Three Phoenix communities will benefit from the launch of free Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator bus service in their neighborhoods this summer. The Phoenix Public Transit Department will start the new transit service on July 23, 2007 in the Maryvale and Desert Sky areas and in the Sunnyslope area.

Area residents identified key destinations and planned and named each route.

The two 10-mile routes originally planned for Maryvale/Desert Sky were combined into one 20-mile route named MARY (Maryvale Area Ride for You). The one-route combination allowed for the route to include the Tomahawk neighborhood near 75th Avenue and Sells. The general service area encompasses Campbell Avenue to the north; Encanto Boulevard to the south; 51st Avenue to the east; and 91st Avenue to the west. A subcommittee of the Maryvale Village Planning participated in its development.

“This will be an excellent transit service for the residents of the Maryvale and West Phoenix communities. It will provide needed transportation to the many employment, retail, medical centers and schools for our seniors, youth and workers,” says District 5 Councilman Claude Mattox.

The 11-mile route in Sunnyslope was named SMART (Sunnyslope Multi Access Residential Transit) at the suggestion of Ben Cervantes, a 12-year-old student at Shaw Butte Elementary School, and approved by a residents committee appointed for Council District 3. The general service area is from 25th Avenue south of Peoria Avenue in the west traveling along various streets and ending up near 15th Street north of Mountain View Road in the east.

District 3 Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten praises the community involvement in developing the route, "With the addition of the community circulators, this is one more way we can continue serve the community with public transportation throughout their neighborhoods. The residents who were appointed to serve on this committee put in a significant amount of work on the selected route - this is a direct reflection of community input. I look forward to the community's future use of the service."

Maps for both routes can be viewed at phoenix.gov/publictransit/circulator.html.

The neighborhood circulator service will offer 30-minute frequency and daily service. Schedules are still to be determined but general hours of operation are from about 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and from about 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

The new circulator mini-buses are painted with a large purple stripe bearing the words “Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator.” Each vehicle is 24 feet long by 8 feet wide; seats 19 passengers; and has two wheelchair positions, a wheelchair lift and a rack for two bicycles.

Similar mini-buses are already in use, and have been since 2001, for the ALEX neighborhood circulator in the Ahwatukee area. New ALEX buses will bear the same paint scheme as MARY and SMART.

For other transit information, contact Valley Metro transit information at 602-253-5000 or visit ValleyMetro.org. Persons with text telephones can call 602-261-8208.