North County bus route returns this month, expanding Call-a-Ride for people with disabilities

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A North County bus route, Route 71, will return Nov. 30, and Metro Call-a-Ride paratransit service for people with disabilities will return with it in parts of the area that lost access.

KJ Brookins, who uses a wheelchair, celebrated Friday after working for the route’s return.

He said, “People don’t have a way to get to wherever they need to. Because it would be a lot easier if we get call-a-ride back. I would be so happy if we get call-a-ride back. It would be so much easier on all of us. It would be easier on me, easier on the people in the county where I live at.”

Route 71 will include Lindbergh, New Halls Ferry, Patterson and Mullanphy between Highway 367 and Shackleford. It expands transit access into a northern part of North County.

Metro announced this summer that it was working to restore a North County route.

Metro writing, “The new #71 Patterson Lindbergh restores service to most of the areas served by the former #71 Patterson-Redman and brings MetroBus service to even more of North County. The route connects Riverview Hall Transit Center and North Hanley Transit Center, where riders can transfer to MetroLink and other MetroBus routes. This route is back by popular demand from rider feedback and support from St. Louis County Councilwoman Shalonda Webb.”

The bus route is expected to run every hour during the day on weekdays and every 90 minutes on evenings and weekends. Call-a-Ride operates by reservation.

Signs along Patterson Road indicate a soon-to-return Metro Transit stop.

Access to Call-a-Ride for someone with a disability requires a Metro Transit bus route within three-fourths of a mile.

Webb said Call-a-Ride and the fixed route are linked. She described what she learned while working with Bi-State, Metro’s parent company.

“Through education and working with Bi-State and their leadership, that in order to have call-a-ride service, you need the fixed bus route in order to supplement some of the fees for it. And it’s also a mandate from the federal government as well,” Webb said.

During COVID-19, routes were suspended because of driver shortages. The Call-a-Ride service area was reduced across parts of the county. In 2023, some routes were indefinitely suspended.

After parts of North County lost access to the service, people who rely on it called for its return.

Webb said, “If they can come through all obstacles to stand before us and say, ‘pay attention to us.’ This is impacting us. The least I can do is to use my voice and use all the authority that I have to make sure that they were serviced better.”

Brookins said he was one of the people who spoke up and worked to secure the route’s return. He was directly impacted by the change. One of the groups that took part in the push is SMART, the St. Louis Metropolitan Alliance for Reliable Transit.

“I had to advocate every day to get the bus line back. I had to advocate, ‘How could I help?” Brookins said. “Because I want to help my community. I want to help the county out. Because we don’t have a bus route out there. Because people need to go to work.”

He said the return of Call-a-Ride will let him do more on his own.

“I’m so happy to come back so I can be independent on my own. So, I can go to physical therapy on my own. So, I can go to all my doctors’ appointments on my own,” Brookins said.

His mother, Joyce Jones, said the suspension affected him.

“When they took away the bus routes, then the Call-a-Ride didn’t come, which took away a lot of his independence. He likes to be able to take his power wheelchair, and that way, it’s able to go into reclining. He’s more mobile with his own wheelchair, whereas now I have to take him. It’s harder getting him in and out of the car, you know, and then when he gets to his places, I have to push him around, and it limits his ability to just get out and do everything on his own. You know, he’s a social butterfly,” Jones said.

She said when the service area decreased, it would have required making it south to Parker Road to get a pick up from Call-a-Ride.

Brookins said, “It means the world to me. I love my independence. I depend on my mama so much that I just want to give her a break so she can have some girl time and I can have me some guy time.”

Jones said her son’s advocacy was not only for himself.

“He wants to help. It wasn’t just for himself. It was for the whole North County community,” Jones said.

She added, “Getting Call-a-Ride back is just great. It’s a lot of people that are disabled, and they need this to be able to get around. Because they don’t have people to take them to and from to the places that they need to go. I’m very happy that Call-a-Ride is back around. We need it. I’m so grateful.”

Webb said transportation affects how people take part in the community.

“It’s independence. It’s an opportunity to raise our standard of living. Transportation allows us to interact and to be engaged with the community. And so, to return bus route 71 first is long overdue,” Webb said.

Brookins said he wants transit access to continue to grow.

“I just want to see if we can get better and we can grow even more,” Brookins said.

For more than 55 years, Paraquad has championed accessible transportation, ensuring people with disabilities have the freedom to live, work, and fully participate in their communities. Through our partnership with the advocates of the St. Louis Metropolitan Alliance for Reliable Transit (SMART), we have successfully pushed for the restoration of critical transit services in North St. Louis County. The return of the 71 bus line is more than a restored route, it’s a pathway to greater independence, opportunity, and inclusion for people with disabilities. This is what “nothing about us without us” looks like.

Statement from Latosha R. Fowlkes, LCSW, President and CEO of Paraquad