Alaska News

People Mover boosts service to popular 45 route, tweaks two others

Anchorage's bus service will run five extra trips a day to cut down on crowding on one of its most popular routes through Mountain View and East Anchorage, the city announced Wednesday.

The People Mover's 45 route will get three buses an hour between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, a boost from the twice-hourly service that's currently offered.

The new schedule will go into effect on Monday, August 19.

Other changes include a revision to the 75 route to avoid a slow swing through the Tikahtnu Commons shopping area near the Glenn Highway, and tweaking the 8 route to avoid a steep hill between Boniface Parkway and Turpin Street that caused problems in winter, advocates said.

Assemblyman Patrick Flynn, who represents part of the 45 bus's service area, welcomed the boost in frequency.

"That bus sometimes is so crowded that you have to skip stops just because nobody can get on," he said in an interview.

As for cutting the section of the 75 bus's route that goes through the Tikahtnu area, advocates said that workers there will face a longer walk to a stop on North Muldoon Road.

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But it's worth it to spare riders the delays they encountered on the swing through the centers's parking area, said Jed Smith, a member of the city's Public Transit Advisory Board.

"It was maddening," Smith said.

Representatives for People Mover did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The full schedule will be posted Friday at www.peoplemover.org on Friday, according to a statement from the mayor's office.

Reach Nathaniel Herz at nherz@adn.com or 257-4311.

By NATHANIEL HERZ

nherz@adn.com

Nathaniel Herz

Anchorage-based independent journalist Nathaniel Herz has been a reporter in Alaska for nearly a decade, with stints at the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. Read his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com

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