During a typical school day, ASU students can be seen getting on and off of the blue Orbit buses that zip around the University. By October 2017, these buses will be able to take students to destinations throughout southern Tempe.
The free buses will introduce the Saturn route that will travel south of U.S. Route 60 as far as Elliot Road and Priest Drive, following extensive planning by the city of Tempe.
City council member Lauren Kuby said that the planning included surveys, meetings and phone calls to determine the best route for the community.
“City staff has been working really closely with residents and businesses,” Kuby said.
Originally, the route was not planned to stop at the Tempe Public Library, but after seeing the community's need for transportation, the city included the stop in the new route.
“I think a lot of people in the community of all ages use the services there,” Amanda Nelson, the city of Tempe's public information officer, said.
Along with the new route, the city is going to purchase seven larger buses that can carry up to 50 riders for use on its popular Jupiter and Mercury routes. Each bus will cost $500,000, and they will be purchased using federal and regional funding.
Buses that service stops on ASU’s campus can leave students waiting for long periods of time when the bus is full.
“One time, I waited about an hour for the bus,” junior Leah Lindbery said.
Lindbery uses the Orbit bus to commute to school and work, and has used the service for three years.
“This bus particularly drops me off right in front of my apartment,” Lindbery said.
The new Saturn route will be funded at the cost of $1.2 million per year by the Tempe transportation tax that was established in 1996.
Current routes run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily with buses arriving every 15 minutes. However, the new route will run from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Nelson said that residents preferred having the buses run shorter hours instead of having a decreased frequency in bus arrivals.
Both Kuby and Nelson said the plan to expand the Orbit route had widespread public support. Kuby herself uses the buses instead of biking when it rains.
There had always been plans to extend the route, but they came to a halt when the 2008 recession hit.
“We had to scale back our services in all kinds of areas,” Nelson said.
After this decrease, Nelson said that residents made their need for more transportation options “loud and clear.”
Kuby also called public transportation the “lifeblood of students,” who often work with limited budgets.
“Students are burdened with horrible student loans,” she said.
The council member said she thinks it's important make Tempe a “multi-mobile city,” and give residents many transportation options.
“There is a growing need for transit,” Kuby said.
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