In defense of Metro

Regarding “Why Houston failed to score with Amazon” (Page B1, Monday), Metro agrees that expanded transit is essential for our rapidly growing Houston region to remain competitive, and we are currently developing an updated regional transit plan. But the column’s dismissal of our current services as “an occasional decrepit bus” is way off the mark.

Metro provides about 400,000 passenger trips daily over 1,300 square miles. Our 114 local bus routes include 24 with high-frequency service (every 15 minutes or less), seven days a week. Our Park-and-Ride system is one of the most expansive in the country, with express bus service from more than two dozen suburban locations. Our nearly 23 miles of light rail include one of the highestperforming light rail lines in the country. Metro provides tailored transit to our disabled community and supports an extensive vanpool network.

Moreover, our 1,200 buses are wellmaintained, are cleaned daily or more often as needed, and on average are only 6.5 years old. Each year we add about 100 new buses and retire older ones.

These are some of the reasons the American Public Transportation Association named Metro the nation’s Outstanding Public Transportation System for 2015. We encourage everyone to try our services. At $1.25 for a three-hour fare on local busses and MetroRail, we’re one of the best values in town.

Tom Lambert, Metro president and CEO