Getting to Cincinnati's relocated Greyhound station will get a little easier next month.
Starting Aug. 13, Metro will expand its Route 43 service to the Greyhound station in Arlington Heights. The route will be 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will come every half hour during peak travel times.
The Greyhound station recently moved from its longtime location on Gilbert Street Downtown to Galbraith Road, causing some concern about accessibility to and from the station. The Downtown property next to Hard Rock Casino sold for $4.25 million last year. The building will eventually be demolished and the property will serve as a parking lot until it is redeveloped.
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"Since its relocation from Downtown to Arlington Heights last fall, Metro has been in discussions with Greyhound on how best to continue providing this critical connection for Hamilton County residents to access this inter-regional transportation service," Metro Sr. Vice President of External Affairs Brandy Jones said in a news release. "Thanks to those residents' continued support of our mission, we are pleased to provide this new service."
More changes coming
Metro is also planning other route adjustments. The bus system run by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority will be expanding service along routes 4, 5, 6, 11, 17, 19, 24, 28, 31, 33, 37, 41, 43, 51, 64, 67, 72 to accommodate Cincinnati Public School students riding to and from classes.
In addition, the bus service is considering the elimination of Route 85, the Riverfront Parking Shuttle. Metro cites low ridership as the reason for the potential removal of the route. The bus system is taking input online and having a public meeting July 25 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 525 Vine Street Downtown on the potential route closure, which would take effect Aug. 15.
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"The decision to terminate any route is never one Metro takes lightly," Jones said. "However, in the interest of ensuring the highest quality service on those routes our customers use the most, we are considering the difficult choice to end the downtown riverfront parking shuttle service."