Manatee bus service to expand beginning Saturday

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Manatee County Area Transit is adding more buses to two busy routes, beginning Sat., Dec. 4, officials announced Friday.

Route 99, which connects Manatee and Sarasota counties via U.S. 41, will increase service frequency during peak hours between 5-9 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. Both MCAT and SCAT buses will operate on the new schedule, with buses arriving every 20 minutes during these peak periods instead of every 30 minutes.

Route 2, which serves east Bradenton and Samoset, will double service on weekdays, with buses to arrive every 30 minutes instead of once an hour, between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The modifications are made possible by grant funding from the Florida Department of Transportation and start-up funding from Manatee County’s Redevelopment and Economic Opportunity Department.

Additional changes to two other routes will take effect Saturday.

For Route 3, which serves the Manatee Avenue corridor between I-75 and Manatee County Public Beach, the late-night buses will now depart the downtown station at 8:15 p.m. and 8:50 p.m. Eastbound trips from Manatee Beach will now depart at 8:35 p.m. and 9:10 p.m.

Route 12, serving State Road 70, will push back the last departure from DeSoto station to 6:35 p.m. on weekdays.

All changes to MCAT route schedules will be available on each bus and online at //www.mymanatee.org/MCAT. Passengers can also call the MCAT Rider Information Line at 941-749-7116 for more information.