Pines adjusts route to improve bus timeliness
The free community bus service inPembroke Pines is adjusting one of its routes beginning Sept. 5 to improve on-time performance.
The Blue Route that runs east and west along Pines Boulevard on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. is adding a stop at the Century Village Club off Pines Boulevard, but is eliminating some underused stops along that route, said Jacque-Ann D. Isaacs, TransportationAdministrator.
“We’ve had to remove certain stops that weren’t proving to be too popular and condense [the route] so that we could concentrate on the more popular [stops],” she said.
Busier stops at supermarkets and shopping centers threw the buses off schedule.
“A lot of people use [the bus] for grocery shopping and with that comes a lot of recovery time,” she said.
“[There are] a lot of delays in assisting them getting and off.”
The route change follows input from residents at a Town Hall meeting Tuesday.
Pembroke Pines has two other routes, Green and Gold, that run Monday through Saturday.
No changes are for those routes.
The Gold Route continues to run from 7:30 a.m. until 7:21p.m. and the Green Route operates from 7:45 a.m. to 7:55 p.m. except on federal holidays.
All three routesmake 184 planned scheduled stops in the city. Each bus carries up to 30 passengers, has two bicycle racks, and is equipped for those usingwheelchairs.
The free rides began in 1994 and the routes have grown steadily.
“I believe it will continue to grow because Pembroke Pines continues to grow,” said Isaacs.
“So we’ll have to keep up with it.”
wkroustan@ sunsentinel.com