Subject: The Phoenix Public Transit Department begins service on the new Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator routes in Maryvale/Desert Sky and the Sunnyslope neighborhoods on July 23, 2007. The service is free. Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 10:14 PM The Phoenix Public Transit Department begins service on the new Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator routes in Maryvale/Desert Sky and the Sunnyslope neighborhoods on July 23, 2007. The service is free. Neighborhood circulators are intended to get residents a short distance to their favorite local places such as the grocery store or the community center. Residents of the three communities helped pick the destinations and plan each route which equate to about a 10-mile round trip. In some communities, two routes that were in close proximity have been combined into one seamless route which are longer in distance. New minibuses will service all Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator routes. Join us on July 21 at one of four "meet and greet" locations to learn about the new neighborhood circulator service. Transit staff will be on hand to give out map/schedule brochures and answer questions; and a mini-bus will be parked at each location for viewing. MARY (Maryvale Area Ride for You) map and schedule ( en Espaņol ) July 21, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Maryvale Community Center, 4420 N. 51st Ave. July 21, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Desert West Community Center, 6501 W Virginia SMART (Sunnyslope Multi Access Area Residential Transit) map and schedule ( en Espaņol ) July 21, 9 a.m. - noon Acacia Branch Library, 750 E Townley July 21, 12 noon - 3 p.m. Sunnyslope Youth Center, 1702 W. Peoria Ave. Media Advisory for SMART meet and greet events on July 21 Media Advisory for MARY meet and greet events on July 21 Press Release - Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator Service - New Routes and New Vehicles Routes and Locations * ALEX (Ahwatukee Local Explorer) has been operating since 2001. A route extension west on Chandler Blvd. is planned for January 2008. ALEX is a free daily neighborhood circulator service provided by Phoenix Public Transit. Mini-buses travel the 20-mile route in both directions every 30 minutes. Travel time from one end of the route to the other is about one hour. On major streets, please wait at designated bus stops for ALEX. On neighborhood streets flag down the mini-bus to have it stop for you. See the legend below for details on which streets allow flag stops. Hours of operation: Monday through Thursday service begins at about 5:30 a.m. and ends about 9 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday service hours vary. See the ALEX schedule for details. * MARY (Maryvale Area Ride for You) map and schedule ( en Espaņol ) / street map MARY is a free daily neighborhood circulator service provided by Phoenix Public Transit. Mini-buses travel the 20-mile route in both directions every 30 minutes. Travel time around the full route is an hour and 15 minutes. On major streets, please wait at designated bus stops for MARY. On neighborhood streets flag down the mini-bus to have it stop for you. Schedule Monday - Saturday East/West Loop- first trip leaves Desert Sky Mall about 5 a.m.; last trip leaves about 9 p.m. Monday - Saturday West/East Loop - first trip leaves Desert Sky Mall about 5 a.m.; last trip leaves about 9 p.m. Sunday East/West Loop - first trip leaves Desert Sky Mall about 6 a.m.; last trip leaves about 7 p.m. Sunday West/East Loop - first trip leaves Desert Sky Mall about 6 a.m.; last trip leaves about 7 p.m. * SMART (Sunnyslope Multi Access Area Residential Transit) map and schedule ( en Espaņol ) / street map SMART is a free daily neighborhood circulator service provided by Phoenix Public Transit. Mini-buses travel the 11-mile route in both directions every 30 minutes. Travel time from one end of the route to the other is about 35 minutes. On major streets, please wait at designated bus stops for SMART. On neighborhood streets flag down the mini-bus to have it stop for you. Schedule Monday - Saturday Eastbound - first trip leaves Rose Mofford Sports Complex about 5 a.m.; last trip leaves about 9:30 p.m. Monday - Saturday Westbound - first trip leaves 15th St/Cheryl Dr. about 5:10 a.m.; last trip leaves about 9:40 p.m. Sunday Eastbound - first trip leaves Rose Mofford Sports Complex about 6 a.m.; last trip leaves about 7:30 p.m. Sunday Westbound - first trip leaves 15th St/Cheryl Dr about 6:10 a.m.; last trip leaves about 7:40 p.m. * Desert Ridge area (launches January 2008). Note: citizens planning committee still in discussion about route and destinations. * Northwest Phoenix area (launches January 2008). Note: citizen planning has not yet been appointed. * Laveen area (launches July 2008) * Undecided location. For more information on the progress of the neighborhood circulator planning process, call (602) 262-7242 or for text telephones call TTY (602) 495-0936