November 22, 2011 | 10 Comments

IMPORTANT UPDATE: November 28 Service Changes

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Metro officials announced today that starting Monday, November 28, 2011, a new shuttle route will be offered to MetroBus customers along Russell Boulevard between Grand Boulevard and Gravois Avenue. Please see the updated Rider Alert changes to prepare for your commute. Please use TripFinder or service maps and PDFs to plan your trip.

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Metro will implement its quarterly service adjustment on November 28, 2011. The most significant impacts will be to customers who travel on the #8 Bates Morganford, #80 Park Shaw and #14 Botanical Garden.

Service levels are being adjusted to reflect current ridership needs and to maintain a service level that can be sustained.  High unemployment rates and lower consumer spending continue to negatively impact ridership and funding. Therefore, Metro will be readjusted some of the routes to maximize resources and ridership.

As with all service adjustments, Metro will monitor customer feedback and make appropriate adjustments if needed. Metro will restore a direct connection from the Shaw neighborhood to the Central West End Transit Center aboard the #8 Bates Morganford for customers who have requested this service.

What Will Happen

The next Metro Service Change is scheduled to be implemented on November 28, 2011. Some of the changes taking place are responses to construction schedules (#16 City Limits) or customer concerns about route and schedule connectivity (#30 Soulard, #33 Dorsett Lackland, #47 North Hanley, #64 Lucas Hunt and #70 Grand).

Other changes are adjustments to service levels and/or route configurations (#1 Gold, #8 Bates Morganford, #13 Union, #14 Botanical Garden, #59 Dogtown and #80 Park Shaw) Based on patronage, available funding.  High unemployment,  lower than anticipated tax revenue and residual impacts of the 2009 service reduction, are causing patronage and passenger revenue to remain lower than pre-2009 levels.

These changes will provide a direct connection from the Shaw neighborhood to the Central West End Transit Center aboard the #8 Bates Morganford for customers who have requested this service. The #14 Botanical Gardens has produced relatively low patronage; this service will be absorbed by the #80 Park Shaw, which will continue to provide connection to the Civic Center Transit Center. Service on Russell between Grand and Gravois will be eliminated; Metro encourages customers in this corridor to utilize the #70 Grand, #11 Chippewa, or #10 Gravois.

Metro will continue to monitor service performance and customer contacts, and will respond by providing the most effective service plan within our financial resources. The next scheduled service change will be implemented on March 12. In the interim, if significant problems with the November 28 service package such as customer concerns or low patronage are identified, Metro will strive to correct them in March, within our budgetary resources.

Brief details of changes by route

#1 Gold – From the start of service to 7:00 p.m. on Weekdays, service will operate every 20 minutes intead of every 15 minutes, and all trips will operate from the Central West End Transit Center to the Clayton Transit Center. Preview: Schedules.

#8 Bates-Morganford – This route will no longer serve Russell Ave to the Civic Center Station. The route will include service between Central West End and Botanical Garden now operated on the #14 Botanical Garden. Service during the daytime will continue to operate every 40 minutes. Preview: Schedules and Map.

#13 Union – Service will operate every 40 minutes instead of every 30 minutes. Preview: Schedules.

#14 Botanical Garden – The #14 Botanical Garden will no longer operate as an independent route. Instead, service on this route will be incorporated into the #8 Bates Morganford and the #80 Park Shaw routes. Service between Central West End and Botanical Garden will be picked up by the #8 Bates Morganford, and service between Tower Grove and the Hill area will be picked up by the #80 Park Shaw.

#16 City Limits – The Jamieson Bridge will re-open in late November 2011. The #16 will resume regular route. The routing will be changed to serve the Senior Apartments on Hodiamont and Etzel. Southbound trips will access the Delmar Station westbound on Des Peres.  Preview: Schedules and Map.

#30 Soulard – The first northbound trip adjusted to time connect with the #70 Grand northbound at Grand & Arsenal. Preview: Schedules.

#33 Dorsett Lackland – Trip time adjustments to provide better connections with the Metrolink. Preview: Schedules.

#47 North Hanley – The last northbound trip on Weekdays and Saturdays will leave 8 minutes later to connect with the Westbound MetroLink scheduled to arrive at North Hanley Station at 12:10am. Preview: Schedules.

#59 Dogtown – Service will operate every 40 minutes between Central West End and Webster Groves during the day, and every 60 minutes at night. Service between Central West End and Forest Park Community College will operate every 20 minutes during college hours on weekdays. Preview: Schedules.

#64 Lucas Hunt – Trip time adjustments to provide better connections with the Metrolink. Preview: Schedules.

#70 Grand – The first northbound trip adjusted to time connect with the #11 Chippewa at Grand & Chippewa and the #30 Soulard at Grand & Arsenal. Preview: Schedules.

#80 Park-Shaw – Route extended to provide service between Tower Grove and the Hill Area now served by the #14 Botanical Garden. Service during the daytime will continue to operate every 40 minutes.  Preview: Schedules and Map.

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Author:Courtney

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  • Peter Thacher

    I usually do not put my real name on posts, however, I cannot contain my frustration over the egregious conduct that you continue to have and neglect for riders and any logic at all. Yes, unemployment is high, sales tax receipts might not be the best but when I canvassed throughout the county in support of Proposition a I expected services to be restored, not cut. I live on Russell Avenue and saw our service reduced from 30 minutes all day with the #59 to forty on the #8 and now no service at all. I know you have no regard for riders so I promise that this is the last time I ever read this blog again or file a complaint against metro. I just don’t have enough time to do things that don’t matter at all. I have always been an ardent transit supporter but if there’s ever another election on Metro funding, I certainly will not volunteer my time for a transit agency that acts with such negligence. I also intend with this final blow to end my membership with Citizens for Modern Transit.

    Sincerely, formerly one of metro’s biggest fans.

  • D Lockette

    I wish the #34 Earth City bus was on this list. The afternoon and evening routes are typically late and the other buses after the bus that gets to Rams and Rider Trail at 3:07, we always miss the eastbound Metrolink train by minutes. Which doesn’t sound like much but adds an additional 30 minutes to my commute because I always miss my 97 Delmar westbound because of it and have to wait for the next one.

    The first stop at Rams Way isn’t safe. Crossing the street over towards the McDonalds, which a lot of us do, is really hard, especially at rush hour times. Now that it gets dark earlier, it’s even worse. I also think that during rush hour times, after 3, it should run every 20 or 30 minutes, either that or it should run both ways. That bus is really crowded, with the two schools, UPS people, the casino and the other regular riders.

    Please re-evaluate the way that the #34 Earth City operates. Even if you can just make it so we can catch our east bound Metrolink connection so that we can keep from missing our other bus connections, it would be appreciated.

    • http://www.nextstopstl.org/ Courtney

      D, I got word from Lance in our planning department, and he said they just looked at the stops on the Earth City route. This is not a very good area for bus stops due to no sidewalks, but we are doing the best we can with what we have to work with. Lance said they can look at the timing issue on the #34 for the March service change.

  • http://creativeautomaton.com Zachary Kraft

    The fact that you have suspended your services due to lack of higher profits is sad. The use of a public service like a bus system is to help all in the city not those that use the services most. I have talked to many drivers who has state the amount of reserve income to run metro is higher than what it cost s to run ass the route pre-2009. The actions metro takes to save their own A$$ is pathetic. Do something right for once and add more lines or expand the train service not for profits but for the benefit of society as a whole.

    p.s. we already pay metro through our taxes state wide and then we see these service cuts. Pure theft.

  • Ricardo Lima

    I have always used metrolink and metrobus to move around the city. With this service reduction, I am completely dissapointed. First you started removing/reorganizing bus stops, wasting taxpayer money in an unnecesary move, and now you reduce bus stops! Metro gets money by picking up people, specially students who depend on bus 59! Now bus 90 completely ignores the college for almost all of its trips. How about evening college students? No respect for them, and they are the real tax payers who are funding this. I would rather see the system fail completely than provide extra funding for it again.

    • Patti

      Ricardo: We appreciate your support of public transit and your use of Metro Transit. I am sorry that recent service changes impact your commute. The changes are being made to make the whole system better and more efficient. I have sent your feedback to our Planning Department.

  • mike

    1). Pray tell-how does reducing service make the system better and more efficient?

    2). Although Metro may not think that the bus stops slated for removal, except for the stops deemed as potentially dangerous or hazardous, are needed, but they are still vital to the riders/taxpayers who use them and rely on them. Consider the mothers who may have to carry their newborns that extra block, or the senior citizens who have to struggle to hobble the extra distance to get to their destinations, just because METRO doesn’t these stops are important.

  • mike

    I forgot to hit the edit button in my last comment.

    The last sentence in that comment following the comma should read as follows: “just because METRO doesn’t think these stops are important”.

  • Robin Gray

    Thanks to Metro, on January 9th my ride home will be ROYALLY Screwed as will it for others. My Metrolink does not arrive at the Central West End until 5:23 a full 5 minutes after the New, New, New #80 route leaves the terminal making me wait until 5:58 to leave to get home. I really hate you now!!!!!! I can’t write out here what I really want to say, read between the lines!!!

    • http://www.nextstopstl.org/ Courtney

      Thank you for your feedback Robin. I will certainly pass this along to our planning department.