The Quad Cities MetroLINK, officially the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District, provides

mass transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

for the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

half of the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

metro area. Both Iowa cities that make up the region have their own systems, but one MetroLINK route does connect with

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

. It is the only transit system in the Quad Cities that operates seven days a week and holidays. The system has a fleet of 60 fixed route buses that is composed of twenty-five 30-foot

compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...

buses, eight 40-foot compressed natural gas buses and twenty-two 40-foot

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

buses. As of 2019, they have eight all electric buses. Its annual ridership is 3.5 million.

History

Quad Cities MetroLINK began service in 1970, as the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District, to revive the local transit system, which had been privately operated. Throughout its early history, the agency was branded as RICMMTD, but in 1988, a public contest replaced this name with "MetroLINK" to improve name recogniction. 1998 saw the introduction of Channel Cat ferry service on the Mississippi River, while Compressed Natural Gas buses first appeared on the streets in 2002. In 2012, MetroLINK was named "Outstanding Public Transportation System of the Year" for systems carrying 1-4 million passengers annually by the American Public Transportation Association. In 2018, MetroLINK deployed its first three all-electric zero emission buses into service, with the electric bus fleet continuing to expand.

Route list

*10 Rock Island to Silvis *20 Moline to Quad Cities Int'l Airport *30 Rock Island to East Moline *40 Rock Island to Milan *45 Rock Island to Jumer's Casino *50 East Moline to Silvis *53 Rock Island to Moline *55 Moline to Colona *57 Moline to Blackhawk College *60 Rock Island to Western Illinois University *70 Rock Island to East Milan *80 Moline to Arsenal Island *90 Moline to East Moline *100 Davenport, Iowa to Tyson

Facilities

Transfer Stations

*Centre Station Centre Station is the signature hub of the Metro system, located at 1200 River Drive in Moline. It provides connections with nine routes. The facility was completed in April 1998 as a part of the John Deere Commons Development with a 12 bay, 12,000 square foot terminal. The showpiece for the Centre Station project is the corner clock tower that overlooks River Drive. The stone and brick site is a 350-space parking facility that connects to the TaxSlayer Center via a glass and steel crosswalk. In addition to MetroLINK buses, the facility is also served by intercity buses from

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

. In the future, the Centre Station is planned to become a passenger rail hub as part of the Quad Cities train project. *East Pointe Station East Pointe Station is located at 1201 14th Avenue, in East Moline and connects three routes on the east end of the Metro system. The station, built in 2006, offers an indoor waiting area with restrooms and real-time signage, and is also equipped with a high tech community room that is available for local events. *District Station District Station is Metro's newest station, opening in 2014, as part of a larger transit-oriented development at 1975 2nd Avenue in downtown Rock Island. The Station features ten bus docking stations with canopies, as well as an indoor lobby with restrooms, seating, real-time signage, and an informational kiosk. District Station is currently served by five Metro routes and offers a connection point with

Davenport CitiBus Davenport CitiBus is the transit agency serving Davenport, Iowa. USA. CitiBus has a total of twenty-one vehicles and covers approximately of the city. CitiBus connects with both Bettendorf Transit and the Illinois Quad Cities mass transit syste ...

Route 7.

Mega Stops

*Quad City International Airport Mega Stop Constructed in 2011, the QCIA Mega Stop is located directly outside the baggage terminal of the Airport. The Stop features a covered platform with benches, a kiosk with passenger information, lighting, and real-time LED signage. Metro's Route 20 serves the QCIA every half hour, and provides direct access to hotels and downtown Moline. *SouthPark Mall Mega Stop SouthPark Mall is Metro's newest Mega Stop, completed in 2015. The stop, which provides direct connections with the South Mall Entrance, features a covered waiting area with platform, windbreaks with seating, real-time LED signage, lighting, and landscaping. The SouthPark Mall Mega Stop is served by Metro's Route 20 and Route 60.

References

External links

Website at www.gogreenmetro.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quad Cities Metrolink Government agencies established in 1970 Bus transportation in Illinois Bus transportation in Iowa Transportation in the Quad Cities Rock Island, Illinois Moline, Illinois