Council Member Green Advocates for Continuation of METRO West Loop Park & Ride Service

In April, the District K office attended a METRO Customer Information Meeting at the METRO Administration Building to advocate for the continuation of the West Loop Park & Ride non-stop commuter service.Initially, METRO had plans to discontinue the commuter service because of low-ridership relative to their Reimagining Initiative, according to their METRO statisticians.Due to the overwhelming response of District K residents calling and e-mailing the council office to express their displeasure with the discontinuation of this non-stop commuter service, Council Member Green stepped in to take a position on the sustainability of this commuter service. “The West Loop Park & Ride commuter bus is the most reliable transit service that moves patrons within the greater Westbury/Meyerland/Bellaire vicinities non-stop into downtown,” states Council Member Green.

Following the Customer Information Meeting, METRO facilitated two public hearings earlier this month to address METRO concerns in preparation for their June 25th METRO board meeting. Like the April meeting, supporters for the continuation of the West Loop Park & Ride commuter service packed the board room to show their solidarity; and again Council Member forwarded a support letter to inform the METRO Board of Directors to retain the West Loop Park & Ride non-stop commuter service. Based on the various testimonies given at the April 29th Customer Information Meeting, METRO has evaluated and considered the continuation of the non-stop commuter service with slight revisions to its frequency times and type of commuter bus relative to METRO’s FY2016 operating budget.

“As the District K council member representing the commuters that reside within the vicinity of the West Loop Park & Ride Transit Center, which includes the communities of Westbury, Willow Meadows, Willowbend, Westwood, the Brays Oaks area, and the South Braeswood neighborhoods of Linkwood, Woodshire, Woodside, Westridge, Knollwood Village, and Townhouse Manor, I support METRO’s staff recommendation to continue the West Loop Park & Ride non-stop commuter service,” states Council Member Green. The METRO Board of Directors will formally address the adoption of this recommendation at their June 25th Board of Directors meeting.