MANATEE COUNTY, FL (Feb 11, 2023) – Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) will make several changes to the fixed-route bus service beginning Saturday, February 4. The changes will allow transit buses to cope with the seasonal traffic to and from Anna Maria Island.
Route 3, which serves Manatee Avenue and State Road 64, will now have THREE different buses serving different sections of the route. Passengers will need to transfer at either Village Green Parkway behind the 7-11 or at the Downtown Station.
The 304 bus will travel between Manatee Public Beach and Village Green Parkway at Manatee Avenue every hour all day, Monday through Saturday. Trips will depart Village Green Parkway behind the 7-11 at :15 minutes past the hour.
The 302 bus will travel between Village Green Parkway at Manatee Avenue and the Downtown Station every hour all day, Monday through Saturday. Trips will depart Downtown Station at :50 past every hour. Trips will depart Village Green Parkway at :15 minutes past the hour. After 8:00 pm, trips from the Downtown Station to Manatee Public Beach will operate the same as currently scheduled.
The 301 bus will travel between the Downtown Station and the Walmart on State Road 64 every hour all day, Monday through Saturday. Trips will depart the Downtown Station at :50 minutes past every hour. Trips will depart the Walmart on SR 64 at :20 minutes past the hour.
Route 6, which serves Cortez Road, will now have two different buses serving different sections of the route. The Route 6 buses will travel all the way to the beach at 5:20am, 6:20am, 7:05am and 8:05 am in the morning and at 6:05pm. Return trips to DeSoto Station from the beach will leave the beach at 6:05am, 7:05am, 8:05am and 6:05pm and 7:05pm. During the midday (between 9:00am and 6:00pm, the 602 bus will connect Blake Hospital and the beach while the 601 bus will connect DeSoto Station and Blake Hospital. The two buses will connect at Blake Hospital at approximately half past the hour. (Please be advised that traffic conditions may impact these connections as well.)
These changes are in keeping with what MCAT has done operationally for many years. This formal schedule change will allow our passengers to track their bus and plan their trips using the Manatee MyStop mobile application and the Google Trip Planner.
MCAT buses will continue their fare free service.
Finally, all changes to MCAT route schedules will be available for pick-up on each bus and online at
www.mymanatee.org/MCAT. Passengers can also call the MCAT Rider Information Line at (941) 749-7116 for more information.