STLPR0%
What you need to know about the just-approved Green Line bus route in St. Louis 16%
By Rebecca Thiele0%
6/26/2026, 3:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 24 faulty reasoning types, including Unattributed Quote, Loss Aversion, and Appeal to Authority, with Pessimism Bias as the most egregious example at 13.5% saturation with 106 hits. Analysis detected 810 faulty-reasoning hits from 783 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 31.6% and a BS Rank of 16% (18,556 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 84.80% of the article peer group.
It’s been about nine months since St.
Louis pivoted from building a MetroLink rail line that would run from north to south St.
Louis to a bus line instead.
This week, East-West Gateway Council of Governments — a group of lawmakers who gather to solve regional issues — approved the final route for the bus rapid transit Green Line.
The route would run up Jefferson Avenue from south city, then curve east closer to the Mississippi River before turning west onto Natural Bridge Avenue.
You can see a more detailed version of the map on the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit website.
Officials with Bi-State Development said construction wouldn’t start until 2029 at the earliest.
But there’s a long way to go before the city can start work on the project and many questions still need to be answered.
Here’s the latest on the project:
What is a bus rapid transit line and why are public transit advocates for it?
Unlike St.
Louis’ bus system now, bus rapid transit makes buses and riders a top priority on the road.
That means dedicated bus lanes and special stoplights for buses, larger buses that hold more people as well as bigger, safer stations.
Many of the improvements cut down on the amount of time waiting for the bus.
Riders at a listening session hosted by St.
Louis Public Radio said they often wait anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour right now — and that doesn’t encourage people to take the bus.
Rapid transit buses are supposed to come every 10 to 15 minutes.
Although questions remain, public transit advocates are generally in favor of the idea.
“What we have to be thinking about is how to maximize the benefit for both people who use the system and additionally to people who would be interested in using the system, but experience a bus system that doesn't work for them,” said Noah Goldman, who co-founded a transit riders group as part of St.
Louis Urbanists.
Advocates say it could also give the city an economic boost.
Having a fixed, more permanent route gives developers more incentive to build in the area, said Kim Cella, CEO of Citizens for Modern Transit.
“This corridor is ripe for transit investment,” she said.
“You have dense neighborhoods on the south side and you have opportunities for reinvestment on the north side.”
Properties near bus stations where buses run more frequently have higher property values, according to a new study commissioned by Citizens for Modern Transit, St.
Louis Realtors and AARP St.
Louis.
Funding is still up in the air
St.
Louis officials decided to pivot from the light rail line to bus rapid transit because it was cheaper and they thought it would be more attractive for federal grants.
The city is applying for a grant through the Federal Transit Administration.
The grant could pay for up to 80% of the cost, but it’s competitive, and there’s no guarantee St.
Louis will get it.
The grant also requires the city to match some of the funding.
In 2017, voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for the light rail line that has generated more than $90 million.
Since some of the language of the 2017 law was specific to the MetroLink project, it’s not clear whether the city can use the money for the bus rapid transit Green Line or if the change would have to be approved by voters.
North St.
Louis residents push back
Carla and Miguel Alexander live in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood and were part of a coalition of north city residents who opposed the original MetroLink light rail line.
Carla Alexander said many of the residents involved also oppose the bus rapid transit line — and for many of the same reasons.
They worry that they’ll lose access to their current bus routes after the Green Line is built.
Moving resources like buses and drivers away from routes isn’t allowed under the federal grant program, Bi-State said.
But the city could change some old routes to become more efficient.
That’s what the Alexanders are afraid of: that as north St.
Louis continues to lose population, the city might pare down the current routes and the Green Line wouldn’t be flexible enough or have enough stops for the residents still living there.
They also question whether the bus line would bring jobs and housing to their neighborhoods without extra incentives from the city.
Instead, they’d like to see St.
Louis make existing buses more frequent, energy-efficient and safe.
”Spend the money wisely, period,” Carla Alexander said.
“Enhance what we have.”
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