During the past ten years, more than one million riders travelled Blue Water Area Transit’s commuter routes and took advantage of extended hours to access and maintain employment in St. Clair County and beyond.
Riders made 1,190 trips along BWAT’s commuter routes and 11,716 trips during extended hours in December 2016, bringing the total since expanded services for commuters started in 2007 to 1,185,371 trips.
BWAT offers an express commuter bus that travels along I-94 to Macomb County (23 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue). The agency also offers a local commuter bus that travels along M-29 with stops in Marysville, St. Clair, Algonac, Clay Township, Pearl Beach, Ira Township, Anchorville and New Baltimore.
“Once they get used to it, commuters tell us they enjoy starting their morning by reading the news, thumbing through Facebook and planning their day,” said Jim Wilson, BWAT general manager. “Riding the bus to work can also offer a significant cost savings.”
The cost to ride either the express or local commuter bus is the same fee (80 cents for adults) as riding any other BWAT fixed-route or dial-a-ride service. At no additional charge, commuters can also connect with the regional SMART transit system to reach Downtown Detroit, Wayne State University and suburban sites as far away as Dearborn.
Federal and state grants also support expanded hours that give local riders the opportunity to pursue jobs with early or late shifts. Some bus routes start as early as 5:15 a.m. and run as late as 11 p.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
A person who takes public transit instead of making a daily commute by car will experience an annual savings of $9,712, according to the American Public Transportation Association. These savings are based on the cost of commuting by public transportation compared to the cost of owning and driving a vehicle (based on the December 21, 2016, national average gas price of $2.25 per gallon and the national monthly parking rate of $166.26).
BWAT purchased its first 40-foot coach in 2010 to transport up to 38 passengers on commuter routes. The Orion V bus runs on compressed natural gas and is designed for comfort with high-back, reclining, upholstered seating and air suspension.
“Our goal is to make the ride as comfortable as possible,” said Anita R. Ashford, Blue Water Area Transportation Commission Board vice chair and Port Huron mayor pro tem.
Blue Water Area Transit is celebrating the sesquicentennial of public transportation service in the Blue Water Area, as well as its own start 40 years ago.
William Pitt Edison (the older brother of the celebrated inventor Tom) started the local tradition of innovation 150 years ago. He started operating horse-drawn trolleys on several routes as the Port Huron & Gratiot Street Railway in 1866.
The Blue Water Area became one of the nation’s first communities to operate electrified trolleys in the 1880s and then motor coaches in the late 1920s. Bus service started in 1927 and continued until an eight-year hiatus from 1968 to 1976. Since BWAT started publicly funded bus service in September 1976, the transit agency has carried more than 29 million riders.
