From General Manager Wes Kooistra
At Metro Transit, we take tremendous pride in serving our community and care deeply about our customers, employees, and our region.
The spread of COVID-19 is presenting our organization – and our community – the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced. And while we’ve responded with characteristic resolve, this crisis is also taking a toll here and across the nation.
We are making changes to adapt to this unprecedented situation.
Beginning Wednesday, March 25, Metro Transit is moving to a service schedule that represents about 60% of its regularly scheduled weekday operations. This includes continuing the overnight suspension of service between 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. Riders planning their trips can go find a full list of schedule changes here.
These changes allow us to address the rapidly changing circumstances as our region endures this pandemic and as transit ridership continues to decline.
As General Manager, I am in the unusual position of telling our customers: don’t ride transit if you don’t have to. During this pandemic, transit is only for those who have no other option, and should be used for essential travel only. If you can stay home, please stay home.
Your cooperation will help slow the spread of COVID-19 while allowing essential services to continue.
Transit continues to be available for individuals who work in essential industries, including health care, public safety and grocery services, and who have no other way to get to work. We are also serving those in our community who have no other way to access groceries, prescriptions and other essential goods.
If you must travel, first seek alternatives to transit. If none are available, please limit the number of trips you take, take precautions to prevent the spread of germs and distance yourselves from other riders and operators.
Thank you for doing your part to help us support essential community services in the safest possible way. It will save lives.
Please continue to visit metrotransit.org/health and follow Metro Transit on Twitter and Facebook for future updates.