Macatawa Area Express
Encyclopedia
The Macatawa Area Express is a the primary provider of mass transportation in Ottawa County
's Holland
-Zeeland
metropolitan area. The system is named after the Macatawa River
, which runs through Holland, Michigan
. It was originally established in the year 2000 as an outgrowth of Holland's dial-a-ride bus service. Until July 1, 2007, the system was under Holland city government's direct jurisdiction. Since then, Macawata Area Express has been governed by an independent Transportation Authority board made up of representatives from the City of Holland and Holland Charter Township. The Local Advisory Council, which is made up of students, residents, and persons with disabilities who ride the system, serves as a bridge between the Transportation Authority and MAX riders, evaluating system operations, discussing rider issues and offering solutions.
The MAX system is made up of eight fixed routes and a dial-a-ride service. Except for Route 8, all of the system routes operate within Holland city limits. Louis & Helen Padnos Transportation Center serves as the system hub. Every route converges there at the end of every hour, making it easy for riders to transfer to any route they want. During weekday mornings, riders can also transfer to southwest-bound Pere Marquette train, which links riders to Bangor, St Joseph-Benton Harbor and Chicago
.
MAX operates between 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM on weekdays and 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM on Saturdays. Fares are $1.00 for adults and $0.50 for children between 5–17 years old. Children younger than five and senior citizens ride for free. MAX also offers a wide variety of passes MAX recorded 316,578 individual trips for 2009, and ridership continues to slowly climb as of March 2010.
Ottawa County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 238,314 people, 81,662 households, and 61,328 families residing in the county. The population density was 421 people per square mile . There were 86,856 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile...
's Holland
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
-Zeeland
Zeeland, Michigan
Zeeland is a city in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,805 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the western edge of Zeeland Charter Township which is politically independent. Its name is derived from the Dutch province of Zeeland...
metropolitan area. The system is named after the Macatawa River
Macatawa River
The Macatawa River, also known as the Black River, is located in the lower part of Ottawa County, Michigan, which drains into Lake Macatawa and eventually into Lake Michigan. The main stream is long....
, which runs through Holland, Michigan
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
. It was originally established in the year 2000 as an outgrowth of Holland's dial-a-ride bus service. Until July 1, 2007, the system was under Holland city government's direct jurisdiction. Since then, Macawata Area Express has been governed by an independent Transportation Authority board made up of representatives from the City of Holland and Holland Charter Township. The Local Advisory Council, which is made up of students, residents, and persons with disabilities who ride the system, serves as a bridge between the Transportation Authority and MAX riders, evaluating system operations, discussing rider issues and offering solutions.
The MAX system is made up of eight fixed routes and a dial-a-ride service. Except for Route 8, all of the system routes operate within Holland city limits. Louis & Helen Padnos Transportation Center serves as the system hub. Every route converges there at the end of every hour, making it easy for riders to transfer to any route they want. During weekday mornings, riders can also transfer to southwest-bound Pere Marquette train, which links riders to Bangor, St Joseph-Benton Harbor and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
MAX operates between 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM on weekdays and 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM on Saturdays. Fares are $1.00 for adults and $0.50 for children between 5–17 years old. Children younger than five and senior citizens ride for free. MAX also offers a wide variety of passes MAX recorded 316,578 individual trips for 2009, and ridership continues to slowly climb as of March 2010.
Route list
- 1 Mall
- 2 Butternut/136th St
- 3 Southshore
- 4 Waverly/120th St
- 5 Washington/South River
- 6 Holland Heights
- 7 Lincoln/South Town
- 8 Zeeland