Sunday Poll: Will ‘Metro Reimagined’ Produce Significant Gains In MetroBus Ridership?

Tomorrow Metro’s new “Metro Reimagined” bus service begins. A recent press release gives a good summary:

The new MetroBus service plan for transit riders in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis will go into effect on Monday, September 30. This major service change will impact every bus route in both the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, and will provide customers with more frequent service, improved weekend service and more convenient options for getting around town.

The new routes which will be implemented on September 30 are the culmination of the two-year Metro Reimagined project, an in-depth analysis of the Metro Transit system launched to identify improvements needed to better meet the mobility needs of customers. Research, customer engagement and community outreach conducted during the project identified faster, more direct trips and more frequent service as top priorities for bus riders.

Through the new service plan, Metro Transit is increasing the frequency of many MetroBus routes. Ten routes, which carry nearly half of current MetroBus customers in Missouri, are offering service every 15 minutes or faster on weekdays. In comparison, the MetroBus system currently only has one bus route (the #70 Grand) that offers 15-minute frequency. In addition, the new service plan includes 35 MetroBus routes that will offer 30-minute frequencies, instead of the 40-minute or 60-minute service many routes operate on today.

Weekend service is also being improved through the Metro Reimagined plan. Nearly all MetroBus routes will have Sunday service, including many routes that currently do not operate on Sundays. Service levels will also be consistent on Saturdays and Sundays. This improved service provides better options and more reliability for customers over the entire weekend.

Under the new finalized Metro Reimagined plan, MetroBus routes are organized into four categories:

• Frequent: 10 high-frequency routes offering service every 15 minutes or faster
• Local: 35 MetroBus routes offering service every 30 minutes
• Community: 6 routes providing important connections in low-ridership areas
• Express: 6 routes providing direct connections with limited stops to key destinations

This major change to bus service in the City & County is the subject of today’s non-scientific poll.

This poll will automatically close at 8pm tonight. My thoughts and the results on Wednesday morning.

— Steve Patterson