Metro in St. Louis is marking the 25th anniversary of Call-A-Ride, its paratransit service. The system, then known as the Bi-State Development Agency, introduced its curb-to-curb van service in November 1987, providing a vital transit option for citizens across St. Louis City and County who had mobility issues that prevented them from using MetroBus. This service currently provides 700,000 trips each year.

“Call-A-Ride has been a true resource for the community for 25 years. Our staff works diligently every day to provide the best customer experience possible,” said Paul Willett, Metro’s chief of paratransit operations and service development. “Call-A-Ride’s record speaks for itself. So far this year, 72 percent of all of our customer contacts are unsolicited commendations regarding the van operators, the office staff, and the service in general. We are very proud of that number.”

To commemorate the silver anniversary, Metro created a special 25th-anniversary logo that appears on the rear and boarding side of each Metro Call-A-Ride van.

“It is extremely challenging to meet the widely varied demands of the community in providing over 10,000 trips per week on the service,” Willett added. “In order to accomplish this, we need a ‘buy-in’ from the entire team to put this very complex service on the street every day. I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to lead such a great family of talent. We’re now looking forward to the next 25 years!”