Press release from the city of Asheville:
ASHEVILLE — In 2018, many of city of Asheville ART buses will run later into the evening. And Sunday/holiday service will extend to all routes.
On Jan. 1, eight Asheville Redefines Transit bus routes will add hours to their routes, thanks to additional funding approved by Asheville City Council.
How did city staff determine the best way to allocate that funding? They asked ART riders. During the fall of 2017, city staff gathered input from riders and potential future riders at in-person meetings, through an online survey and through paper surveys that were available on the buses. That public input ended up being the most important factor in deciding where to add the expanded hours.
“This represents a major expansion of service, and it will have a significant impact on the lives of transit users,” said Elias Mathes, city transit planning manager. “Previously, only half the routes in our system had service on Sundays and holidays — now all 18 routes will have limited Sunday/holiday service. In addition to the Sunday/holiday service, there will be later evening hours on certain routes and an additional daily trip on Route 170 to Black Mountain.”
The W5 route will be expanded two hours later in 2018. The route, which serves the Patton and North Louisiana avenues area into Emma will change from its current 7:30 p.m. last departure from the ART Transit Station to 9:30 p.m. Most other buses will extend their rounds by a half hour or an hour.
In 2015, City Council authorized funding for Sunday bus service on nine routes. In 2018, Sunday service will come to all routes.
Changes starting Jan. 1, 2018
- Additional evening hours on the following routes: N, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, W2, W5
- Additional daily trip at 11 a.m. Monday-Saturday on Route 170 to Black Mountain
- Sunday/holiday service on ALL routes
For more information, including bus schedules and service alerts, visit the ART transit webpage or pick up bus schedules at the ART Transit Station, 49 Coxe Ave., downtown.
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