Bi-State Development Agency
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | St. Louis Metropolitan Area |
| Transit type |
Light rail Bus Express bus service Paratransit |
| Number of lines | 2 Light rail lines 75 bus routes |
| Number of stations | 37 (Light rail) 9000 (Bus stops) 14 (Transit centers) 34 (Park and ride lots) |
| Daily ridership | 140,000 (2015) |
| Annual ridership | 45,212,700 (2015) |
| Chief executive | John Nations (October 2010 - Present) |
| Headquarters | 707 North 1st Street St. Louis, Missouri 63102 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | September 20, 1949 |
| Reporting marks | BSDA |
| Number of vehicles | 31 Siemens SD-400s 56 Siemens SD-460s 390 Gillig Buses 120 Paratransit Vans |
The Bi-State Development Agency is an interstate compact formed by Missouri and Illinois in 1949. Since February 2003 the agency has been doing business as Metro. It operates with a budget of $160 million, which is funded by sales taxes from the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, the St. Clair County Illinois Transit District, federal and state grants and subsidies, and through fare paying passengers.
Metro owns and operates the St. Louis Metropolitan region's public transportation system, which includes MetroLink, the region's light rail system; MetroBus, the region's bus system; with Metro Call-A-Ride and Metro Call-A-Ride Plus, the paratransit minibus system. In addition, Metro also owns and operates St. Louis Downtown Airport (formerly Parks) and the adjoining industrial business park, paddlewheel-style river excursion boats, the tram system leading to the top of the Gateway Arch, and the Arch's parking garage. Metro has more than 2,400 employees and carries over 55 million passengers each year.
The agency was created on September 20, 1949 through a compact between Missouri and Illinois and ratified by the United States Congress. Metro's broad powers enable it to cross local, county, and state boundaries to plan, construct, maintain, own, and operate specific facilities in its effort to enhance the quality of life in the region. Its service area encompasses 200 municipalities. The agency continued to operate streetcars from the St. Louis Public Service Company in St. Louis until May 1966 with the discontinuation of the Hodiamont line. First public support of transit came to the region in 1974. Buses continued to dominate Metro's fleet until a feasibility study in the late 1980s suggested the construction of a light rail line from Lambert St. Louis International Airport to 5th and Missouri in East St. Louis via an abandoned segment of railway; that included abandoned tunnels under downtown St. Louis and the then disused Eads Bridge lower deck railway.
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