New stops at Wallys and Amazon now in place after stops at Meramec
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
The long-standing MetroBus route to Meramec along Watson Road, known by many as the #21, has undergone a massive change starting this week. The route has expanded beyond Kirkwood, with stops now included in Fenton, specifically at Wally’s and the Amazon Warehouse on the Assembly Parkway. These stops will add time to the route, with stops at Meramec now only occurring once an hour.
Director of Service Planning for Metro Lance Peterson said that the route was extended “to make the Via service more effective.”
For clarification, “Via Metro STL” is an app that lets you hail a vehicle directly from your smartphone using the Via app, and travel to any location within the service zone during operating hours. It’s a shared-ride service.
Peterson said that the college was not informed of the change by Metro, and that Rider Alerts were placed on all buses and at affected bus stops.
“We have thousands of businesses we serve along the routes,” he said. “This is why we place notices on buses, papers, radio stations and TV.”
Peterson also said that five meetings were held to receive comments, and that one of these meetings was held at the Shrewsbury MetroLink Station, the starting point of the #21.
No changes appear to be coming to the other route that serves campus; the #56 (Kirkwood-Webster) will continue to run as normal. That bus also makes a stop at the Shrewsbury MetroLink Station.
During the week, the first bus on the #21 route will leave that station at 5:08am, arriving at the Meramec campus at 6:01. Stops at Meramec will continue to be hourly until 6:13pm, when the route stops at Meramec about every 90 minutes until midnight.
Check metrostlouis.org for the full new schedule.
