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Help Paint a MetroBus, Check Out an All-Electric Bus and Celebrate the St. Louis Earth Day Festival This Sunday
Join Bi-State Development Agency/Metro (BSDA/Metro) at Forest Park on Sunday, April 26, for the 26th annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival, and learn more about the environment and sustainable living while enjoying food, entertainment and hands-on activities for all ages. Festival attendees will be able to take an up-close look at an all-electric bus, help paint specially-designed Earth Day murals on a MetroBus and get information about how to use Metro transit to get to work, to school and to the game.
The St. Louis Earth Day Festival takes place this Sunday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on The Muny Grounds at Forest Park.
The Metro Arts in Transit Bus painting will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Alternative Transportation and Fuels area near the intersection of McKinley and Theatre Drives. Artists of all ages are welcome to participate and help transform the MetroBus into a rolling work of art. The Earth Day murals, one for each side of the bus, were created by St. Louis artist Genevieve Esson. They will stay on the bus for one year as it travels along various routes throughout St. Louis and St. Louis County. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is sponsoring the Metro Arts in Transit Bus painting.
Those interested in visiting Metro’s information booth for giveaways, transit information and details about the agency’s new mobile transit application – Metro On The Go – and checking out an all-electric bus on display should visit the Sponsor Row festival area near the intersection of Pagoda Circle and Theatre Drive. Metro is test driving an electric bus manufactured in California by BYD Co. in order to take a closer look at the significant advancements in the battery range and other electric bus features and benefits. BSDA/Metro is always exploring opportunities to improve efficiencies and maximize the return on investment by taxpayers, while minimizing environmental impact.
The 40-foot bus is powered by two electric batteries and can safely operate on a single charge for about 150 miles, compared to about 500 miles on a full tank of fuel for the fleet’s diesel-powered MetroBus vehicles. This bus is the first of three electric buses the agency will be testing this year.
Getting to the St. Louis Earth Day Festival
There are several environmentally-friendly options Metro riders can use to get the festival to take part in the Earth Day Festival fun.
Combine MetroLink with Biking or Walking
Walk, bicycle, or carpool to one of the 20 free Metro Park-Ride lots in Illinois and Missouri and catch a MetroLink train to the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station, Skinker MetroLink Station or the Central West End MetroLink Station. Festival-goers can catch the #3 Forest Park Trolley just north of the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station at Pershing and DeBaliviere. The #3 Forest Park Trolley will operate between 6:21 a.m. and 5:37 p.m. on Sunday. Earth Day celebrants can also walk or bicycle to Forest Park to the Earth Day Festival from one of those three stations. Cyclists and their bikes should enter the train at the rear door of the first train car or enter the front or rear door of the second train car. Two bicycles are allowed in each area, and an additional bicycle belonging to a child with an adult is also permitted. Riders should stand with their bicycles and not leave them unattended during their trips.
Ride MetroBus to St. Louis Community College at Forest Park and Use the Free Earth Day Shuttles
St. Louis Earth Day is providing free bus shuttles to the festival from St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. Metro customers can take the #59 Dogtown to the college to take advantage of these shuttles, and festival-goers can combine MetroLink and MetroBus by connecting with the #59 Dogtown at the Brentwood I-64 or Central West End MetroLink Stations.
About Bi-State Development Agency
The Bi-State Development Agency (BSDA) is the operator of the Metro public transportation system for the St. Louis region, which includes the 87 vehicle, 46-mile MetroLink light rail system; 379 MetroBus vehicle fleet that operates on 77 MetroBus routes; and Metro Call‑A‑Ride, a paratransit fleet of 120 vans. BSDA also owns and operates St. Louis Downtown Airport and its surrounding industrial business park, and the Gateway Arch Riverboats, as well as operates the Gateway Arch Revenue Collections Center and Gateway Arch Transportation System. The region’s new freight district also will be operated by BSDA.