Lansing-area bus riders will see a sweeping set of changes on Monday, Aug. 24, when the Capital Area Transportation Authority discontinues two routes, expands airport and rural service, and restarts Michigan State University campus buses.

The changes, announced Monday, Aug. 10, on CATA's website, follow four public meetings and more than 40 written and phone comments from riders.

"We recognize that service changes affect how people get to work, school, appointments and other important destinations," CEO Bradley T. Funkhouser said in the announcement. "CATA is navigating rising costs and a challenging funding environment."

What's being cut

Route 46 (Mason, Limited) and Route 48 (Williamston–Webberville, Limited) will be fully discontinued. Their weekday trips are being absorbed by existing connector services that will be renamed and expanded: the Mason Connector becomes Route 46 – Mason Connector, with a 6:45 a.m. departure from Mason and a 5 p.m. return from downtown Lansing. The Williamston/Webberville Connector becomes Route 48, with a 6:55 a.m. departure from Webberville and a 5 p.m. return. Saturday service on both connectors is being eliminated.

Route 1 (Downtown Lansing–Meridian Mall) loses its late-night Thursday-through-Saturday runs. Final departures will be 10:20 p.m. from the CATA Transportation Center and 11 p.m. from Meridian Mall. Weekday frequency drops from every 9–15 minutes to a flat 15 minutes.

Route 9 (South Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.–Miller) will no longer loop through Grand Avenue and Capitol Avenue downtown, instead traveling directly onto Kalamazoo Street from the CTC. Buses will no longer serve the Lansing Community College campus directly.

Route 20 (South Harrison–Jolly-Dunckel) drops from every 30 minutes to every 40 minutes on weekdays, though weekend frequency improves from every 45 minutes to every 40 minutes with two added trips.

What's expanding

Mason gains new Saturday rural transit. CATA Rural Service will absorb the former Mason Redi-Ride area and offer Saturday hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with same-day trips available up to four hours in advance. A proposed fare change, pending board approval, would remove the distance-based surcharge for trips over 10 miles and set all rural trips at $2.25, or $1.00 for discounted riders.

CATA Rydz, the on-demand airport connector, expands from limited service between the airport zone and nine MSU campus locations to near-round-the-clock coverage between Capital Region International Airport and destinations in the Lansing and Delta Township on-demand zones. Hours will run 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. Riders must prebook at least two hours ahead.

Route 18 (Capital City Crosstown) picks up Spartan Village stops that Route 20 is dropping.

MSU campus service resumes

Spartan Service on Routes 30, 31, 32, 33 and 39 restarts at 7 a.m. Aug. 24. Lot Link service begins at 7 p.m. that evening, followed by Night Owl at 2 a.m. Tuesday.

CATA noted the Aug. 24 changes may align with themes from its "Road Ahead" comprehensive operational analysis, a year-long study still in progress, but said the final recommendations from that study are still being developed.

Uber awarded CATA a $50,000 Transit Innovation grant to explore a voucher-based pilot for late-night rides along the Route 1 corridor, but CATA said it is still evaluating the program's details and no launch date has been set.

Riders with questions can contact CATA Customer Experience at [email protected] or 517-394-1000, weekdays 7 a.m.–7 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m.–5 p.m.