Starting Monday, April 20, Benzie Bus will be offering five runs daily between Frankfort and Traverse City. The new flagship bus – the TC Express – will offer commuters comfortable seats and Wi-Fi for $4 each way.

The new service follows an 8-month needs assessment study that showed nearly 2,000 workers commute outside Benzie County, primarily to Grand Traverse County. It also showed the need to offer riders a connection at the Bay Area Transportation Authority's (BATA) Hall Street transfer station.

"We currently have about 400 riders each month commuting to schools, businesses and connecting with BATA at Munson and Meijer," says Benzie Bus Executive Director Bill Kennis. "Connecting to Hall Street is a natural progression toward more efficient public transit options."

At first, reservations will be required to use the service so buses aren't running empty, but the hope is it will soon develop into a set schedule, meaning riders can show up with no reservations.

The TC Express route will depart every three hours from Frankfort starting at 6am and connect through Beulah, Honor, Lake Ann and the Hall Street station. Munson will be the second stop outbound from Traverse City, with departures beginning at 7:40am and running every three hours.

Riders can call 231.325.3000, email dispatch@benziebus.com or text "benziebus" to 55000 to make a reservation.