The Central Campus Transit Center is scheduled to open on Monday, marking the start of the academic year's bus schedule. University of Michigan bus route improvements include increased evening Diag-to-Diag service, and there are plans for digital signage at the CCTC to show real time locations of both University and Ann Arbor Transportation Authority buses on the same screen.

Photo courtesy of Hubbel, Roth & Clark Inc.

The start of the school year means changes to transit schedules. Here's a roundup of changes to systems used by citizens, students, faculty, staff, commuters, patients and shoppers who use the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor Transit Authority systems to get around town.

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority has announced its new route schedule for the fall. You can pick up a copy on most buses and at transit centers including the Blake Transit Center. You are looking for the new blue version, replacing the summer routes, which are shown in a booklet which is orange with a purple spine. New schedules start Sunday, Aug. 29. Full fare is $1.50.

A complete route schedule in PDF format is available for download. As is typical this time of year, routes which have seasonally-reduced service for the summer are back to fall schedules. Evening service has been restored along Route 2 (Plymouth), Route 3 (Huron River) and Route 4 (Washtenaw). The 2 and the 4 will run every 30 minutes instead of every hour, and the 3 will run every hour as far as Huron High School.

Two bus routes primarily serving university students are back on school year routes. Route 36 is back to full service, with buses running every 9 minutes at peak times serving the University of Michigan Central Campus and Wolverine Tower. Route 33, which is a loop around the Eastern Michigan Campus, returns with every 20 minute service.

The one route change likely to affect commuters is on Route 7, the South Main - East bus which serves Briarwood Mall. Instead of traveling all the way around the Briarwood loop, the bus will go directly to its stop near the Sears entrance.

Call 734-996-0400 for information and help with ride planning.

University of Michigan Bus System

The University of Michigan Parking and Transportation System is planning a new bus schedule for the fall. I spoke with Max Bajcz, transit supervisor, to get details of the changes.

Next Monday, routes serving North Campus housing start to improve. The Northwood bus will run earlier, and the Bursley-Baits bus will start to run. Commuter and Medical Campus routes will be unchanged.

On the first day of classes, Sept. 7, fall schedules start in earnest. Two routes will see additional service compared to last year. The Northwood Express bus will run 1 hour earlier than last year, with a first trip leaving from Oxford at 7:17 a.m instead of 8:17 a.m. The Diag-to-Diag Express, which runs with minimum stops from Central Campus to North Campus, will add new evening hours and run until 10:10 p.m. Bajcz notes that this extra service is experimental and subject to change depending on demand.

The additional routes reflect about 14 additional hours of service per day, which is about a 2-3 percent increase over previous system hours.

For a full set of routes and maps, see the U-M's Parking and Transportation Services web site. For real time information, the Magic Bus system lets you know where your bus is on your mobile phone or computer screen.

Central Campus Transit Center

The opening day for the Central Campus Transit Center is scheduled to be Monday, when the U-M routes will start using the facility for loading and unloading. Bajcz expected the work to be done to the point where the facility is usable, but also noted that additional work might still be underway even after the site is open.

One of the projects planned for CCTC is a new set of digital signs showing route arrival times and bus locations. PTS is working with Shepherd Intelligent Systems, a spinoff from the U-M, to install these signs. Bajcz expected the signage to also include information about AATA routes, and gave an October estimate for when these would be online.

Edward Vielmetti rides both University of Michigan and Ann Arbor Transportation Authority buses for AnnArbor.com. Reach him by SMS at 734-330-2465.