Oligo and Mark,
There has been increased criminal activity across the region, and some of that activity on the Metro System has been highly visible in the media. In response, Metro has increased our own patrols on MetroLink significantly in recent months and we are working with the entities we contract with for public safety services to further increase their presence on the transit system, including the City of St. Louis Police Department; St. Louis County Police Department; St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office; and Securitas private security.
As a result of this increased presence, enforcement of violations has increased, though I am unable to provide statistics regarding the number of citations for loud music, etc. Oligo.
We also rely on customer information to help improve all aspects of our service. If you witness a security event that requires immediate attention, please contact the platform security guard or MetroLink operator (via the call button at the front of each train car). If you wish to report an incident which occurred in the recent past, please contact Customer Service at 314-231-2345 to report the incident, including details, location, date and time.
Concerned Citizen,
A Northside Southside MetroLink expansion could have significant ridership and economic development potential. The greatest barrier to pursuing construction of such a project is funding, especially within the City of St. Louis. In order to construct any new service expansion, the local jurisdiction (and / or State of Missouri, which today largely does not participate in funding transit) would have to provide 100% of the cost to operate and maintain any new service, plus at least 50% of the cost to construct such a project, which could cost upwards of $1 billion (not including operating cost). For Northside Southside, the City of St. Louis is the local jurisdiction for much of the project; there is not a regional pool of transit funding in St. Louis. It is this financial capacity that stands as the most significant barrier to constructing Northside Southside. If State funding became available; if the City of St. Louis secured additional transit funding from some source; if there were a regional pool of funding, then implementing Northside Southside would be more likely.
This project (and some other transit expansion options) could be scaled into multiple segments to be constructed as funding is available, or could begin with another service type such as bus rapid transit (BRT). The catalyst for such a movement would likely need to include some sort of funding.
Regarding economic development, Metro is working with a number of partners including municipalities, private developers and nonprofits to promote development near the MetroLink alignment. You may have heard recently that Metro will soon begin construction on a new MetroLink Station at Boyle Avenue (between Grand and Central West End). This service is intended to complement new development happening in that corridor. Metro alone cannot effect positive economic development; we are of course subject to the capacity of the market.
South City,
The forthcoming St. Louis County feasibility study will likely answer the question regarding the most competitive of the options for MetroLink expansion in St. Louis County. This study may or may not include Northside Southside; this discussion is still taking shape.
Ron,
Smart Card will rollout this year in a phased manner. Metro is committed to creating a smooth experience for all customer groups, and intends to adopt of iterative process of starting the rollout with a limited group of testers for each rider group or fare product type. We will gather feedback and analyze the operational realities of each group, and use this feedback to make adjustments before we expand the rollout to the wider set of each customer group. Rollout will continue through next year.
Ron,
Gateway Card will become available in successive waves; we will introduce the card slowly, offering one one fare type at a time on the card. We are testing a limited number of cards now, and are in the process of implementing project updates in response to this test. I don’t yet have a target date when all fare types will become available via the Gateway Card, but it is likely not fall 2015.
