Bunnies in the Bushes

A family of bunnies has been making its home in the grasslands at the Texas Medical Center Transit Center.

These are no ordinary bunnies.

They are topiary bunnies designed to catch your eye and remind you of our new Quickline Signature bus service - the 402 Quickline Bellaire - we are launching June 1.

Four seven-foot bunnies dot the landscape at TMC Transit Center, along with three baby bunnies which stand four-and-half feet tall.

"We've had some positive feedback from customers out there," says Pat Porzillo, associate vice president of commuter rail. "People are taking photographs of themselves with the bunnies."

Each bunny has its own sprinkler head built in it - and that sprinkler taps into our existing sprinkling system at the TMC Transit Center. The large ones weigh at least 200 pounds and are anchored into the ground.

JoAnne Lingenfelter, manager of marketing at METRO, came up with the idea of planting topiary bunnies to market our new Quickline service.

"It was something different, something kind of fun - and something most people wouldn't object to," said Lingenfelter.

Porzillo played landscape designer, positioning the bunnies in areas that would have the most impact on our riders. "One bunny looks like he is trying to bring people in - waving to people at the TMC. And there's a baby bunny next to him. They're saying, ‘Ride us.'"

Another small bunny is positioned so that when a bus swings around a curve at the TMC, riders will easily spot it.

The leaping bunny faces the direction of exiting buses, so passengers will glimpse it on the way out of the TMC.

And except for the leaping bunny, all the bunnies face toward the Quickline bus station - a distinctive station with a blue Quickline bus sign, columns wrapped in blue and a blue curb.

"We think the bunnies are cool, and this is going to be a great route," said Porzillo.

The route will have eight stations: TMC, Kirby, Bellaire TC, Hill croft, Sharpstown Center, Fondren, Gessner and Ranchester. We're planning to add a future stop at Stella Link.

The 402 QL Bellaire will feature bus shelters with up-to-the-minute next bus arrival info, improved lighting and better benches. The buses will be hybrid diesel-electric and will sport high-end interiors.

The cost to ride? Just $1.25 - the same price as local buses.  

Enjoy the bunnies....and get ready for our fast-as-bunnies Quickline service coming next month.