The Capital Area Transportation Authority is launching a new route for the first time in three years.
Route 18 will link neighborhoods like those near the Colonial Village shopping center with the new hospital being built by McLaren Greater Lansing, as well as Michigan State University’s campus and the city of East Lansing.
CATA CEO Bradley T. Funkhouser said the route will also provide access to cross-country train service.
“This will be the first time that you can ride a bus from this neighborhood to the AMTRAK station, which is called the Gateway and get on a train to Chicago," he said.
He adds the route will have 23 new bus stops with shelters.
"When you put a shelter or a bus stop into a neighborhood, that’s part of the neighborhood. It’s got to blend into the neighborhood, it’s got to be a part of that, and that’s what we’re doing in these neighborhoods with this partnership.”
The route, called the Capital City Crosstown, will provide weekday connections with six major north-south service lines along a three-mile stretch of Mt. Hope Avenue.
The service begins on August 30th.