HOV lanes, Park & Rides suspended as METRO adjusts policies

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- METRO announced major changes that will affect hundreds of residents living in the greater Houston area.

As of Monday, March 30, METRO will only focus on connecting riders to essential destinations, like work or the grocery store following the 'Stay Home, Work Safe" order issued by County Judge Lina Hidalgo.

Most Park & Rides will be suspended until further notice and all HOV lanes will be closed.

METRO also promises extra staff will be on hand to disinfect buses during the day.

Park & Ride

The following Park & Ride routes serving the Texas Medical Center will operate on a regular weekday schedule:

• 170-171 Missouri City Express/Fort Bend Town Center

• 292 West Bellfort/Westwood/TMC

• 297 South Point/Monroe/TMC

• 298 Kingsland/Addicks/NWTC/TMC

• 291 Conroe Park & Ride will only run 6:30 a.m. inbound and 4:30 p.m. outbound trips.

• All other Park & Ride service is suspended.

Local Bus/ Community Connectors

• Local bus routes will continue to run on a modified Saturday schedule seven days a week.

• Red and Blue routes will be reduced to service every 30 minutes.

• Green Routes will follow their normal Saturday schedule.

• Route designations can be found on bus stop signs.

• Community Connector routes will continue to operate.

METRORail

• The Red Line will operate a modified Sunday schedule every 12 minutes.

• The Purple Line will run on a modified Sunday schedule every 18 minutes.

• The Green Line will run bus shuttles every 20 minutes.

• The Texas Medical Center rail shuttle from Fannin South to Hermann Park/Rice U station will operate every 12 minutes during weekday morning and afternoon peak times.

HOV/HOT Lanes

• All HOV/HOT Lanes will be closed.

METROLift

• The number of passengers in each vehicle is being reduced to allow social distancing which may extend wait times.

Social Distancing

• Seating on METRO vehicles has been reduced by 50 percent.

• Boarding and exiting is through the rear door unless accessibility needs require front door entry.

• As employers and schools adhere to the Stay Home Order, METRO ridership has decreased allowing for more space among passengers. (Total fixed route ridership Thursday, March 26, 2020 was 130,000 boardings, down 53 percent from one year ago)

• Fares are suspended temporarily.

• METRO RideStore locations are currently closed.

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