Central Arkansas Transit Authority on Tuesday formally changed its name to Rock Region Metro while also debuting new natural-gas-powered buses and other improvements.
Jarod Varner, executive director of the newly named Rock Region Metro, joined the agency's board members and local leaders in announcing the rebranding and enhancements at a news conference Tuesday morning outside the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Speaking across from one of the new, bright blue and green buses, Varner said 15 such natural-gas-powered vehicles bearing the new name have been added already. The rest of the fleet — 45 other full-sized buses and 24 smaller vehicles — will be replaced over the next 10 years.
In addition to burning cleaner, the first batch of new vehicles will save the agency about $200,000 a year in fuel costs, Varner said.
The new buses, and the old ones, also now feature wireless Internet riders can access. And the system has ordered 30 new bus shelters to place at points along its routes, which have more than 1,600 stops in all but currently just 99 shelters.
"It's not just a new paint scheme," Varner said of the efforts. "It's much more than that."
Another change, due in about a month, will be a phone application that riders can download and track in real-time where their bus is and when it will arrive.
"No more guessing," Varner told a small crowd gathered for the announcement, naming cities like Los Angeles and New York that offer such a service. "We're bringing that technology to you."
Developer Jimmy Moses, who serves on the Rock Region Metro board, said he was "thrilled" by the changes and wants more improvements. He singled out one in particular — extending the length of the streetcar route that runs through downtowns Little Rock and North Little Rock — as one he'd like to see in the coming years, noting that $300 million in development has occurred along its current path.
"We need to step up and fund our system properly," he said. "We'll be better for it."
