Like I said in other thread, people better ride this bus. If ridership is low, the route will be cancelled like QueenCreek - Tempe route. The employers should also come out with a plan to pay (in full or part) for the bus pass.

Maricopa should write to State of Arizona, City of Phoenix, Wells Fargo and other major employers to consider a discounted pass for employees.

Most people who go to Pecos park and ride take rapid to downtown. This direct bus saves transfer time (10-15 minutes) and also takes the load off I10E rapid buses. Those buses are SO full.

Only other option from Pecos Park and ride is the ALEX bus which takes you around the neighbourhood. I would rather have a second bus from copa to Pecos park and ride and going on Chandler Blvd, 48th St, Ray Road and conming back. This should be thoughout the day (every 2 hours or so).

There are talks about a bus route from Copa to Chandler Fashion mall and Chandler Regional hospital. That would be nice as well.

I cannot say this enough. Ride these buses and tell everyone to ride. If you don't use them, they WILL be cancelled.

On the Future of Maricopa section on this Forum under "mass transit status", there is some more information regarding MaX. I'll paste the info from a previous post of mine here:

There is also a map on this website, which I was unable to post here. Below is a copy of the pickup times and prices:

www.maricopa-az.gov/web/news/MaX.php

Monday through Friday northbound schedule.

Maricopa Park & Ride 5:50 a.m. 6:40 a.m.
Arizona Center 6:41 a.m. 7:41 a.m.
Central Transit 6:42 a.m. 7:42 a.m.
Phoenix City Hall 6:43 a.m. 7:43 a.m.
5th Ave & Washington 6:45 a.m. 7:45 a.m.
7th Ave & Washington 6:47 a.m. 7:47 a.m.
15th Ave & Washington 6:49 a.m. 7:49 a.m.
17th Ave & Washington 6:50 a.m. 7:50 a.m.

Monday through Friday southbound schedule.

17th Ave & Jefferson 4:10 p.m. 5:10 p.m.
15th Ave & Jefferson 4:12 p.m. 5:12 p.m.
7th Ave & Jefferson 4:14 p.m. 5:14 p.m.
3rd Ave & Jefferson 4:16 p.m. 5:16 p.m.
Chase Building 4:18 p.m. 5:18 p.m.
Arizona Center 4:20 p.m. 5:20 p.m.
Maricopa Park & Ride 5:20 p.m. 6:30 p.m.

Fares (one way):

$3.00
$2.00 seniors, age 60 and up
FREE: children ages five and under

The Maricopa Park & Ride is (I believe) the $500K parking lot the city built last year. If that's what it is, at least it's directly across from the police station. Whether that guarantees your car getting broken into or not is still up for debate.

see post above this one...

So, who rode the bus? or do you know anyone that was on the bus? I am interested in finding out how many people were on the bus.

Edit: The news says there were 24 people on Phoenix bus on day one. That is a good sign. They also talk about a second route to Tempe. Here is the URL

http://www.85239.com/NEWS/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?mid1=430&&ArticleID=3465

Here is the link on the city website that will get you the most updated information, consistently:  http://www.maricopa-az.gov/web/news/MaX.php

For me, unless I sell my car completely (which would be impossible since one needs to DRIVE to the park & ride), this is by no means cheaper.  I would need to take a city bus from downtown to the office - total cost for the day $8.50 round trip. 

Upside - could turn the ride south into happy hour - dibs on the seats in the back!!

From what I saw, the buses return (empty) from downtown after making the morning drop, so if you are riding to reduce emissions, there may be better ways.

I don't know how much Valley-Metro charges for their services, but I don't think the $3 one-way, $6 round-trip, is anything excessive. Gas is $3.50+ a gallon; the trip to downtown Phoenix is at least 30 miles one way; not driving in the *cough* pleasantness of 347... these are great incentives to use MaX in my book. Besides, not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to use 3 bucks worth of gas to get into Tempe.

The routes are limited right now, but MaX is still in it's infancy. If the city deems this service to be worthwhile and somewhat cost-effective, the routes will no doubt expand. 20 routes to and from metro Phoenix aren't going to spring up overnight. Like everything else, it's going to take some time.