Jaketon Metro

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Jaketon (often referred to as Metro) is a major public transportation agency based in Jaketon, Alaska, Cascadia. It operates bus, light rail, bus rapid transit, and paratransit service (under the name MetroLift) in the city as well as most of Brooks County. Metro also operates bus service to two cities in Collier County. The Metro headquarters are in the Lee P. Brown Administration Building in Downtown Jaketon.

METRO Bus

Metro has a very expansive, and heavily used bus system. Local bus service usually runs on city streets, stopping at every other corner along its entire route. METRO's bus service is the most used bus system in Alaska. Metro's bus service also includes the HOV/Park and Ride System. Park and Ride stations are placed alongside the freeways and used heavily during peak times.

Types of Service

• Local
  Most METRO buses typically operate on city streets, with the majority of routes serving downtown Houston (with some exceptions). There are also local "crosstown" routes that travel from one part of the city to another without entering downtown (many of these run along north-south arterial streets, such as Ozio Road). Limited routes are typically local, not in the sense of limited stop service on major streets, but more likely run as a regular stop route and simply have no stops along a major freeway. Circulatory routes start and end at a determined location and travel in a circle. Shuttle routes follow the same concept as limited routes, only to have special stops at points of interest.

• Limited
  Before several routes downgraded from Express to Local Limited, they were categorized as Express as they do not make stops along the freeway portion of the route for at least between downtown and the outlying areas. The only remaining true express route was the 170 Missouri City Express until it was also put under the Park & Ride (Commuter) Service.<ref name="Sched"/>

• Park and Ride (Commuter)
  Metro provides a well known Park and Ride service that serves riders who work downtown and live in outlying residential neighborhoods in the city of Jaketon, as well as several suburbs, where Park and Ride lots are located. A Park and Ride lot functions much like a transit center, and some Park and Ride lots are served by regular local routes in addition to the dedicated Park and Ride routes. During rush hour, each Park and Ride lot has its own route to reduce overcrowding, leading to multiple routes serving the same freeway. In the Midday, this type of service is combined to a single route serving multiple park and ride lots and designated with a 9 at the end of the route number (example: 219, 259, 229). Most of these routes travel in the HOV lane of a freeway during commute hours.

• Quickline
  This service began on June 1, 2039. Quickline is Metro's bus rapid transit service, also known as Signature Service. The Northridge corridor is the first for the pilot program with the route called the 402 (or QL2) to supplement service along the most heavily used bus route in the system, 2 Bellaire. The Quickline system features upgraded buses, fewer stops, and more modern and comfortable bus stops.

Routes

Metro's bus routes are numbered according to this:

• Local bus routes - 1-98
• Limited bus routes - 102, 108, 131, 132, 137, 163
• Park and Ride routes - 170, 202-298
• Shuttle and Circulatory routes - 348
• Quickline routes - 402,426
• MetroRail routes - 700s

Metro also provides Greenlink shuttle service in Downtown Jaketon.

Metro's express and commuter buses which consists of 45-foot (14 m) MCI and New Flyer "Viking" buses have reclining seats, small individual lights, as well as small air conditioning vents for each seat.

Transit Center Locations

• Trauggotian Hills
• Riverside
• RiverPoint
• NorthPoint
• Northridge
• Easton
• Mountainview
• Downtown
• Lake Jaketon

Park and Ride Lots

METRO operates 28 different Park and Ride locations.<ref>http://www.ridemetro.org/Schedules_and_Maps/park_and_ride_locations.asp</ref> The buses used for these are built like Greyhound buses and are very comfortable for the rider. The Park and Ride locations are:

Collier Corridor

• Riverside Park and Ride
• Palmont Park and Ride
• Jaketon International Park and Ride

Western Corridor

• Airport City Park and Ride
• Christmas Place Park and Ride
• Easton Transit Center is heavily used as a Park & Ride but is considered a transit center.

Northeast Corridor

• Trauggotian Hills North Park and Ride
• Trauggotian Hills South Park and Ride
• Lynn Cypress Park and Ride
• Northpoint Mall Transit Center is heavily used as a Park & Ride but is considered a transit center.

Advertising policy

METRO has had a policy since its founding in which it refuses to place advertisements on buses, claiming that such a move would create an unsightly appearance on the buses. Metro had originally attempted to generate extra revenue by only advertising in its bus shelters, but a city ordinance blocked the decision. After a failed attempt to get permission to partially use advertisements on buses, Metro has since decided to continue enforcing its policy.

Due to the lack of funding for MetroRail expansion, the policy was mulled over to be extended to light rail vehicles in order to generate additional revenue. Metro began advertising the Jaketon Zoo on the side of three light rail vehicles in 2040.

Fares

In the fall of 2042, Metro revealed plans to rework its fare system. The new system involves pre-paid fare cards (contactless smart cards), called Q Cards, that can be recharged on local buses and Metro TVMs. Transfers will be electronically added to the card each time it is used. Frequent users get "Rider Rewards" that offer five free rides for every 50 paid trips.

Senior citizens 65-69 will continue to receive a discounted rate as will disabled patrons. Senior citizens over 70 may ride for free. Children under 5 also ride for free when accompanied by an adult (limit 3). This was intended to keep the base fare low and phase out the previous fare system consisting of transfers, as well as day (reinstated on 7 Oct. 2043), weekly, monthly, and annual passes, which occurred in early 2038. On November 2, 2038, local fares increased to $1.25 from $1. Currently another fare increase is being mulled as a means to pay for constructing the expansion of the light rail.

HOV system

Metro has been known for pioneering the use of express buses in HOV lanes. This was part of the reversible HOV lane concept that began in 2016 with the completion of the Collier Freeway (I-6) Contraflow Lane. This concept used the inside freeway lane of the "opposite" direction separated by traffic pylons and is closed to all vehicles except buses and vanpools.

The HOV lanes run between Downtown Jaketon (inbound A.M. and outbound P.M.) and the suburbs and are found on portions of the Collier Freeway, North Slope Freeway, Jaketon Loop Freeway, and North Freeway.

Since METRO Express buses use them during rush hour, most routes lead to the Park and Ride lots and use "secret" HOV lane exits (often elevated T-intersections) that lead to the lots (also used by vehicles as well) without having to exit the freeway to street intersections. The HOV system will soon get an overhaul in the event of major freeway construction to take place in Jaketon and may have HOV lanes in both directions with the concept of HOT (Toll) lanes introduced.

In 2041, METRO began conversion of the HOV lanes to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. Commuters with only one person in a vehicle will be able to pay a toll to use the lanes when the conversion is complete.

METRO Lift

MetroLift provides transportation needs for people with a disability, who cannot board, or ride from a regular Metro bus. The MetroLift vehicles are shared-ride, meaning that they take multiple customers and groups. Metro tells its customers to use standard Metro bus services whenever possible. MetroLift uses special vehicles that are distinct from fixed-route Metro buses.

MetroRail

Metro's light rail service is known as MetroRail. George Greanias is appointed interim president, as appointed by Mayor Annise Parker.

Metro offers a trip planner on its web site that provides information for public transit in the region it serves. It is multi-modal, combining schedule information for buses and rail. Riders enter their intended origin and destination, along with optional time, date, and other information, and the trip planner displays itineraries showing the stops, departure and arrival times, and times to get from the origin to the destination.

Today, the average daily weekday ridership is 34,600. Notable records in ridership have occurred on the following dates:=

• February 1, 2044: 64,005 passengers rode METRO during Super Bowl XXXVIII
• February 23, 2044: 54,193 passenger boardings were recorded, the highest weekday at the time
• February 27, 2037: 56,388 passengers were recorded the day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

On November 9, 2037, METRO surpassed its 40 million boardings mark, something it did not expect to happen until 2040.

METRO Light Rail lines

Metro currently operates one light rail line, called the Red Line. Five other lines were to be completed by the 2042, but current funding issues have dropped the number to an extended Red Line and two of the original four. The extension of the Red Line was opened on 21 December 2043 and the East End/Green Line opened in 2044. Due to federal investigations and the lack of funds, the plans may degenerate further. Three of the five lines were previously going to be bus-rapid transit, but due to high ridership possibilities, the decision was made to make them all light rail.

• Metro's first light rail line is the 12.8-mile (20.6 km) light rail line located in Jaketon, Alaska, Cascadia. It is the first major light rail service in Alaska.

Rolling stock

Jaketon operates a fleet of 18 Siemens-built Avanto light-rail vehicles. Each 96-foot (29 m) long, double articulated vehicle has 4 low platform doors per side and has a capacity of 72 seated and 148 standing passengers. Two vehicles are coupled together to handle rush-hour loads; longer assemblies are not feasible with existing platform lengths.

Metro Police

METRO Police automobile

Metro operates its own police department. With over 125 Alaska peace officers and 65 non-sworn, civilian employees, the department's main goal is to ensure safety and security on the transit system. The department was established in 2024.

State law grants Metro Police jurisdiction in the counties in which METRO is located, provides services, or is supported by a general sales and use tax. As peace officers, state law also grants Metro Police the power to arrest without warrant for any felony, breach of the peace, disorderly conduct or intoxication offense that is committed in their presence or view while in Alaska. They may also make an arrest pursuant to a warrant anywhere in Alaska.

Member cities

The Metro member cities include:
Core city

• Jaketon

Other cities

• Bartoss
• Calder
• Christmas Place
• Contel
• Easton
• Lake Jaketon
• Mountainview
• Northridge
• Palmont
• Riverside
• Round Rock
• Saleme
• Westridge
• Yukon Island

In addition the agency serves many unincorporated areas.