Here’s how the coronavirus outbreak is changing MetroLink train and bus services
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Ridership on the region’s public transportation system is down about 40 percent due to the coronavirus outbreak, prompting Metro Transit to announce changes in service starting Monday.
Frequency of MetroLink train and MetroBus services on weekdays will be reduced as a result. Here are the changes:
▪ MetroLink train service will operate on a weekend schedule seven days a week until further notice.
▪ Most buses will operate on a Saturday schedule during the week.
Five Illinois bus routes that currently do not run on Saturdays will operate their normal weekday schedules seven days a week. They are: No. 14 Memorial Hospital-Westfield Plaza ; No. 15 Belleville-O’Fallon; No. 17 Carlyle Plaza-17th Street; No. 21 Scott AFB-Main Base Shuttle; and No. 21X Scott AFB-East Base Shuttle, Metro Transit stated in its announcement. Service on express routes No. 2X Waterloo-Columbia and No 17X Lebanon-Mascoutah will run on weekday schedules until further notice.
“With schools and universities closed, many employees working from home, and households making the decision to limit their travel, we have seen about a 40 percent reduction in ridership on the Metro Transit system since the bi-state area has been impacted by COVID-19,” Taulby Roach, president and chief executive officer of Bi-State Development, said in a news release on Friday.
“With fewer riders on the trains and buses, we can maintain safe social distancing on transit,” he said.
“We continue to serve customers who are vital workers in the health care and service industries, as well as those passengers making essential trips to medical treatment and grocery stores.”
The changes also will give workers more time to disinfect trains and buses while they are in service during the day, according to Bi-State Development, the group that oversees Metro Transit.
“When the region is ready, we will be able to quickly ramp up our transit operations and restore normal service levels, ” Jessica Mefford-Miller, executive director of Metro Transit, said in the news release.
For more information, visit the Metro website at metrostlouis.org. You also can get information by texting 314-207-9786 or calling 314-231-2345 Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
