Expanded Services Continue At BWAT

Blue Water Area Transit is able to continue the expanded services designed to help commuters travel to and from work for another year. The agency will receive over one million dollars  in grant funding from the Federal Job Access and Reverse Commute program for Fiscal Year 2012.  According to Jim Wilson of the transit company “A growing number of riders are using the expanded JARC services. Ridership has nearly tripled  during the four years since the funding started in fiscal year 2008.  The funding    supports a commuter route to and from Macomb county (23 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue). Riders can travel via an I-94 express route or an M-29 route that stops in Marysville, St. Clair, Algonac, Clay Township, Pearl Beach, Ira Township, Anchorville, and New Baltimore. At no additional charge, commuters can then connect with Detroit’s SMART system to reach Downtown Detroit, Wayne State University, or suburban cities as far away as Dearborn.    JARC funding also supports extended local service hours, with some bus routes starting as early as 5:15 a.m. and running as late as 11:00 p.m. during the week and 3:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. These extended hours are designed to help commuters connect with Macomb county routes and to reach jobs with early morning or late evening shifts.