The Wave Transit System (original) (raw)

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The Wave Transit System

The GM&O Transit Center at night
Parent City of Mobile
Founded 1995 (1995)
Headquarters 110 Beauregard Street
Locale Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Passenger TerminalMobile, Alabama
Service area Mobile County, Alabama
Service type bus service, paratransit
Routes 13
Daily ridership 1,628 (2022)[1]
Annual ridership 495,899 (2022)[1]
Website [1]

The Wave Transit System is the operator of public transportation in Mobile, Alabama, operated by the City of Mobile. Eleven local routes service the city and suburban regions, while the modal trolley provides downtown shuttle service. Crossbay service via the Baylinc route service Baldwin County, Alabama. The cities of Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope, and Point Clear have bus access to Downtown Mobile via US 98 and US 90.

Mobile's public transportation was started in 1860 as the Mobile and Spring Hill Railway, a mule-drawn trolley system. In 1892, the line was acquired by J. Howard Wilson and electrified.[2] In 1893 Mobile Light & Railway was formed by the consolidation of the Mobile Electric Railway and the Mobile Electric Light & Power.[3] In 1897, Mobile and Spring Hill Railway was combined into Mobile Light & Railway to form the Mobile Light & Railroad

Another system was started in 1887 under similar ownership as the Mobile and Spring Hill under the name Mobile Street Railway.[4] It was sold in foreclosure in 1892 and was renamed the Mobile Street Railroad.[4][5] By 1903, the Mobile Street Railroad was combined into Mobile Light & Railroad.[6] After the death of J. Howard Wilson in 1939, Mobile Light & Railroad was acquired by National City Lines and renamed Mobile City Lines.[4] Mobile City Lines converted the system to buses.[4] In 1971, the bus lines were taken over by the Mobile Transit Authority.[4] Mobile Transit Authority collapsed in 1995 and the operations were taken over by the City of Mobile under the name Metro Transit.[7] In 2005, Metro Transit was renamed The Wave.

Number Name Frequency Operation Link Notes
Weekdays Saturdays
1 Airport 60 min 6:0018:45 7:0018:50 link
4 Spring Hill 60 min 5:0018:55 6:3018:30 link Saturday service only betweenDowntown and Zeigler/University
5 Highway 45 60 min 5:2518:55 6:2518:55 link
7 Dauphin Street 60 min 5:2520:50 6:2520:50 link
9 Broad/Southside/Bel Air Mall 60 min 5:1021:55 6:1021:55 link
10 Crosstown 60 min 5:0521:55 6:0521:55 link
11 Dauphin Island Parkway 60 min 5:2018:40 6:3018:25 link Saturday service only betweenDowntown and Fulbrook Shopping Center
12 Highway 90/Tillman's Corner 60 min 6:0018:55 7:0019:55 link
15 Toulminville 60 min 5:3018:40 6:3018:40 link
16 Plateau/Prichard 25 min 5:3018:25 6:3018:25 link This route serves as a transit hub connection between Prichard, Al and Downtown Mobile, Al.
18 Cottage Hill/USA 60 min 5:3518:55 7:0018:55 link Saturday service only betweenBel Air Mall and Cottage Hill Shopping Center
19 Schillinger/Airport Boulevard 60 min 5:3019:30 6:3018:30 link Flex service,with scheduled transfers to route 1at Providence Hospital
Moda(downtown shuttle) 20 min 7:0014:00 - link Service extended during special events

Fixed route ridership

[edit]

The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response services.[8]

250,000

500,000

750,000

1,000,000

1,250,000

1,500,000

2005

2008

2011

2014

2017

2020

2023

  1. ^ a b "The Wave 2022 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  2. ^ McGehee, Tom (2013-04-24). "Ask McGehee: What is the history of the median on Spring Hill Avenue?". Mobile Bay Magazine. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  3. ^ "Mobile Light & Railway Co.". Street Railway Section of the Commercial & Financial Chronicle. Wm. B. Dana Company. 1895. p. 48.
  4. ^ a b c d e Data Transfer Solutions (2006-03-15). "SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION". Transit Development Plan (TDP) for the Wave Transit System (Report). Mobile, AL: South Alabama Regional Planning Commission. p. 3.
  5. ^ "Mobile Street Railroad Co.". Street Railway Section of the Commercial & Financial Chronicle. Wm. B. Dana Company. 1899. p. 54 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ American Street Railway Association; Street Railway Accountants' Association of America; American Railway, Mechanical (1891). The street railway review. Chicago : Street Railway Review Pub. Co. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  7. ^ Amy, Jeff. "Not riding the wave". AL.com. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  8. ^ "The National Transit Database (NTD)". Retrieved April 24, 2024.