Rock Region Metro

Rock Region Metro

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Founded	1986
Headquarters	901 Maple Street
Locale	North Little Rock, Arkansas
Service area	Little Rock Metro Area
Service type	Fixed Route Paratransit Streetcar
Routes	24 Bus Routes 2 Streetcar Lines
Stops	1,455 (Bus) 15 (Rail)
Hubs	1 (River Cities Travel Center)
Fleet	59 Buses 24 Paratransit Vans 5 Streetcars
Fuel type	Diesel, DC Electric
Website	www.rrmetro.org

The Rock Region Metro (Metro, stylized as METRO), formerly the Central Arkansas Transit Authority, is the largest transit agency in Arkansas. Metro provides public transportation services for the Little Rock, Arkansas metropolitan area seven days a week. The 22 fixed routes and four express commuter routes provide transportation service to 10,000 riders every weekday. A demand response ADA paratransit service, known as LINKS, operates alongside the fixed route hours and coverage area. A heritage streetcar system, known as the Metro Streetcar, operates 3.4 miles of track throughout the Little Rock and North Little Rock downtowns.

Background

Prior to the creation of the former Central Arkansas Transit Authority, the transit system was owned and operated by private companies. Until 1950, the transit system was owned by Arkansas Power & Light (AP&L). In 1950, AP&L sold the transit system, Capital Transportation Company (CTC), to a group of local investors. A strike by the transit union, Amalgamated Transit Union Division 704, in 1955-1956 left the company with a damaged reputation and exacerbated existing financial problems. The governments of Little Rock and North Little Rock awarded the franchise to a new company, Citizens' Coach Company (CCC), on February 28, 1956. Although the new company was backed by a group of local unions, the same financial problems that CTC encountered led to the demise of CCC by 1962. The declining passenger revenue and rising wages left few resources to maintain the bus fleet. Following the takeover of the transit system by Twin City Transit (TCT) on September 25, 1962, the federal government began offering funds to struggling transit systems through various assistance programs. This funding assisted TCT with purchasing new buses, and TCT experienced some financial success. But the increase in passenger revenue was temporary as TCT could not keep up with offering service in the expanding cities without continuing to receive fare increases. A 1971 study recommended that the transit system shift to public ownership under the direction of a regional authority. Central Arkansas Transit commenced operations under the trusteeship of Metroplan on May 1, 1972. As a regional planning entity, Metroplan lacked the resources to supervise a transit operation indefinitely. Local government partners were being asked to infuse more money into the operation, and wanted more of a direct say than the 1972 agreement granted. On July 14, 1986, CATA was chartered when Pulaski County and the cities of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Cammack Village, Maumelle, Sherwood, and Jacksonville entered into an interlocal agreement that established CATA as a public corporation. On August 12, 2015, the Central Arkansas Transit Authority was officially rebranded as Rock Region Metro.

Bus Routes

#1	Pulaski Heights	#10	McCain Mall	#19	Hensley Express
#2	South Main	#11	M.L. King	#20	Airport/College Station
#3	Baptist Medical Center	#12	Presidential Library/East 6th	#21	University Avenue
#4	Levy/Amboy	#13	Pulaski Tech	#22	Mabelvale-Midtown
#5	West Markham	#14	Rosedale	#23	Baseline/Southwest
#6	Granite Mountain	#15	65th Street	#25	Pinnacle Mountain Express
#7	East 9th	#16	UALR	#26	Maumelle Express
#8	Rodney Parham	#17	Mabelvale-Downtown	#36	Jacksonville/Sherwood Express
#9	West Central/Barrow Road	#18	McAlmont

Streetcars

Two River Rail streetcars pause at the HAM stop in June 2005

Main article: METRO Streetcar

The Metro Streetcar began operation in November 2004, as the River Rail Streetcar. (It was given its current name in 2015.) Operating 3.4 miles of track in Little Rock and across the Arkansas River in North Little Rock, the streetcar system caters to visitors, tourists, and local downtown residents. There has been a significant amount of capital investment along the streetcar line, sales tax and property tax revenue has increased, there are more downtown residents, and visitorship and tourism has increased for both the streetcar and local attractions. Read more about the economic developments in the River Rail Economic Enhancement Study conducted by CATA in late 2012.

River Cities Travel Center

The River Cities Travel Center (RCTC) is the main transfer hub in downtown Little Rock. Twenty (20) fixed routes and all 4 express routes serve RCTC. At Midtown Target/Doctor's Hospital, 6 fixed routes converge on St. Vincent Circle to provide more convenient, efficient transferring opportunities in West Central Little Rock.

Current Fleet

Bus

Vehicle Numbers	Make	Model	Year	Notes
2101-2107; 2109	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2001	35FT
2301-2309	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2003	35FT
2401-2407	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2004	29FT
2701-2705	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2007	35FT
2706	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2007	40FT
2801-2805	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2008	40FT
2806-2810	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2008	40FT
2901-2904	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2009	40FT
2905-2907	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2009	35FT
1001-1004	Gillig Corporation	Low Floor	2010	40FT

Paratransit

Vehicle Numbers	Make	Model	Year	Notes
2851-2857	ElDorado National	Aero Elite	2008	Chevrolet C4500 Cutaway
2961-2963	ElDorado National	Aero Elite	2009	Chevrolet C4500 Cutaway; Jayco Chassis
2954-2965	ElDorado National	Aero Elite	2008	Chevrolet C5500 Cutaway
1251-1252	ElDorado National	Aero Tech	2012	Chevrolet G4500 Express Van Cutaway

Rail

Vehicle Numbers	Make	Model	Year	Notes
408	Gomaco Trolley Company	Replica Birney	2002
409-410	Gomaco Trolley Company	Replica Birney	2003
411-412	Gomaco Trolley Company	Replica Birney	2006

Future

The Rock Region Metro is involved in the long-range transportation planning process for the Little Rock metropolitan area known as MOVE Central Arkansas. Future expansion recommendations include more frequent service, expanded coverage area, service to outlying areas, Sunday service on all routes, and placement of facilities at more bus stops.

There are expansion studies for the Metro Streetcar to provide more service in North Little Rock and Little Rock. Recommendations include service to the Capitol Building, to the Airport, and down Main Street in both Little Rock and North Little Rock.

External links

• Official Site
  • System Map
  • Downtown Map & Bus Service Info

References

• http://www.cat.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/METRO-2030.2.pdf
• Patty, William Jordan. "Little Rock public transit in postwar America, 1950-1972" (2003)