Valley Metro Bus

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Valley Metro Bus
Founded 1993
Headquarters U.S. Bank Center
101 North 1st Avenue, Suite 1100
Phoenix, Arizona, United States [1]
Locale Phoenix, Arizona
Service area Maricopa County
Service type Local, express, bus rapid transit, shuttle, paratransit
Routes 102[2][3]
Hubs 16[4]
Fleet 1,061 buses[5]
Annual ridership 56,482,963[6]
Fuel type Diesel, Diesel-electric Hybrid, CNG, LNG
Operator City of Phoenix, RPTA, other various city governments
Website http://www.valleymetro.org/bus/

Valley Metro Bus[7] is a transit bus system for public transport in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Buses are operated by private companies contracted by Valley Metro and the City of Phoenix. Service currently operates throughout the broader Phoenix Metropolitan Area. All buses have wheelchair ramps or lifts, and with the exception of paratransit vehicles all buses have bike racks.

Operations

There are over 100 bus routes contracted by Valley Metro, including regular routes, limited stop routes, and community circulators. Bus frequency, hours, and days of operation vary by route. The most heavily used routes have peak service frequency of every 12 minutes and run as late as midnight. The least used routes run once an hour and end service as early as 9pm.

Route types and naming conventions

File:MetroBus6669.jpg
Route 72 northbound stopped at Loloma station

There are currently 60 local bus routes that form Valley Metro's super-grid bus system. They are numbered roughly according to the address on the Phoenix area's street grid on which they travel. For example:

  • Route 35 is a north-south route which runs along 35th Avenue, which is the 3500 block, west, on the street grid.
  • Route 0 runs north-south along Central Avenue, which is the dividing street or "zero point" separating east and west Phoenix on the street grid.
  • Route 50 runs east-west along Camelback Road, which is the 5000 block, north, on the street grid
  • Route 72 runs north-south along Scottsdale and Rural Roads, which are the 7200 block, east, on the street grid.
  • Route 104 runs north-south along Alma School Road, which corresponds to the 10400 block, east, on the street grid (but not in the city of Mesa itself, which uses a different street numbering/zero point origin from the city of Phoenix).
  • Routes 7 and 8 each run on 7th Street and 7th Avenue respectively. Given that Phoenix has numbered thoroughfares designated as "Avenues" west of Central and "Streets" east of Central, Route 8 is one digit higher to avoid confusion with Route 7 which are both the 700 blocks.

The community circulator routes are mostly a free service, the exceptions being the Glendale Urban Shuttle (GUS) routes with a 25 cent fare, and the Avondale Zoom with a 50 cent fare. They supplement the standard grid service with routes that connect neighborhoods to nearby business districts. Circulator vehicles are typically minibuses. The naming convention varies by the communities they serve, such as the Scottsdale Neighborhood Trolley, Tempe Orbit Jupiter, and Phoenix SMART.

LINK routes are limited-stop, streamlined bus connections to transit centers served by Valley Metro Rail. These routes use upgraded bus shelters that have LED "Next Bus" signs and bus rapid transit-styled vehicles with traffic signal priority. They are named after the street they travel on, such as Arizona Avenue LINK. There are two routes in operation, with three additional routes are planned as part of the Maricopa Association of Governments 20-year Regional Transportation Plan.

The six RAPID routes are limited-stop commuter routes in the city of Phoenix that travel from Park and Ride lots in outlying neighborhoods near major freeways to RAPID stops in the downtown business core. These routes are mostly named for the freeway on which they travel, such as RAPID I-10 East (two routes connect newly developed neighborhoods along Baseline Road with downtown via Central Avenue). They are unidirectional, traveling toward downtown in the morning and out of downtown in the afternoons. These routes use NABI 45C-LFW suburban buses with a special paint scheme.

The express routes are also limited-stop commuter routes. They operate in a similar fashion to the RAPID routes, from outlying Park and Ride lots and pick-up points in suburban areas outside the city of Phoenix, with higher fares than standard routes, but the same as RAPID routes. They are numbered in the 500s, with the last two digits indicating the area they serve, using the following scheme:

  • 51x - Scottsdale
  • 52x - Tempe
  • 53x - Mesa and Gilbert
  • 54x - Chandler
  • 56x - Southwest Valley (Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, and Tolleson)
  • 57x - Northwest Valley (Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, and Sun Cities)

These routes use a mix of bus types, ranging from transit-style buses with hard seats to "semi-suburban" buses (with highback, non-reclining seats) to full suburban buses (with a single door, luggage racks and personal reading lights); a handful of the routes use the same NABI 45C-LFW suburban buses used on the RAPID routes, but with the standard Valley Metro paint scheme. These routes are also unidirectional, traveling into downtown Phoenix in the morning (using the major freeways after traveling on surface streets for part of the trip) and out of downtown in the afternoons.

Route list

Color key:

Color Operator Note
Blue Transdev-Phoenix Formerly Veolia-Phoenix.
Operates the North and South Phoenix facilities.
Orange First Transit-Phoenix Operates the West Phoenix facility.
Pink First Transit-RPTA Operates the Mesa and Tempe facilities.
Replaced Veolia-RPTA (Mesa) and Veolia-Tempe on July 1, 2013.
Purple Valu Trans Contracted by the RPTA.
Operated from the Total Transit/Discount Cab facility in southeast Glendale.
Turquoise City of Glendale Only non-contracted routes in the system.
Also operates Glendale Dial-a-Ride.
Gray MV Transportation Operates the East Phoenix facility.
Also operates Phoenix Dial-a-Ride.
Olive Ollie the Trolley Contracted by the City of Scottsdale.
Formally known as Dunn Transportation.
Brown Ajo Transportation Contracted by the RPTA.
No. Name Type Operator Facilities Note
Main LINK Valley Metro LINK (Main Street/Power Road) LINK First Transit-RPTA Mesa
Arizona LINK Valley Metro LINK (Country Club/Arizona Avenue) LINK First Transit-RPTA Mesa
0 Central Avenue Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
1 Washington/Jefferson Street Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
3 Van Buren Street Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
7 7th Street Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
8 7th Avenue Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
10 Roosevelt Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
12 12th Street Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
13 Buckeye Road Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
15 15th Avenue Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
16 16th/32nd Street Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
17 McDowell Road Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
19 19th Avenue Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
27 27th Avenue Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
28 Lower Buckeye Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
29 Thomas Road Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
30 University Drive Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
32 32nd Street South Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
35 35th Avenue Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
39 40th Street North Phoenix Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
40 Apache/Main Street Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
41 Indian School Road Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
43 43rd Avenue Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
44 44th Street/Tatum Boulevard Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
45 Broadway Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
48 48th Street/Rio Salado Parkway Local First Transit-RPTA Tempe
50 Camelback Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
51 51st Avenue Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
52 Roeser Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
56 Priest Drive Local First Transit-RPTA Tempe
59 59th Avenue Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
60 Bethany Home Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
61 Southern Avenue Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
62 Hardy/Guadalupe Local First Transit-RPTA Tempe
65 Mill/Kyrene Local First Transit-RPTA Tempe
66 Mill/Kyrene Local First Transit-RPTA Tempe
67 67th Avenue Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
70 24th Street/Glendale Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
72 Scottsdale/Rural Road Local First Transit-RPTA Tempe
75 75th Avenue Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
77 Baseline Road Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
80 Northern/Shea Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
81 Hayden/McClintock Drive Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
83 83rd Avenue Local First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
90 Dunlap/Cave Creek Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
96 Dobson Road Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
104 Alma School Road Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
106 Peoria Avenue Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
108 Elliot/48th Street Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
112 Country Club/Arizona Avenue Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
120 Mesa Drive Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa
122 Cactus Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
128 Stapley Drive Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa
136 Gilbert Road Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa
138 Thunderbird Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
154 Greenway Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
156 Chandler Boulevard/Williams Field Road Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
170 Bell Road Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
184 Power Road Local First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
186 Union Hills Drive Local Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
251 51st Avenue / Baseline Local Valu Trans Southeast Glendale
514 Scottsdale Express First Transit-RPTA Tempe
520 Tempe Express First Transit-RPTA Tempe
521 Tempe Express First Transit-RPTA Tempe
522 Tempe Express First Transit-RPTA Tempe
531 Mesa/Gilbert Express First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
533 Mesa Express First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
535 Northeast Mesa/Downtown Express First Transit-RPTA Mesa
541 Chandler Express First Transit-RPTA Tempe
542 Chandler/Downtown Express First Transit-RPTA Mesa, Tempe
562 Goodyear/Downtown Express Valu Trans Southeast Glendale
563 Buckeye Express Valu Trans Southeast Glendale
571 Surprise Express Valu Trans Southeast Glendale
573 Northwest Valley/Downtown Express Valu Trans Southeast Glendale
575 Northwest Valley/Loop 101/Downtown Express Valu Trans Southeast Glendale
685 Gila Bend Regional Connector Express Ajo Transportation Ajo
GL Grand Avenue Limited Express First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West Provides express service, but with a local fare.
ZOOM Avondale Zoom Circulator Valu Trans Southeast Glendale $0.50 fare to ride.
GUS 1 Glendale Urban Shuttle 1 Circulator City of Glendale Northwest Glendale $0.25 fare to ride.
GUS 2 Glendale Urban Shuttle 2 Circulator City of Glendale Northwest Glendale $0.25 fare to ride.
GUS 3 Glendale Urban Shuttle 3 Circulator City of Glendale Northwest Glendale $0.25 fare to ride.
BUZZ Mesa Downtown BUZZ Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
ALEX Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator - ALEX (Ahwatukee) Circulator MV Transportation Phoenix Dial-a-Ride
DASH Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator - DASH (Gov. Loop) Circulator Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
MARY Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator - MARY (Maryvale) Circulator First Transit-Phoenix Phoenix West
SMART Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator - SMART (Sunnyslope) Circulator Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
Trolley Scottsdale Camelback Trolley Circulator Ollie the Trolley Scottsdale
Trolley Scottsdale Downtown Trolley Circulator Ollie the Trolley Scottsdale
Trolley Scottsdale Miller Road Trolley Circulator Ollie the Trolley Scottsdale
Trolley Scottsdale Neighborhood Trolley Circulator Ollie the Trolley Scottsdale
Trolley Talking Stick Trolley Circulator Ollie the Trolley Scottsdale Seasonal, runs from mid October through early April.
Trolley Scottsdale Resort Trolley Circulator Ollie the Trolley Scottsdale Seasonal, runs from late December through the end of March.
Forward FLASH Forward (Arizona State University) Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
Back FLASH Back (Arizona State University) Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
Earth Tempe - Orbit Earth Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
Jupiter Tempe - Orbit Jupiter Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
Mars Tempe - Orbit Mars Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
Mercury Tempe - Orbit Mercury Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
Venus Tempe - Orbit Venus Circulator First Transit-RPTA Tempe
SR-51 SR-51 Rapid Rapid Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
I-10E I-10 East Rapid Rapid Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
I-10W I-10 West Rapid Rapid Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
I-17 I-17 Rapid Rapid Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix North
Central/S. Mtn E Central/South Mountain East Rapid Rapid Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South
Central/S. Mtn W Central/South Mountain West Rapid Rapid Transdev-Phoenix Phoenix South

Note that the listed facility assignments for Transdev-Phoenix operated routes are normal assignments, however, routes normally operated from the South facility may occasionally be substituted with buses from the North facility and vice versa.

Customer service

The Transit Book (known until December 2008 as the Bus Book, and mentioned above) is updated twice yearly and contains maps and schedules for all routes. Copies are available at no charge at Valley Metro ticket offices, many public libraries, community colleges and other civic facilities around the metropolitan area, and on the buses themselves. Because the Transit Book is difficult to carry around easily (the size is similar to a medium-sized catalog, averaging about 250 pages), patrons often use it to quickly reference the time when their next bus will arrive, and simply leave the book sitting at their bus stop when finished, for the use of other riders.

Additionally, route schedules are posted at most bus stops in Tempe, selected bus stops in Scottsdale and Glendale, and at major transit centers in the city of Phoenix and throughout the Valley. On RAPID routes, schedules are electronic and are based on real-time information.

An automated next scheduled arrival service, NextRide, provides future arrival times for routes that serve a bus stop or light rail station. Each bus stop and light rail station has a five digit "STOP#" found on a sign affixed to the bus stop sign post, shelter, or rail station. By calling the customer service number or by sending a text message, the passenger will be provided with the next three scheduled arrival times. If it is within 15 minutes of a scheduled arrival, a real-time estimate of when the bus or train will arrive will be provided, based on the vehicle's current location along the route.[8]

A customer service call center is operated for passengers to plan their bus trips with the assistance of either an automated voice response system or a live customer service representative. The Valley Metro website [1] also has an online trip planning function, and includes all schedules and maps featured in the Transit Book; since 2006, Valley Metro is relying more on the website to post schedule information and is printing fewer paper copies of the Transit Book.

Passenger information systems

Like most major cities, all buses (except for the non-Phoenix circulator vehicles) include the Route Scout on-board passenger information system, which includes a lighted marquee displaying the correct date and time, and an audio and visual Stop Requested announcement. Automatic Voice Annunciation (AVA) for audio and visual announcements for each major intersection, as well as minor cross streets.

Previously, these were voiced by longtime Phoenix radio personality, Liz Boyle [2] [3], however these prerecorded announcements are slowly being phased out in favor of speech synthesis, to allow for easier updates. This same system is used by the LA Metro fleet and was introduced on the 2004 New Flyer D60LF buses.

Valley Metro Rail vehicles feature a similar passenger information system which uses speech synthesis technology, rather than a recorded voice, to announce approaching stations and give other travel-related announcements. Train operators may also use the vehicle's public address system at their discretion.

Select LINK and RAPID bus stops include a display with real time predictions for the next arrival at that stop. Additionally, all Valley Metro Rail platforms feature annunciation for the approximate arrival of the next train, while also allowing for messages regarding potential delays and general service information.

Valley Metro service providers

Name of Provider Service Contracted By Local Routes Express Routes RAPID Routes Local Area Shuttles Paratransit Routes Previously Operated
Transdev (formerly Veolia Transportation) City of Phoenix 0, 1, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 19, 27, 28, 32, 35, 39, 44, 50, 52, 60, 70, 80, 90, 106, 122, 138, 154, 170, 186, Light Rail (ATC) SR-51, I-10 East, I-10 West, I-17, Central Ave/South Mountain East, Central Ave/South Mountain West DASH (Downtown Area Shuttle), SMART (Sunnyslope Multi-Access Residential Transit) Red Line (Weekday operations, route discontinued 29 December 2008), Blue Line (Route discontinued 29 December 2008), 581 (Route discontinued in 2012)
MV Transportation City of Phoenix ALEX (Ahwatukee Local Explorer) Phoenix Dial-a-Ride
First Transit (formerly Laidlaw Transit Services) City of Phoenix 3, 13, 17, 17A, 29, 41, 43, 51, 59, 67, 75, 83 GL MARY (Maryvale Area Ride for You) Green (Renamed Route 29 on 29 December 2008), 560 (Route discontinued in 2012), I-10 West RAPID (Service transferred to Veolia/Transdev-Phoenix in July 2012), 19C (Route discontinued in October 2015)
First Transit RPTA, City of Tempe 30, 40, 45, 48, 56, 61, 62, 65, 66, 72, 77, 81, 96, 104, 108, 112, 120, 128, 136, 156, 184, LINK 514, 520, 521, 522, 531, 535, 541, 542 BUZZ (Downtown Mesa BUZZ), FLASH Forward/Back (Free Local Area Shuttle), ORBIT Red Line (Weekend operations as Veolia-Tempe, route discontinued 29 December 2008), 76 (as Veolia-Tempe, Service transferred to Ollie the Trolley and now known as Miller Road Trolley), 84, 92, 114, 277, 510 (as Veolia-Tempe, Route discontinued July 2012 and replaced by Route 514), 511 (Route discontinued October 2014 due to low ridership), 512 (as Veolia-Tempe, Route discontinued July 2012 and replaced by Route 514), 532 (as Veolia-RPTA, Route discontinued in July 2012), 534 (as Veolia-RPTA, Route discontinued in 2008 due to low ridership), 540 (as Veolia-RPTA, Route discontinued July 2012), FLASH McAllister (route discontinued on December 14, 2015 due to low ridership)
Valu Trans RPTA 251 562, 563, 571, 573, 575 Avondale Zoom 70X, 572
Ollie the Trolley City of Scottsdale Downtown Trolley, Miller Road Trolley, Neighborhood Trolley, Talking Stick Trolley, Resort Trolley Hospitality Trolley (Seasonal route discontinued after 2014-2015 winter season due to low ridership)
Ajo Transportation RPTA 685 660 (Route discontinued October 2011 due to low ridership)
City of Glendale City of Glendale GUS 1, GUS 2, GUS 3 Glendale Dial-a-Ride

Unification of Tempe bus operations with the RPTA

In 2012, the City of Tempe introduced a proposal that would unify its transit operations with the RPTA.[9] Under the new agreement, all Tempe bus operations would be handed over to the RPTA, where the Tempe transit facility would be utilized by the RPTA to reduce costs and improve efficiencies for certain routes by reducing deadheads due to its more central location than the existing RPTA facility in Mesa.

On November 24, 2012, the City of Tempe agreed to move forward with unifying its transit operations with the RPTA.[10] The contract for both agencies was initially planned to be awarded to First Transit on December 13, 2012, however, Veolia Transportation protested the award on the grounds that First Transit wasn't releasing information of where their cost savings would come from. The protest was denied and the contract was officially awarded to First Transit on January 24, 2013.[11]

Bus fleet

Valley Metro and member cities maintain a growing fleet of over 800 vehicles for public bus routes and nearly 200 for paratransit.

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Main article: Valley Metro (Phoenix) bus fleet

References

  1. ↑ http://www.valleymetro.org/valley_metro/contact_us/
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ http://www.valleymetro.org/images/uploads/12411_transit_centers.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.metro-magazine.com/uploads/images/top1002015.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.valleymetro.org/publications_reports/ridership_reportsl
  7. ↑ Valley Metro Bus page
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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