Big changes are in store later this month for public-transit users in the Valley, including ASU students.
The grand opening of the light rail will take place on Dec. 27, and many changes in bus schedules and routes will become effective Dec. 29. The changes will affect Tempe, Mesa and Phoenix.
The Metro light-rail trains will begin their first full trip of the day at 4:40 a.m. at the end-of-the-line stations. Trains will arrive at each stop every 10 minutes from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and every 20 minutes during all other hours. The last full trip of the day, at 11 p.m., will arrive at the opposite end of the rail line at midnight.
Public relations junior Carli Wilusz described the changes in bus schedules and opening of the light rail as positive.
“It works out for me because there is a station right across from where I live on Apache [Boulevard] and the [Loop] 101,” Wilusz said. “I have heard mixed feelings from other people who do not live as close to a light-rail station, though.”
Changes in Valley Metro bus services typically occur in January and July of each year; however, December’s additions and service cuts will coincide with the startup of the light rail.
Route 15, which runs on 15th Avenue in Phoenix, will be extended to serve the Metrocenter shopping mall and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Route 1, Washington/Jefferson, will no longer travel into Tempe but will go to the Phoenix Zoo and serve various Metro light-rail stations along the route.
Route 72, Scottsdale/Rural, will change to serve the Rural/University light rail station and the Tempe Transportation Center at Veterans Way and College Avenue.
Route 56, Priest, will end at the light-rail station at Priest Drive and Washington Street.
Route 65, Mill/Kyrene, will serve the Tempe Transportation Center at Veterans Way and College Avenue.
Phoenix spokeswoman Marie Chapple said two of the major service cuts are the elimination of the Red Line and the shortening of the Blue Line route. Bus routes will also be reconfigured on Dec. 29 so they can meet up with the light rail, she said.
The Red Line will be replaced with the light rail, Route 40 in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa and Route 15 in Phoenix and the Valley Metro LINK in Mesa.
Chapple sees these changes as a positive thing.
“We are encouraging bus riders to consider the light-rail as part of their travels because the bus and light rail work together,” Chapple said.
She added that the hours of operation for Phoenix buses will also be reduced on Dec. 29, in a move that’s unrelated to the light rail system opening.
“We will be cutting trips that begin before 5 a.m. and after 10 p.m. from our bus schedules, due to the economy,” Chapple said. “[The Phoenix] City Council wants people to know that this is a temporary situation, and they hope to restore this service in the future.”
Tempe spokeswoman Amanda Nelson said there would be fewer changes in Tempe than in Phoenix.
“There are going to be mixed emotions about the changes in bus schedules in Tempe,” she said. “A lot of the bus service changes that are occurring in Tempe have positive impacts for riders because it makes more efficient connections for people, resulting in shorter more convenient routes.”
Jennifer Callen, an education sophomore at the West campus, said her main method of transportation is Valley Metro buses, and she often travels to the Tempe campus.
“If the schedule change affects my travels, I will be angry because it puts me at a disadvantage,” Callen said. “I think the light rail is a good idea in theory, but it doesn’t cover every aspect of ASU, and construction for it caused problems.”
The ASU shuttle between the Downtown Phoenix and Tempe campuses will also be discontinued as a result of the light rail opening, but the West and Polytechnic shuttles will run according to their current schedules.
Reach the reporter at allison.carlin@asu.edu.
