CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The Cascade Township Board has voted to approve a four-month agreement with Hope Network to run a customized bus route to and from major employers in the township's Downtown Development Authority district.
The fixed-route bus service will begin Monday morning, Aug. 28. The township says the new route results from a public-private partnership that developed after efforts to negotiate a new contract between the Cascade Township D-D-A and The Rapid were unsuccessful.
More from a township news release:
"Cascade is committed to providing transit alternatives for the workers and other underserved individuals that rely on Rapid Route 29,” said Cascade Township Supervisor Grace Lesperance. “When it comes to bus stop locations and pickup/dropoff times, this agreement puts the township and riders in the driver’s seat.”
The township will subsidize the cost of this route using monies originally allocated for Rapid Route 29. Lesperance emphasized this pilot route is just that - a pilot. “Together with Hope Network, we will be regularly reviewing ridership data and adjust routes and pickup times accordingly,” she said.
This initial route focuses on providing transportation for workers within the general DDA area, later iterations of this partnership will include other types of riders, including shoppers seeking rides to Cascade businesses.
The route
For $3 a ride one-way beginning Monday, Aug. 28, a Hope Network bus will run from 6 a.m.-10 a.m. and 1 p.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Fridays along the 28th Street corridor and to adjacent businesses. There will be no weekend service at this time.
Beginning from the parking lot at 28th and Acquest by the three flagpoles, the route will run on the hour from Acquest Avenue and 28th and include stops beginning at the Cascade Walmart; the Cascade Goodwill; Cascade Meijer; Mary Free Bed YMCA; then back west to Cascade Target, Aldi and Costco stores along Hotel Avenue; then back to 28th and Acquest. Any employees of businesses at the covered shopping centers are welcome to use the bus.