuttle will pick up and drop off passengers at the Wellston, Rock Road and UMSL South MetroLink Stations. Passengers will be able to continue their westbound trips to UMSL North or other MetroLink stations farther west by boarding a Red Line MetroLink train at the UMSL South Station.
Blue Line MetroLink service and Red Line MetroLink service east of the Delmar Loop Station and west of the UMSL South Station will not be affected, and trains will operate on their regular weekend schedules. MetroLink will resume normal operations between the UMSL-South and Delmar Loop Stations by the beginning of service on Monday, August 24.
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Are shuttles free? In every other city I have been fare is not charged on shuttles during rail disruptions. I think this should be made clear. This makes sense since delays are likely and to speed up boarding. When ridership is heavy and/or when a 60 foot bus is used especially, then riders ought to be able to board at any door, with staff assisting as needed or else drivers should open all doors to speed up boarding and deboarding and also just wave passengers on and not ask for payment or swiping, or showing of passes.
Shannon, the shuttles are not free. Proof of payment (a Metro pass, ticket or transfer) are required to board the shuttles.
When there is an unscheduled rail disruption, I assume shuttles should be free then? Or would passengers be requested to pay fare as well. Also, I assume there would be some leeway/flexibility in accepting passes/transfers past the expiration time. In fact, many times, at least for me, what I have observed with those around me, is that when a fare inspection is done on the light rail, frequently inspectors just look to see if you have a pass at all or next would be the date on the pass and not so much the time on the pass.
I guess to my one point, it’s a bit of a difficulty in charging on the shuttles for scheduled track work. Do light rail fares or bus fares apply then? I have also seen some shuttles before with no transfers available on the shuttles.
I am saying that essentially passengers cannot pay on the bus unless they pay $3 for a transfer since buses have no way of issuing a 2 hour rail only pass or so called 1 ride pass and then so if one were to ride the shuttle just to their destination then without getting on a train or connecting bus, then the fare is $2 like on a Metrobus or $2.50 like on Metrolink when paying cash on shuttles? I feel that it’s a Metrolink bus but at the same time the delay and indirect service makes the ride more like a bus and is also using a bus so a $2 cash fare should suffice. This is part of why I would recommend or suggest to Metro to allow all bus shuttles to be fare-free, partly also as a courtesy for the disruption.
When there was the heavy snows in February in Boston, MA, riders were angry that they not only had to board crowded shuttles but they also had to pay for them despite the rail service being disrupted. Can you forward this on to Customer Service and whoever else would be involved in the policy decision? I would say that this would be a cause for fare disputes as well for the reasons above and then you have out-of-area people used to riding rail disruption shuttles for free given as a courtesy by other systems.
Shannon, the standard transit proof of payment (Metro pass, ticket or transfer) will apply to the MetroLink Station Shuttle. I will forward this to our Customer Service department.