Saturday Service Begins for Route 685—Gila Bend Connector

-Saturday trips FREE in August-

PHOENIX (July 24, 2007) – Beginning Saturday, August 11, the Route 685 Gila Bend Regional Connector bus service that travels from Ajo and Gila Bend to Desert Sky Transit Center will offer Saturday service. Two roundtrips will be traveling each Saturday and the fare for the Saturday trips will be FREE in the month of August. Trips departing northbound from Ajo are at 7:00 a.m. and noon and southbound trips depart from Desert Sky Transit Center at noon and 4:00 p.m.

The bus route began as a three-year pilot project of the Arizona Department of Transportation, Valley Metro, and Pima and Maricopa counties.  Residents in southwestern Maricopa County and western Pima County, including the communities of Ajo, Gila Bend, Buckeye, Goodyear, Avondale, Tolleson and southwest Phoenix are able to easily utilize this service for transportation to employment, medical, education, social activities and shopping trips.

“The popularity of this route shows that there are important transportation needs in the areas surrounding the metropolitan region,” said David A. Boggs, Valley Metro RPTA executive director. “Offering travel options on Saturdays benefits both local businesses and the residents along the route.”

The most unique aspect of the route is the option to schedule “flex stops.” These are pre-arranged stops that allow any passenger to choose their own pick-up and drop-off locations within three-quarter miles of the established route. Arrangements for the flex stops must be made by noon the day before the scheduled trip. Call Ajo Transportation toll free at 1-800-242-9483 or 520-387-6559 in the Pima County area to schedule a flex stop.

There are currently two weekday morning trips and two weekday afternoon trips that depart northbound from the Ajo Transportation Office with stops at the Gila Bend CAP Office, the Buckeye CAP Office, McDowell Road east of Litchfield (Goodyear), 91st Avenue and Van Buren (Tolleson), and 75th Avenue and Thomas (Desert Sky Transit Center, Phoenix). Four daily southbound trips are made each weekday at the same stops. The weekday schedules will be adjusted effective Monday, August 6.

Ridership on the route has grown significantly since the route began in March 2005. Due to the success of the route, service was added in October 2005.  It currently transports 800 passengers per month. Total travel time from start to end of the route is 2.5 hours traveling a total of 65 miles one-way.

Beginning in October, passengers will travel in new 26-passenger mini-vans that include wheelchair securement areas. The existing 16-passenger buses are being exchanged for the larger buses as the ridership continues to outgrow their capacity.

Fares are based on length of travel. For more information, contact Valley Metro at Valley Metro customer service at 602-253-5000 or TTY 602-261-8208 or e-mail us at csr@ValleyMetro.org.