GRANITE CITY- As part of its regular January service change, Madison County Transit (MCT) will make schedule adjustments to the bus stops in Downtown St. Louis and on the #18 Collinsville Regional will deviate the morning and afternoon trip to the Emerson Park MetroLink Station.
MCT will also make routing changes to the #14 Highland Shuttle as well as minor schedule adjustments on the #7 Alton-Edwardsville and the #12 Bethalto Shuttle. Additionally, MCT will begin enforcing a new fixed-route fare zone boundary and begin selling 2-hour passes on board all buses. All changes will take effect Sunday, January 10, 2016. Highlights of the service change include the following:
To eliminate the uncertainty of bridge traffic and reduce travel times, the MCT Express routes (#14X, #16X) will operate the same route into and out of downtown St. Louis (both morning and afternoon) using the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. The order in which all afternoon Express (#1X, #5, #14X, #16X) pick-ups are made will also be reversed.
Morning and afternoon Express service to Downtown St. Louis on the #18 Collinsville Regional will be deviated to the Emerson Park MetroLink station.
The #2 Granite City Shuttle will serve America’s Central Port on all trips – providing service to New Opportunities, the Granite City YMCA, multiple employers and more than 400 residents.
The weekday #7 Alton-Edwardsville trip leaving Alton Square Mall at 4:55 PM will be removed creating a one hour gap in service from 4:19 PM to 5:19 PM between Alton Square and Edwardsville Station. As a result the #12 Bethalto Shuttle trip leaving Wood River Station at 5:25 PM will be shifted to 5:18 PM to facilitate transfers to the #7.
In response to demand, the #14 Highland Shuttle will be re-routed away from Korte Rec. Center to serve Highland Home, a residential complex on Walnut and to operate on Faith Drive, providing direct service to the Independent Living at Faith Countryside Nursing Home.
The #6 Roxana-South Roxana Shuttle will transition to a Cross County route due to the fare boundary shift from I-270 in Pontoon Beach to New Poag Road. The new route will be called the #6 Roxana-Pontoon Beach.
Other routes affected by the new fare boundaries include: #1 Tri-City Regional, #4 Madison-Edwardsville, and the #5 Tri-City Regional.
MCT will implement the following new fare products at the January Service Change in lieu of transfers.
MCT 2-Hour Zone Pass ($2.00): Valid for unlimited multi-directional trips within a single fare zone on MCT fixed-routes. Valid for two hours from purchase on date of issue. Not Valid on MCT Express trips or on Metro.
MCT 2-Hour Regional Pass ($3.00): Valid for unlimited multi-directional trips on all MCT fixed- route buses, all MetroBus routes and all MetroLink trains. Valid for two hours from purchase on date of issue.
To increase mobility for senior citizens and provide an option for occasional MCT Express passengers to St. Louis, MCT is also implementing the following new fare products on January 10, 2016:
MCT Express Round Trip Pass ($5.00): Valid only on MCT Express routes (including Rams and Muny Express) for round trip service within one calendar day (date of issue) for multi-directional travel. Not valid on Metro.
MCT Senior Select Free Ride ID (FREE): Valid for unlimited free trips on all MCT fixed-routes for Madison County residents aged 75 and up. Must receive MCT issued Photo ID.
For specific schedule details, new timetables dated “January 10, 2016” will be posted online at www.mct.org and will be available at MCT Stations, on MCT buses and at locations throughout Madison County. For details about MCT services, call (618) 797-INFO (4636), visit www.mct.org, or e-mail [email protected].
