ST. LOUIS -- Metro-east commuters who depend on Metro bus service will have an easier time of it this morning.
That's when Metro, the agency that oversees public transit in the St. Louis region, seeks to entice thousands of lost riders with the creation of six major bus lines -- plus dozens more that have been combined or enhanced -- to make up for the service cuts that took effect March 30.
The restoration service plan covers 36 new, enhanced or restored bus routes that will take public transit patrons west and north of the L-shaped Interstate 270 corridor in St. Louis County.
The restored service is set to last only until June. By that time public transportation advocates hope St. Louis County voters will have approved a sales tax to restore normal operations and expand the transit agency's reach across St. Louis County.
All told, about one-third of the cuts that took effect in March will be restored today.
The restored bus service is being funded with $17 million in one-time federal grants -- including $12 million from the Missouri General Assembly, which is paying for it with federal stimulus dollars.
The service restoration plan won't solve all commuters' problems, but it still "addresses 90 percent of the things that people talked about" in recent public hearings, said Dianne Williams, a Metro spokeswoman.
Back in late March, when the cuts took effect, nearly 2,300 of 9,000 bus stops were taken out of service, along with layoffs for almost 600 Metro employees, including bus drivers and mechanics.
The service cuts have made access to public transit nearly impossible for many riders or at the very least far more time-consuming and inconvenient. As a result, Metro's ridership numbers have plummeted.
Details of the plan can be viewed at the Metro Web site by logging onto www.metrostlouis.org and then clicking on the link labeled "Partial Service Restoration Plan 2009."
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