By Niyah Martin
May 23, 2023
Montgomery, Ala.– Montgomery Area Transit, also known as “M Transit,” hosted a press conference presenting the community with impressive new developments on Thursday morning. Local citizens and city officials gathered in anticipation of the reveal despite gloomy weather. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, General Manager of M Transit, Samuel Tensley and the Director of Planning for the city of Montgomery, Robert Smith, were among those in attendance.
During the press conference, five, 26-passenger public transit buses, two, 20-passenger buses and three, non-passenger micro transit vans were unveiled to the public. The transit vans will run from downtown to the airport and according to Mayor Reed, there are major plans for swift expansion.
The meeting also introduced citizens to a modern method of tracking transportation. The new and improved transit system offers the community an app that will allow users to purchase tickets, plan trips and monitor bus routes. The service is quick and easy, and grants anyone the ability to travel within the city.
Community leaders are confident that the new additions to the transportation system will provide a strong helping hand to those in need.
“These new buses and our new micro transit vehicles will increase ridership, service and efficiency for the M customers,” Mayor Steven Reed said.
During the conference, Mayor Reed addressed the importance of infrastructure investment and how it benefits the city of Montgomery.
“We believe public transportation is important because it serves as the biggest economic inhibitor of those trying to get from one economic level to the next. Many people who want to work don’t have a dependable vehicle to get them there. By investing in our infrastructure, we break down some of those barriers to those who want to be a part of the workforce and those that want to improve their lives for themselves and their families.”
Mayor Reed is thankful to the Biden administration and their investment to infrastructure around the country.
“Of course, we want to thank President Biden and his administration for investing in trains, buses, electric vehicles, airports, boats, rivers, and waterways. All of which have been neglected from Washington, DC to Montgomery, Alabama. This is apart of what those investments look like in our community.”
The general manager of M Transit, Samuel Tensley, is ecstatic about the new transportation developments.
“I am so elated. This is what I came here to do. This is what God has brought me here to do, to make this the epitome of what Montgomery is all about.”
Tensley believes that the new and improved transit system offers citizens the best transportation service to date.
“It will be a shorter wait time for the buses and citizens will have good equipment to ride in. Our micro transit services offer dependable and detailed door to door services. This way there will be guaranteed transportation for those in the city of Montgomery.”
In addition to the news about the expansion of Montgomery’s public transportation system, the audience also learned of a fun form of transportation in downtown Montgomery.
The electric scooter company known as Bird, has taken the city by storm. Senior Manager of Government Partnerships, Bruno Lopes was delighted to announce its partnership with Montgomery and hopes to continue to provide citizens with an “alternative form of transportation” that also benefits the environment.
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