MetroBus (St. Louis)

MetroBus is a public bus service operated by Metro Transit that serves the Greater St. Louis area in a shared fare system with the MetroLink light rail service. In 2022, the system had an annual ridership of 11,987,600, or about 39,600 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.

For other systems of the same name, see Metrobus.
MetroBus
A Metrobus on Tucker Blvd in 2012
ParentBi-State Development Agency
FoundedApril 1963, 01 (01-04-1963)
Service areaGreater St. Louis, Missouri–Illinois, U.S.
Service typeLocal bus
Express bus
Routes58
Stops9,000
Hubs25 transit centers
23 park and ride lots
Depots4
Fleet24 electric buses
242 diesel buses
Daily ridership39,600 (weekdays, Q2 2023)[1]
Annual ridership11,987,600 (2022)[2]
Fuel typeDiesel
Electric
OperatorMetro Transit
Websitemetrostlouis.org/metrobus

Service

MetroBus currently operates 58 fixed bus routes and serves three counties including the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County in Missouri and St. Clair County in Illinois. Of its 58 bus routes, 46 of them are operated on the Missouri side with 12 routes on the Illinois side.[3] In June 2021, Metro introduced the region's first electric buses including 40-foot and 60-foot articulated models. The 60-foot articulated buses are used exclusively on the #70 Grand bus line, the region's busiest.[4]

Beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, MetroBus has seen a sharp decline in ridership and it's estimated that full recovery could take several years.[5] In addition, ongoing labor shortages have reduced Metro's ability to offer comprehensive service to its riders.[6][7] In June 2023, weekend service was reduced on 26 routes and suspended on 4 others.[8] In an effort to recruit more drivers, Bi-State's board recently signed a contract with Local 788, which approved a salary increase for each of the next two fiscal years and a $7,000 signing bonus. However, recruitment remains low and Metro slashed the number of full-time bus driver slots in its 2024 budget by 21%, from 811 to 635.[7]

Bus routes

Missouri
MetroBus on the Eads Bridge
Interior of a MetroBus in 2012
Missouri Bus Routes[9]
No.NameNotes
1GoldThis route is part of a contract with Washington University. Originally a shuttle route contracted by WashU, operations were handed over to Metro in 2006 [10]
2RedThis route is part of a contract with Washington University. Originally a shuttle route contracted by WashU, operations were handed over to Metro in 2006 [10]
4Natural BridgeTravels from North Hanley MetroLink Station, follows Natural Bridge Avenue for the most part and ends at Civic Center Station.
5GreenThis route is part of a contract with Washington University.
8Shaw CherokeeThis route follows Tower Grove, Shaw, south Grand, Cherokee, and Broadway in St. Louis City Between Central West End Station & Catalan Transit Center.
9OakvilleThis route follows Germania/Marceau, Broadway, and Telegraph Rd between Shrewsbury Station and Telegraph & Baumgartner(OAKVILLE).
10Gravois LindellSouthern half of this route follows Gravois Ave from Gravois-Hampton Transit Center to Civic Center Station, while the northern half follows Lindell & Olive From Central West End MetroBus Center to Civic Center Transit Center.
11ChippewaTravels from Shrewsbury Station, east on Lansdowne Avenue, east on Chippewa, North on Jefferson Avenue, east on Chouteau to 14th Street. Eventual endpoint is at Civic Center Station. Westbound trips travel south on 14th, west on Chouteau Avenue, then south on Jefferson before reversing its route and returning to Shrewsbury Station.
13UnionTravels from Union at West Florissant in North St. Louis South to Central West End Station.
16City LimitsThis Route Follows Jennings Station Rd, Hamilton Ave, Skinker Blvd, Bellevue Ave And, Jamieson Ave between Riverview-Hall Transit Center & Shrewsbury Station with a stop at Delmar Station.
18TaylorFollows Taylor & Newstead Between Central West End Station And Broadway-Taylor Transit Center. This route is interlined with the #42 Sarah on its northern end.
19St. Louis AveThis route begins in Downtown St. Louis at Civic Center Station and continues to Rock Rd Station via St. Louis Ave.
21Watson RoadRoute continues Route 11 from Shrewsbury Station to Meramec college in Kirkwood, MO along River Des Peres, Watson Rd, Lindbergh Blvd and, Big Bend Rd.
30ArsenalThis route begins in Downtown St. Louis at Civic Center Station and continues to Shrewsbury Station via Arsenal St.
31ChouteauThis route begins in Downtown St. Louis at Civic Center Station and travels along Chouteau/Manchester to the Maplewood-Manchester Station. This route is interlined with the #40 North Broadway at Civic Center Station.
32M.L. KingThis route begins in Downtown St. Louis at Civic Center Station and proceeds to Rock Rd Station along 14th St, Cass Ave, And Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Drive / St. Charles Rock Rd.
33MidlandThis route serves Dorsett and Midland Rd's between Westport Plaza and Clayton Transit Center.
34Earth CityTravels I-70 from North Hanley Station to Earth City Expressway
35Rock RoadThis route begins at Rock Rd Station and continues Route 32 Further Into North St. Louis County along St. Charles Rock Road with an endpoint at DePaul Medical Center.
40North BroadwayFollows Broadway north of Market Between Riverview MetroBus Center and Civic Center Station. This route is interlined with the #31 Chouteau at Civic Center Station.
41LeeThis route operates between Civic Center Station and Riverview-Hall Transit Center mainly along Riverview Blvd, Lee Ave, and 20th St.
42SarahThis route operates along Sarah St in North St. Louis City between Central West End Station and Broadway-Taylor Transit Center.
46Tesson FerryPrior to the construction of the Blue MetroLink line, route 46 was part of route 47. Route 47 was split when the Blue Line was built. Blue Line replaced service on route 47 between Clayton MetroBus Center and Shrewsbury. Now it begins at Shrewsbury Station and follows Tesson Ferry Rd to St. Anthony's Hospital with select trips to Met Life insurance.
49LindberghNorthern terminus is the North Hanley Metrolink Station, South Terminus is South County Center. Created on September 30, 2019 when route 49 North Lindbergh extended over route 48 South Lindbergh
56Kirkwood-WebsterThis route runs between Shrewsbury Station and Meramec College through the Southwestern St. Louis county suburbs of Webster Groves and Kirkwood.
57ManchesterContinues route 31 from Maplewood-Manchester station along Manchester Road into West St. Louis County to the Wildwood Shopping Center.
58Chesterfield ValleyBegins at Clayton Station and eventually follows Clayton road with a stop at the Ballas Transfer Center in Town And Country, continuing to Chesterfield Valley.
59OaklandA route that travels through the HiPointe and Dogtown Neighborhoods in St. Louis. Western terminus is at Highland Terrace.
60Shepley-LilacA route that travels from Riverview Transit Center through Glasgow Village.
61ChambersStarts at North Hanley Station. Follows Airport Road through Chambers Road. Ends at Riverview Transit Center.
64Lucas HuntThis route begins at Rock Rd Station and proceeds north on Lucas-Hunt Rd, east on Halls-Ferry Rd, and north to Riverview Transit Center.
70GrandThis route is Metro's busiest route, operating with 12-minute frequency between North Broadway Transit Center and Loughborough Commons due to the crowds that always form. Follows Grand Blvd. North endpoint is Broadway-Taylor Transit Center in North St. Louis. Articulated buses are used on this route.
73CarondeletThis route travels through the popular Carondelet neighborhood. The northern end of the route is Civic Center Station and the southern end is South County Mall.
74FlorissantThe route operates over West Florissant Ave and starts at North County Transit Center in Ferguson and Ends at Civic Center Station in Downtown St. Louis.
76McDonnell-WaterfordThis route provides service between Hanley Station and North County Transit Center along N. Hanley Rd, McDonnell Blvd, Lindbergh Blvd, Graham Rd, Waterford Dr, and Lindbergh Blvd.
77Village SquareThis route provides service on Hanley Rd, Dunn Rd, Lindbergh Blvd, and New Halls Ferry Road between North Hanley Station and North County Transit Center.
78BellefontaineThis route operates mainly on New Halls Ferry Road, Parker Road, and Bellefontaine Rd between North County Transit Center and Riverview-Hall Transit Center. Express service directly to/from Downtown St. Louis is provided during rush hour.
79FergusonThis route provides service on Florissant and Dunn Rd's between North County Transit Center and North Hanley Station.
90HamptonThis route serves Goodfellow Blvd & DeBaliviere Ave In North St. Louis City and Hampton, Germania and, Marceau Avenues In South St. Louis City. This Route also has Time Points at Riverview-Hall Transit Center, DeBaliviere Garage, Forest Park-DeBaliviere MetroLink station, Hampton Loop and, Catalan loop.
91OliveThis Route follows Olive Blvd from Delmar Station To Chesterfield Mall In Chesterfield, Mo.
94PageThis Route follows Page Avenue from Civic Center Station via Wellston Station to Westport Plaza in Maryland Heights.
95KingshighwayA North-South Route following Kingshighway in St. Louis. Passes by much of the Central West End(Including Central West End MetroLink station) and the eastern boundary of Forest Park. This Route's Northern End is Broadway-Taylor Transit Center and the Southern End is Gravois-Hampton Transit Center.
97DelmarThis route travels on Delmar Blvd between Clayton Station and Civic Center Station in Downtown St. Louis with a mid-route stop at the Delmar Station.
98Ballas-North HanleyGenerally travels between North Hanley MetroLink Station in Kinloch to Ballas MetroBus Center in Town and Country.
100HazelwoodProvides Service to North Hanley Transit Center and Boeing, Hazelwood Industrial Park, areas along Taussig and St. Charles Rock Road, and DePaul Hospital
174XNorth ExpressThe route begins at North County Transit Center in Ferguson and continues to Civic Center Station in Downtown St. Louis. Service is provided hourly Monday – Friday with peak service being offered during rush hour from North County in the morning and from downtown in the evening.

Illinois
Illinois Bus Routes[9]
No.NameNotes
1Main Street – State StreetThis route runs from 5th & Missouri Station in East St. Louis to the Belleville Station in Belleville.
2Cahokia HeightsThis bus route runs entirely in Cahokia, Illinois. It also services the St. Louis Downtown Airport and 5th & Missouri MetroLink Station.
3Sauget – Water Street
4 19th & Central
5 Missouri Avenue – ML King
6Rosemont
8Alta Sita
9Washington Park
12O'Fallon – Fairview Heights
13Caseyville
14Memorial Hospital – Westfield Plaza
15Belleville – Shiloh – O'Fallon
16St. Clair SquareThis route runs almost entirely on Illinois Route 159 from the MCT Collinsville Station to the College MetroLink Station.

Facilities

Transit centers
MetroBus portion of the Clayton Transit Center

MetroBus serves a total of 25 transit centers with 15 of them located in Missouri and 10 of them located in Illinois. 19 of them have direct connections with MetroLink.[11][12]

Missouri

Illinois

Other connections

MetroBus connects with Madison County Transit (MCT) bus routes at various stations and transit centers in the core St. Louis area including the 8th & Pine station, the Convention Center station and the Emerson Park Transit Center.[13] MCT routes also serve Metro's Civic Center Transit Center where a connection to Amtrak, Greyhound and Megabus can be made at the neighboring Gateway Transportation Center.

Maintenance facilities
Further information: List of Metro Transit (St. Louis) yards and depots

Metro Transit operates four garages for MetroBus in the Greater St. Louis region.[12] The Brentwood and DeBaliviere garages have infrastructure in place to charge and maintain electric buses while the North Broadway Transit Center has overhead infrastructure for charging electric buses while in service.[14][15] Central Garage sits on the historical site of the Red Stocking Baseball Park.

  • Brentwood Garage
  • Central Garage
  • DeBaliviere Garage
  • Illinois Garage

See also

References
  1. "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  2. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2022" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  3. "System Profile". Metro Transit – Saint Louis. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  4. Lindsey (2022-06-29). "Celebrating 1 Year of Electric Buses". Metro Transit – Saint Louis. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  5. Currier, Joel (2020-03-21). "Metro reduces bus, MetroLink service amid COVID-19 outbreak". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  6. Amand, Amanda St (2020-03-26). "Not enough drivers means delays for some Metro bus routes". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  7. Post-Dispatch, Namratha Prasad St Louis (2023-09-18). "Some Metro drivers make more than $40,000 in overtime pay amid labor shortage". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  8. Schlinkmann, Mark (June 7, 2023). "Metro to reduce service on 30 bus routes, citing continued driver shortages". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  9. "MetroBus Schedule". Metro Transit – Saint Louis. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  10. "Studlife Article".
  11. "2021 Bus Bay Maps" (PDF). Metro St. Louis.
  12. "System Addresses". Metro Transit – Saint Louis. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  13. "System Map". Madison County Transit. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  14. Lindsey (2022-03-23). "Metro Transit Awarded $4M Grant to Expand Electric Bus Program". Metro Transit – Saint Louis. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  15. "Electric Buses". Metro Transit – Saint Louis. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
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