Find All Ongoing Transit Service Alerts Here

METRO Riders, please find all ongoing bus, streetcar, paratransit and microtransit service alerts related to the coronavirus pandemic here.

First:

• Always check for active service alerts before each transit trip and please remember that you must wear a face-covering, fully covering your nose and mouth to ride METRO vehicles (learn how to make your own mask at home here: https://bit.ly/3bnHJq5
• Sit in designated seats and limit your transit trips to essential trips only (work, the grocery store, pharmacy/health appointments).
• Remember that buses are limited to 10 or fewer passengers per trip. Tips to try and get one those 10 seats: Board at an earlier time than normal, board at a less-popular stop along the route or board a nearby, different route

These services are NOT operating until further notice:

METRO Streetcar Service

Route 7 Shorter College (Beginning Monday, May 11, 2020; see Airport/Port/Shorter Zone information below)

Route 12 Clinton Center/Airport (Beginning Monday, May 11, 2020; see Airport/Port/Shorter Zone information below)

Route 17 Mabelvale/Downtown

Route 19 Hensley Express (Beginning Monday, May 11, 2020; see Hensley – Limited Service Zone information below)

Route 20 Hanger Hill/College Station (Beginning Monday, May 11, 2020; see Airport/Port/Shorter Zone information below)

Route 25 Pinnacle Mountain Express

Route 26 Maumelle/Oak Grove Express

Route 36 Jacksonville/Sherwood Express

There have been several bus service modifications since the coronavirus outbreak. Please see a comprehensive list below for weekday service, Saturday service, and Sunday service. 

Ongoing Weekday Service Changes:

Route 8 Rodney Parham has a schedule change and route pattern adjustment starting Monday, May 11, 2020: service will run between the route’s terminating point at Rainwood Road & Green Mountain Drive and the Midtown Transfer Hub (the stops along Midtown Avenue behind the Midtown Target shopping center) only; riders can transfer to Routes 3 Baptist Medical Center or 5 West Markham to reach downtown from the Midtown Transfer Hub. Find the updated Route 8 schedule here. 

METRO Connect Airport/Port/Shorter Zone: A temporary METRO Connect Airport/Port/Shorter on-demand microtransit zone has been set up to provide a base level of service to riders along the suspended Routes 7 Shorter College, 12 Clinton Center/Airport and 20 Hanger Hill/College Station. Click here for more information on how this will work. This service begins Monday, May 11, 2020.

METRO Connect Hensley – Limited Service Zone: The METRO Connect Hensley – Limited Service Zone is a ride-hailing service pilot project (active starting Thursday, May 14, 2020) and connects riders near the temporarily suspended Route 19 Hensley Express to other METRO routes each Thursday. The service uses smaller vehicles and on-demand service from four designated stops to take riders to the River Cities Travel Center and back. The River Cities Travel Center must be the starting or ending destination for each trip, and the other destination must be one of the four sole boarding stops. Click here for more information on how this will work (scroll toward the bottom of the linked page).

Again, the following routes are NOT currently in service, including on weekdays, as of Monday, May 11, 2020 and have been permanently suspended as part of an annual route network change decision since Aug. 25, 2020: Routes 7, 12, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 36. 

Ongoing Saturday Service Changes:

The following routes will only be operating on one bus on Saturdays; riders can expect delays in service: 

• Route 4 Levy/Amboy
• Route 6 Granite Mountain

One additional bus will be operating along the following routes: 

• Route 3 Baptist Medical Center
• Route 5 West Markham
• Route 10 McCain Mall
• Route 14 Rosedale
• Route 22 University Ave./Mabelvale

Route 1 Pulaski Heights Outbound bus will operate until 4 p.m. from the River Cities Travel Center. The last Route 1 Pulaski Heights Inbound bus arrives at 4:55 p.m. For the complete “Sunday+” Saturday service schedule for Route 1 Pulaski Heights, please see the table below.

Routes 8 Rodney Parham and 23 Baseline/Southwest will follow their Sunday route patterns.

Route 18 McAlmont will follow its FULL route pattern to serve the Walmart on McCain.

METRO Connect: John Barrow Road Zone and METRO Connect: Riverdale Zone will operate from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturdays until further notice.

METRO Links will operate from 5 a.m. – 6 p.m. only on Saturdays until further notice.

Please check the “Sunday +” Schedule PDF to see the enhanced Sunday service runs for Saturday service and the following link for an interactive map of each enhanced Sunday route pattern: https://platform.remix.com/map/8765c70?latlng=34.66,-92.33143,10.5

Route 1 Pulaski Heights Saturday Schedule:

Sunday Service: Again, the following routes are NOT currently in service, including on Saturdays, as of Monday, May 11, 2020 and have been permanently suspended as part of an annual route network change decision since Aug. 25, 2020: Routes 7, 12, 19 and 20. 

Regular Sunday service is still in operation.

Response to COVID-19 to Date

It has been a standard practice to sanitize vehicles; offer on-board hand sanitizer stations to riders and hand sanitizer stations at the River Cities Travel Center (the downtown Little Rock local bus station); offer an on-site, full-time janitor at the travel center; and offer METRO drivers and other employees hand sanitizer stations and disposable gloves at each METRO property prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. These measures continue. In addition, METRO:

• Purchased special machines to fog sanitizer product into fleet vehicles nightly and has increased its fleet sanitation schedule, wiping down all high-touch surfaces daily.
• Increased sanitation procedures at each METRO property to reduce the risk of virus exposure for employees.
• Is screening employees with mandatory beginning-of-shift temperature checks.
• Provides and requires all employees to wear face masks in shared spaces, including transit vehicles.
• Limited passengers per bus and paratransit vehicle to encourage social distancing.
• Placed new ion filtration systems on buses. These systems improve indoor air quality by reducing airborne contaminants; oxidizing volatile organic compounds; reducing airborne particulate matter; killing inactivated bacteria, mold and viruses; and enhancing the effectiveness of filtration media and evaporator coils.
• Requires passengers to wear a face covering that fully covers the nose and mouth while riding.
• Maintained public restrooms and introduced portable handwashing stations to riders at the River Cities Travel Center.
• Installed new UVC emitters to air handling equipment on METRO property. These devices inactivate microbial organisms (bacteria, viruses and molds) that can trigger a range of symptoms from watery eyes and headaches to severe allergy and asthma responses. The recirculating air in the HVAC system creates redundancy in exposing microorganisms to UVC, ensuring multiple passes so the light energy is effective against large quantities of airborne microorganisms.