New bus route to start by 2012

The recently approved new bus route to serve the west end of the city should be in place by January 2012.

Richard Turner, transit division director, said he hopes to have both the new route and schedule changes in place by that time, if not sooner. The schedule changes will reflect the new route times from a 30-minute route to a 40-minute route.

The new route, which is almost 13 miles, would serve Southridge Drive, Southwest Boulevard, Stadium Boulevard and West Edgewood, among others. It would run east on Missouri Boulevard and connect with the main Missouri Boulevard route at the bus shelter near Menard's, which would serve as a western hub.

The transit division is set to receive $80,000 for the new route in the 2012 budget, which was passed by the City Council on Oct. 3. The route survived an amendment proposal sponsored by 2nd Ward Councilman Rich Koon, which sought to reduce the amount of transit subsidies given by the city and defer the new bus line to a later year. The amendment was defeated by a 5-4 vote.