Five New Transit Bus Routes Target Underserved Sections of Eastern Harris County
Free Ridership the first 60 Days
Houston, Texas – Nearly 200,000 northeast Harris County residents now have access to public transportation thanks to $3.8 million in Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery funding. Harris County Transit Services will expand its existing bus service to some of the communities hardest hit by floodwaters from the hurricane.
The new service will primarily serve areas of Channelview, Cloverleaf and Sheldon and provide an additional scheduled bus to the route serving Crosby/Barrett Station.
A soft launch of the new service occurred on December 2. The first 60 days are free to riders. After that, rides will be $1. The inaugural ceremony to mark the launch was held Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Joe V’s Smart Shop parking lot, 5609 Uvalde, Houston.
Precinct Two Commissioner Adrian Garcia said, “East Harris County has many needs. Public transportation is just one and for many, essential! I heard early in my administration how badly this area of my precinct was in need of a transportation system. I worked with our partners to make this happen for those in my precinct. I am thrilled to see this happening in a deserving community.
Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis added, “Mass transit is important to our community’s success as our region continues to rapidly grow. The Sheldon area in Precinct One is a good example of a growing community where the addition of transit services will help the community thrive. Even if you own a car, I want to encourage everyone to take advantage of this new service and our mass transit options.”
The new service will add roughly 65 additional route miles to the Harris County service map for a total of 185 miles. Five proposed new routes serving the Channelview, Cloverleaf and Sheldon areas and an added bus scheduled along the current route through Crosby/Barrett Station are being expanded with service for a conditional three-year period. If ridership levels are high enough, Harris County Transit services will request more funding to continue the routes beyond the three years.
“We have worked with the Metropolitan Transit Authority to assure these routes provide connectivity to bus routes that make the Houston area accessible,” said Harris County Community Services Department Director Daphne Lemelle.
Harris County Transit bus routes have served the East Harris County Community since 2008 with the launching of routes in Baytown, a service that now includes La Porte, McNair/ Barrett Station, Crosby and the Highlands, areas outside the Metro service map. The proposed new routes will expand Harris County Transit by an estimated 50 percent.
Project Partners are Harris County Transit Services, Harris County Precinct One, Harris County Precinct Two, Harris County Community Services Department and METRO.