Bismarck, N.D. – On the final Friday and Saturday in May, Capital Area Transit (CAT) will provide back-to-back days of free fares for all.
“There is a lot going on for us this spring,” said Interim Transit Director Al Wangler. “A big event is the Free Ride Days. We like having those days each year as a way to thank all of the riders who utilize our system, as well as to create incentive for someone new to give the fixed-route system a try. This year, it seemed to work out to have these Free Ride Days coincide with a few route changes that have been in the works recently, and the release of new maps to reflect those changes.”
The route experiencing the biggest change will be the C-2 route in northeast Bismarck. Redundancies in the route will be eliminated, and the service areas will expand to include portions of Centennial Road, Knudsen Avenue and Nebraska Drive.
Riders in northwest Mandan will see slight route alterations beginning in June. The new route will see the bus travel north on Collins, before turning west onto Old Red Trail. The route will travel by Wal-Mart, before making a loop southeast of Mandan Middle School. At that point the route will resume its traditional route.
The B-2 route will not experience a new change, but the new map will be the first hard copy reflecting the route change that travels into the United Tribes Technical College campus from the south, and travel in front of the campus Wellness Center. To keep the route’s arrival time at 55 minutes after the hour, the initial stages of the route were altered to cut time. The route also departs Kirkwood Mall at 28 minutes after the hour, instead of 30 minutes after the hour.
“We have done quite a bit of work with these three routes,” said CAT Manager Nate Vatnsdal. “We are always trying to find ways to get more ridership with the system, and we think we have done that with each of the route changes.”
Updated maps will be available for riders on all buses, reflecting changes in some routes that will go into effect on June 1. These changes will also be available through the free RouteShout app for Apple and Droid users. If an organization would like to help distribute maps to the public, or needs new maps to replenish older versions, they are asked to call the CAT administrative office at 323-9228. The CAT has two sets of Free Ride Days each year, with the other two days traditionally leading up to Halloween.