On Thursday, the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board approved the final recommendation report regarding the Waco Transit Corridor Feasibility Study.
The consultant firm recommended the rapid bus transit service to go from Bellmead through downtown Waco and end at the Texas Central Industrial Park. The specialized service would through Highway 84, Franklin Avenue and Taylor Avenue.
Each bus would be at designated stops every 10 to 15 minutes.
"In their analysis, this sharply decreases travel time. We go from two hours to go from one part of the system to the other, down to in some cases, less than an hour," Waco MPO Director Chris Evilia said. "For those in our community who are dependent on public transportation, this is a vast improvement over the experience they have right now."
The Waco MPO Policy Board will now forward the proposal to the Waco City Council for their consideration. If approved, a $1.4 million engineering and design study, which would have to be funded locally, would follow.
After that process, leaders would apply for a federal grant in order to purchase new buses for the system, which leaders hope would start running in 2022.
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