NextStop Blog
June 28, 2010
Quick Question: What is the Metro Combo Pass?
Return to BlogDebbie Erickson, our Vice President and Chief Information Officer, received the following question while working as an ambassador for today’s June 28 Restoration: What is the Metro Combo Pass for both transit access and parking at the Clayton MetroLink station garage, and where do you buy it?
The Combo pass permits monthly commuter parking at the Clayton Garage and full fare, without the $1.00 surcharge at Richardson Road in Jefferson County. The Metro Combo Pass is sold only at the MetroRide Store downtown at 7th Street at Washington and costs $88.
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It makes perfect sense that a pass that only benefits people who park at Clayton is sold downtown.
Well, after the last service reduction in March 2009, Metro closed the Clayton MetroRide store. So the Washington and 7th Street store is our one-stop shop right now.
What bus route can I use to get directly to the one-stop shop from the Shaw neighborhood, without having to transfer at the Civic Center? I find tranferring at the Civic Center, just to travel a few blocks past Tucker Blvd into downtown, not only inconvenient, but it also increases travel time. which defeats the purpose of using public transit.
The 58X Twin Oaks Express goes past the Shaw neighborhood on Grand and travels through downtown past the Washington and 7th MetroRide store.
Cortney,
Are there any routes that would get me to that location after rush hour?
Courtney,
I apologize for misspelling your name.
No problem. The only service right now that will go that far into downtown are the express buses, the #99 Trolley, and MetroLink. The #40 Broadway goes to Washington but at 14th. But the Trolley and MetroLink run every 10 minutes during the day, so its not a tremendous wait.
Courtney,
This actually reminds me of a question (or three or four) that I have wondered about for some time. Why is it that some passes may only be purchased at some offices, and not out of a machine? Why is it that only some stations have credit card machines? Why is it that metro still uses transfers (instead of, say a $2.50 fare that lets you ride anywhere in the system)? Is there anything that can be done about the pan-handling around the Forest Park station (meaning, the guys that seem to nearly always find me and ask me for money for a bus or train ride or transfer money).
Regarding the fares, I need to find out from passenger revenue. Will get back to you on some of the why’s to your questions. In terms of pan-handling, its been recognized as an issue, so looking at security solutions. From your end, please do not give them any money and call 314-289-6873 to report to security dispatch. That goes for any undesirable behavior you catch around stations.
Courtney,
True it’s not a tremendous wait but transfering is inconvenient, and it can often disrupt and increase travel time. Let the passengers who have to transfer during inclement weather explain it to you.
Providing direct transit to the core area of downtown representing a metropolitan area of over 2 million people, should be convenient. That’s the way to get people to use public transit, and relieve traffic congestion. With the passage of Prop. A, it is now possible to work on restoring regular bus service downtown east of Tucker Blvd.
Providing easy-to-use public transit is the key to building a good transit system and luring people out of their cars to use it. It also promotes growth of an area which it serves, in this case the downtown core area. It could make our downtown, once again, a bustling and more competitive district in our region.
Please refer to my comments to the previous updates posted June 28th and June 24th.
Why does’t Metro work on restoring regular bus service east of Tucker Blvd, and quit half-stepping by using so called ‘trolleys’. Today’s trolleys, unlike the ones used in the past which were called streetcars, are used for tourist. Our region has thousands of hard working people who need real buses service; not tourist type trolleys.