New Missouri Park & Ride Opens
Monday, August 22, 2011 5:19 PM
Residents in Missouri City now have another commuting option to the Texas Medical Center or downtown Houston. 
Today, 44 customers boarded 10 morning bus trips from a new, interim Park & Ride lot located at State Highway 6 at Knight Road in the Kroger shopping center. Of the 44 boardings, 18 were new riders - or 41 percent.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony last Friday attended by METRO and Missouri City officials celebrated the launch of this service extension, supplementing Route 170.
Officials attending the ceremony included: George Greanias, president & CEO; Allen Watson, METRO board vice chair; Allen Owen, Missouri City mayor; Jay Spears, principal at NewQuest Properties; Randall Carle, Kroger store manager; and Fort Bend County Commissioners Grady Prestage and James Patterson.
"This is especially good news to the hundreds of TMC employees who live in Missouri City and are looking for a stress-free commute that is also easy on the wallet," said Greanias in a statement. "Our partners in this - Missouri City, Fort Bend County, the TMC, NewQuest and Kroger - champion our mission of providing better service to the community, and the new lot is an example of how we're taking steps to improve mobility."
Commuters who board from the new Park and Ride lot - known as the Missouri City/Highway 6 Park & Ride - will be charged a Zone 2 fare of $3.25 per ride. If you don't have a METRO Q® Fare Card, you can pick one up at Kroger.
This service extension from our new P&R lot gives Route 170 three stops on its schedule. The first bus rolls out at 5:06 a.m. from the new location at Highway 6 and Knight Road, then drives to the Missouri City Park & Ride lot at Fondren and Beltway 8 - then to its final destination at the Medical Center with a connection to the Red Line.
"It's serving a great need. It connects to more than 18 other routes. It's a huge connector for people who are commuting not only to the Medical Center, but to downtown and midtown," said Karen Marshall, director of Community Outreach, who planned last Friday's event. "When we were planning the ceremony, cars would pull up and ask us, ‘When does it start? We can't wait to get it.' Kroger is excited and supportive. NewQuest is excited to have us. We're hoping this new Park & Ride lot will help alleviate parking pressure at the Medical Center."