On St. Louis' busiest bus line, riders say the wheels may be turning, but not nearly when or where they need them. Daily commuters on the No. 70 Grand report buses showing up late, getting canceled outright, or rolling past packed stops without opening the doors. For people who rely on the route to reach work, school, and medical appointments, those gaps turn into missed shifts and blown connections. Now a local transit advocacy group is trying to turn that frustration into political pressure for faster, more reliable service.
As reported by St. Louis Magazine, the grassroots group St. Louis Transit Riders has launched an online petition addressed to Bi-State Development CEO Taulby Roach that calls for dedicated bus lanes, transit-priority signals, and boarding islands on Grand. The petition had 103 signatures as of July 23. Co-lead Noah Goldman told the outlet that riders say buses "aren’t showing up, or are showing up late, or get canceled," which in St. Louis can mean standing around for 30 minutes or more before the next one arrives. The group is framing basic reliability as a core economic mobility issue that affects thousands of regular riders.
Metro Transit leadership is not exactly arguing with the diagnosis. In an interview with St. Louis Magazine, Metro Transit COO Ron Forrest said on-time performance on the Grand route has climbed from about 70 percent to 77 percent since April, with an internal goal of roughly 85 percent. Forrest pointed to a lack of operators as the systemic problem and said that hiring more full-time and part-time drivers is the fastest way to cut cancellations. He added that infrastructure changes would take longer, with more planning and buy-in from partner agencies.
Grand's Reach and Ridership
According to Metro Transit, the No. 70 Grand carries roughly 80,000 riders a month and is the only bus line in the system that uses articulated buses to keep up with demand. The route runs along Grand Boulevard between Loughborough Commons and the North Broadway Transit Center, tying together hospitals, universities, and the Grand MetroLink station. That central role means performance on this single line can ripple through the rest of the network. Any improvement in on-time performance on Grand would directly ease daily commutes for many transit-dependent households.
Why Street Changes Are A Sticking Point
The advocates' wishlist of curbside bus lanes, transit-priority signals, and raised boarding islands runs straight into a stubborn reality on the street. Grand already has traffic-calming features and curb layouts that would need to be redesigned, a hurdle Metro officials have repeatedly flagged. Transit and planning organizations have been calling attention to the corridor for years: St. Louis Public Radio has highlighted the Grand MetroLink station's importance as a major hub as well as how current street design limits transit. Bi-State Development, which oversees Metro, is the formal recipient of the petition and a logical focal point for pressure, and its site outlines Metro's role in regional transit.
What Riders Can Expect Next
In the near term, the fix looks less like shiny new stations and more like straightforward staffing. Advocates and operators say that more hiring, steadier schedules, and stronger spare-bus coverage would help trim cancellations and those half-hour waits. Bigger steps such as dedicated lanes or BRT-style platforms would require new funding and approvals from multiple agencies, so riders are likely to see smaller reliability gains first and more visible street changes later. For now, the petition is designed to keep the spotlight on Bi-State and the city while supporters press simultaneously for faster operator recruitment and a pilot project that can show, in real time, what transit priority might deliver on Grand.
