On Monday, one year following the slashing of services in the St. Louis area, Metro began restoring services permanently by launching the first phase of service restoration with added rush-hour frequency to MetroLink trains, increased frequency on some MetroBus routes, and redesigned routes on others in St. Louis County and St. Louis City.

Restoring and in many cases improving service to thousands of people is possible because voters in St. Louis County approved a half-cent sales tax in Proposition A just 12 weeks ago.

The new long-term revenue approved by voters in April of this year enabled the Agency to cancel plans to further cut transit service, and to permanently restore routes that were only temporarily restored last year.

Service restoration this year reflects a more updated, more focused and more responsive approach to designing routes and schedules. The two restoration phases, with the second scheduled for August 30, are timed to provide the best and most useful service to residents and visitors to the St. Louis region at exactly the times they need it the most.

Phase 1, which launched Monday, focused on increasing rush-hour MetroLink train frequency by 25 percent and restoring, expanding or restructuring 20 bus routes - all just in time for public transit's busiest season over the summer.

Phase 2, which begins August 30, will focus more attention to restoring, restructuring and redesigning MetroBus routes across the region in time for Labor Day and the traditional return to work for vacationers and the return to school for students. More details on those changes will be announced in mid-August.