METRO Park & Ride options for riders returning to work
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- METRO is continually evaluating ridership to make sure enough buses and space will be available for those needing to get to work.
When COVID-19 shut businesses down, METRO's Park and Ride to the Texas Medical Center kept right on rolling, even though all other routes were suspended. As of mid-May, Park & Ride to downtown resumed, but with limited morning and afternoon service.
ABC13 checked with METRO and no other route expansions are planned at the moment, but the agency is continuing to monitor numbers, which are still significantly down.
Right now, there are about 3,000 daily park and ride boardings, compared to over 31,000 daily boardings this time last year, a 90% decrease. Across METRO's entire system, including regular bus routes and light rail, ridership is down 64%, according to the latest numbers from April.
If you do have to get on board, METRO encourages you to wear a face mask and respect social distancing.
During the shutdown, progress has been made on the new Northwest Transit Center, which will be a critical transfer point for park and ride commuters. It is expected to be finished later this year. METRO has not said whether the shut down has sped up work on that project.
