Trip cuts, mergers proposed for Xpress bus service
Service changes are coming to the metro area’s commuter bus service, including fewer trip times and combined trips on routes with low ridership.
The proposed changes announced this week affect routes throughout Xpress’ 12-county service area. Some specifically target Friday schedules when ridership is the lowest. Xpress buses operate on weekdays.
The proposed changes are part of the system’s periodic assessment of the regional bus system, said William Mecke, spokesman for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority that operates Xpress in partnership with the area counties.
A public meeting about the cuts is scheduled Tuesday. Another will be held three or four weeks later and the service changes will roll out July 6, Mecke said.
Early estimates show the proposed changes would trim about 5 percent from the commuter service's operating budget. Mecke said the goal is to use resources responsibly.
A shortage of operating funds is expected next year, he said.
Since Xpress began in 2004, ridership has increased about 20 percent each year -- to about 8,000 boardings each day, Mecke said.
At midday Friday, the parking lot of the Acworth Park and Ride, site of one of the route time changes, was about a third full of cars; but a few minutes before the next bus arrival time, only two riders were waiting.
Laura Araujo, 18, a freshman horticulture major at Chattahoochee Technical College, rides the Xpress Route 480 from Acworth going home to Marietta after school.
Araujo said ridership on her route is low—usually just herself and a few other riders. But she said that without the 12:05 p.m. route -- which could be eliminated -- her wait at the station for the next bus would be two hours. And if she missed the last bus at 2:05 p.m., she would have a two-hour walk to another bus stop.
Tuesday’s public meeting will be held at 11 a.m. at GRTA offices at Peachtree Center, 245 Peachtree Center Ave., Atlanta. A second public meeting will be held in a few weeks. A list of the proposed changes can be found at www.xpressga.com.
About the Author
