Changes To Smart Bus Services For Wednesday

Press release from the City of St. Clair Shores:

Posted on: April 7, 2020

On April 8th SMART adjusts service to redirect buses to higher demand routes during COVID - 19 pandemic

• Effective Wednesday, April 8, 2020 all commuter routes will be suspended and replaced with advanced reservation shuttles
• Commuter Routes include:
• 255 Ford Road Express
• 430 Main Street
• 445 Woodward
• 465 Auburn Hills
• 530 Schoenherr
• 562 FAST Gratiot / WSU
• 580 Harper
• 620 Charlevoix
• 635 Jefferson Express
• 805 Grand River Park & Ride
• 830 Downriver Park & Ride
• 849 Northland Park & Ride
• 851 W Bloomfield Park & Ride
• Additional buses will operate on main corridor routes where demand is higher
• All other March 31 service changes remain in effect.
• SMART has instituted a health screening process for all drivers
• Riders who are not taking essential trips or who are sick should not ride transit
• Updates on SMART service can be found at www.smartbus.org.

April 6, 2020, Detroit, Mich. – On Wednesday, April 8, SMART will suspend commuter routes and replace them with a reservation-based shuttle. SMART has been monitoring driver availability and route ridership as the COVID-19 crisis unfolds. The effects of virus has not spared SMART which is experiencing a number of drivers and operational staff in self-quarantine and impacting operations on a daily basis.

SMART is committed to meeting the need for employers and riders who still require reliable transportation to make essential trips and get essential workers to and from the jobsite. To meet that need and efficiently serve the higher demand corridors, SMART will redirect buses to main corridor routes which are still seeing significant ridership - and certainly warrant more buses to better facilitate social distancing.

Alternate Commuter Service Options

Starting on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, all commuter routes will be suspended. These routes include: 255 Ford Road Express, 445 Woodward, 465 Auburn Hills, 530 Schoenherr, 562 FAST Gratiot/WSU, 580 Harper, 620 Charlevoix, 635 Jefferson Express, 805 Grand River P&R, 830 Downriver P&R, 849 Northland P&R, 851 W. Bloomfield P&R.

If a rider relies on one of these routes for essential trips, there are two options available:

• SMART encourages those who can drive or are able to take a connecting route to one of the three FAST corridors (Michigan, Woodward, or Gratiot) do so – FAST routes will continue to run all the way downtown.
• Share your commute and work information with SMART ahead of time and reserve a seat on a Commuter Shuttle for every weekday you go downtown for work.

How to Reserve a Ride if You Use Commuter Routes to Go to Work

SMART Commuter Shuttles will run weekdays only in each county. SMART will take steps to limit the number of riders per bus to keep within the social distancing guidelines

• Riders of a suspended route should call SMART Customer Service at 866-962-5515 and press #1 for Connector or send an email with the following information to commuter@smartbus.org :
• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Suspended Route name/number
• Bus stop location where they board the bus at the beginning of their trip and where they exit the bus downtown.
• Schedule of weekdays they are working (this can be updated moving forward if you work different days on different weeks).
• Riders will get the following information upon scheduling a ride:
• location of pick up
• approximate pick-up time for morning and afternoon trips
• type of bus to expect (regular fixed route or smaller connector bus)

Do Your Part to Limit the Spread of COVID-19

SMART reminds riders to only make essential trips as defined by the Governor’s Executive Order. Just as SMART has instituted a screening process for our drivers to prevent the spread of the virus, riders have a responsibility to consider the health of our drivers and riding public. If you are ill or experiencing any of the symptoms of COVID-19 – such as a fever of 100.4 degrees or greater, consistent coughing, shortness of breath and/or difficulty breathing – stay home, and do not ride public transit.

SMART continues with the following initiatives to help prevent the spread of the virus, until further notice: free fare, rear-door boarding, and yellow chain separating drivers from passengers, mid-route cleaning and regular electrostatic spraying of all buses.

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This press release was produced by the City of St. Clair Shores. The views expressed here are the author’s own.