After many years without public transit bus service on the streets of Rubonia, buses started running again last week.
Manatee County Area Transit launched the new North County ConneXion on Dec. 8 with free service between the Palmetto Walmart Supercenter on 10th Street E and Rubonia.
The free service will continue until the end of the year. Beginning Jan. 1, 2015, riders will pay the standard $1.50 fare.
The new route will start off with limited service on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, every 45 minutes between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Most of the existing stops are a simple MCAT sign dropped along the side of the road.
Right now there are no passenger launch pads, benches or shelters. However, MCAT spokesman Willliam Steele says they are on the way.
"We usually allow some time at the new stops to make sure that they are good stop locations," he said. "Then we follow-up with A.D.A. compliant passenger landing pads and amenities [benches and/or shelters]. Given adequate time, these improvements will occur along the route."
Rider Sheila Everett learned of the new service through an article in the newspaper.
"I'm like, 'Unbelieveable!' " she said. "That's what I thought, because it's been so long we didn't have transportation back and forth to Rubonia."
More changes and expansion to MCAT routes are planned for the first of the year. Riders can expect a State Road 70 service extension from the DeSoto Station to Lakewood Ranch and then north to the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM).
For more information on Manatee County Area Transit, including routes, fares and service changes, visit their website.