Following a successful bus millage vote in May, 2014, the AAATA (the new third “A” is for “Area”) is drastically increasing route miles and hours in four phases over the next four years. The first phase begins August 24.
When it does, Washtenaw Community College might see record enrollments for its more than 400 fall semester evening vocational and academic classes. New route 3 buses will leave downtown Ann Arbor’s Blake Transit Center at 6:48, 7:48, 8:48, and 9:48 p.m. Previously, any potential student east of Ann Arbor had to transfer to route 7, which meant that a rider leaving downtown Ypsilanti, a 5:30 p.m. wouldn’t arrive at WCC until 6:20, after many classes had started. As of August 24, evening weekday service on the 3 Huron River will shrink that commute to 17 minutes.
AAATA is also adding weekday evening service on the 13 Newport, 14 Geddes-East Stadium, and 20 Grove-Ecorse routes. Saturday service on the same routes will make a morning trip to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market easy for people all over the county. Saturday evening service is extended by one hour on many other routes.
The main east-west routes serving Ann Arbor’s east side, the 4 Washtenaw and 5 Packard, each are getting a late bus—route 4’s will leave Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor at 11:18 and 11:48, and the 5 at 11:18. For the first time, riders can take the bus to a major cultural event weekday evenings without having to walk out during the climactic speech of a play or virtuoso concert performance to catch the last bus.
Phase I also includes an expansion of the A-Ride for disabled riders. Phase II, beginning in August, 2015, will feature a major expansion of Saturday night service, from the current general cessation around 6 p.m. until 10 or 11 p.m. on 16 routes spanning much of the service area. Seniors at Glacier Hills will be able to hop on the 2 to catch dinner and a movie downtown without driving and parking. And Sunday service on many routes will be extended by an hour.
Phase III, in August, 2016, will replace four existing routes on the west side of Ann Arbor with six new lines providing more generous service. Three Ypsilanti routes will grow into six new ones. The last year of expansion will consist of fine-tuning, with increased frequency on several routes, including the Saline Express.
