Bellaire Quickline bus service starts June 1

Hybrids are quiet, comfortable

Steve Hawley, May 27, 09.

UPDATE (6/11/09, 12:12 pm): According to a METRO press release, the Quickline service is already at 600 boardings per day, and the first-year goal is 1,000 boardings per day. It stated, “This METRO Solutions initiative did not take away from the popular 2 Bellaire route which it mirrors – in fact, the 2 Bellaire actually experienced a modest growth in ridership.”

Also, John Sedlak, METRO’s Vice President of Infrastructure and Development, spoke in front of the Greater Houston Partnership Transit Planning Committee on June 2. Sedlak said that the next Quickline service will be implemented in about a year along Gessner, followed by service connecting Westchase to downtown via Westheimer.
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METRO kicked off its new Quickline Signature Bus Service Wednesday morning at the Sharpstown Mall, introducing the buses and inviting guests to look inside and take brief rides. The 402 Bellaire route begins service on Monday, June 1.

The Quickline service has just eight stops along its nine mile route, and a ninth station will be added in the future. Each bus stop is sleek, covered, and tells riders when the next bus will arrive. Overall trip times will be reduced from 52 minutes to 38 minutes. The route begins at Ranchester Station and ends at the Texas Medical Center (TMC) Transit Center.

The buses themselves run on hybrid fuel, and the interior is quiet and comfortable, with padded seating. Trips cost $1.25, the same as other METRO routes. Beginning Monday, the buses will run every 15 minutes during rush hour, from 6-9 am and 3-6 pm. The Quickline route is marked by a blue stripe down the right side of the road in each direction.

METRO’s President and CEO Frank Wilson began the ceremony and introduced the buses, noting that Bellaire is the most heavily traveled bus route in the Houston region. John Haley, Vice President for Infrastructure and Service Development, thanked a number of people for their work, saying, “This would not be possible without the cooperation of many people throughout the five communities we’re going to serve.” He also thanked Chief Financial Officer Louise Richman, noting that METRO is adding routes at a time when most transit agencies nationwide are suffering cutbacks.

Haley said that the Quickline bunny logo was developed because “we couldn’t think of anything that could hop, skip, and jump better than the bunny,” and he joked that hopefully Quickline’s ridership multiplies at the same rate.

John Kajander, Senior Vice President of TMC, said that the Medical Center is the largest in the world, as well as the 13th-largest downtown in the country. “Getting to, from, and around the Medical Center is a challenge,” he noted, saying that the Quickline route would make it easier for employees, students, patients, and visitors to get there.

Dan Nit, founder of the Asian Chamber of Commerce and President of PMI Inc. International Trade suggested that Bellaire would be the new West University Place, attracting students and employees who want to live a short trip from the Medical Center.