What feels worse than narrowly missing your school bus? For Blue Water Area residents, however, there is a solution for anyone who has ever faced this desperate situation.
Blue Water Area Transit’s program “Missed the Bus, Just Call Us!” allows Port Huron Area School students to find their way to school or home that day. Any student who has missed their school bus to or from school can receive a free ride with any Blue Water Area Transit bus.
“We know it can be frightening for a student to miss their school bus,” says
Blue Water Area Transit Community and Labor Relations Manager Lee-Perry Belleau. “This service gives them a chance to be connected through our dial-a-ride service or fixed route service and brought to where they need to go.
“It’s very exciting that our customer service has increased. Now having our new app where people can see their buses in real time. This also helps I believe if anyone is facing a situation where they really need a ride.”
To use this service, students can call Blue Water Area Transit at (810) 987-7373 and dial option No. 2 at the voice prompt. By telling the dispatcher they have missed their school bus or ride they will be given instructions on connecting with a Blue Water Area Transit bus.
An anonymous donor provided this free service, covering Fort Gratiot Township, Port Huron Township, the city of Port Huron, and Burtchville Township. The program can be used on any school day.
Electric Busses Join Fleet
Amid all of the new features entering Blue Water Area Transit is a new pair of buses that have joined the fleet.
BWAT added two Proterra battery/electric busses to the fleet, making BWAT the first public transit agency in Michigan to operate electric transit buses.
“Adding electric-powered buses to our existing fleet of compressed natural gas buses continues our local tradition of providing state-of-the-art, eco-friendly service,” says BWAT General Manager Dave McElroy. “Pursuing cleaner technology for our riders and community has been a priority of the Commission for decades.”
Funding for the two buses and charging equipment was mostly funded by a Federal Transit Administration $1.5 million award through its Low or No Emission Program as well as the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Belleau says the new programs and features are all part of the continued focus of Blue Water Area Transit to bring excellent service to the Blue Water Area.
“The electric busses are used in our normal line run,” Belleau says. “It is feasible that we will add more electrically operated buses in the future depending on funding. We are always interested in having clean energy.”
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