By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – The region's mass transit agency will on Saturday resume a shuttle bus through Forest Park - just in time for the tourism season.
Metro's shuttle route's restoration is one made possible by the passage in April of a half-cent sales tax. It was cut in March 2009 after a November 2008 effort to pass the same tax failed. The bus stops at all of the Park's major attractions, as well as a park-and-ride lot at the MetroLink station at Forest Park Pkwy. and DeBaliviere Ave.
Jessica Mefford Miller, Metro's planning director, said special services like the shuttle help introduce people to the system.
"With this introduction, when people experience the system, they learn a little bit how to use it, and they have a positive experience," she said. "They are then more likely to become regular Metro commuters."
The shuttle also allows Metro to move one of its busiest bus routes, the 90 Hampton, out of the park.
"It's getting tangled up quite a bit in traffic in the park, and so it's running behind, and so implementing this route is going to allow us to provide a higher level of service to the Forest Park destinations, while maintaining service on the 90 Hampton, which serves the city of St. Louis from north to south," Mefford Miller said.
Wells Dr. in front of the St. Louis Zoo, which will be closed until mid-to-late June, is the major choke point. Mefford Miller said the agency is urging people to park in the lot at Forest Park and DeBaliviere, and use the shuttle to ease congestion.
The shuttle will run every 15 minutes. Fares are $2, or $1 for seniors, children and disabled riders. Passengers can get on and off the shuttle with one fare.