Sun Metro to debut new routes, schedules, transportation system

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Starting Sunday, Sun Metro will bring changes to its system; riders can expect new routes and schedules.

Route and schedule changes come with Sun Metro Rising, the City of El Paso said.

"We are making it so that the rides, the trips that you do are quicker, faster, get to your destination sooner," Anthony DeKeyzer, Director of Sun Metro said.

DeKeyzer said they minimized routes from 59 to 39. With that reduction, Sun Metro also reduced 16 minutes from the average ride, he said.

According to the Sun Metro website, routes 59 and 89 saw a schedule change. Routes 41, 55 and the Microtransit program are new.

A new program, Microtransit, will debut Sunday in the Upper East El Paso area, according to the city. It will be the city's first on-demand, all-electric public transportation service serving the area, according to the city.

Congresswoman Veronica Escobar secured $720,000 in federal funding for the Microtransit program, the city said. The money went into buying electric vehicles and chargers.

DeKeyzer said Microtransit is limited to the Upper East Side because Sun Metro found it was "really needed" for the area. He said it will replace routes that go through parts of the community had had low ridership.

Microtransit vehicles are small and shuttle-like. They will replace the larger, 40-foot Sun Metro buses often seen around the city.

Below is Sun Metro's Microtransit map.

For a full list of route and schedule changes and discontinued routes, you can visit the Sun Metro website.