Today was a big day in Arlington, as the City officially launched its sleek new commuter bus service -Metro ArlingtonXpress, or MAX.

When the first bus left UT Arlington before dawn, the city officially shed the label of being the largest city without public transportation. Seven passengers made the trip from UT Arlington to the TRE's CentrePort/DFW Station. One person brought his bike to try out the bike rack. After settling in their reclining seats, a few passengers even tested the free WiFi service offered on the bus.

A few hours later, hundreds of people, including city leaders, MAX partners and other specially invited guests, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony in the First Baptist Church parking lot just across the street from the UT Arlington bus stop.

"This is an important step in connecting Arlington with the Metroplex," said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck. "It seemed like everywhere I went -to mayors meetings or other places -if they wanted to get under my skin, they just had to bring up the topic of public transportation. That's no longer the case."

Currently, there are two MAX buses rolling down Arlington streets. It will cost $700,000 per year to run MAX with the City of Arlington, UT Arlington, Arlington Chamber of Commerce and other business partners picking up the first year's cost. DART owns the buses, and The T controls the CentrePort/DFW Station where MAX will pick up passengers.

After the early morning ribbon cutting, several people packed the bus to make the trip from UT Arlington to the TRE's CentrePort/DFW Station and back to UT Arlington. Today's round-trip excursion took less than 40 minutes. One-way trips are expected to take approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic and the time of day. While there is a primary route for the buses to take, alternate routes have been tested to avoid traffic, construction or special events.

Arlington is expecting after one year of service, approximately 250-500 trips per day. Students from UT Arlington are likely to be big users of MAX.

Loan Ho, UT Arlington Student Congress vice president, said riding the MAX bus today was a "great opportunity for us to see how beneficial it is for students to take a quick 20-minute bus ride [to CentrePort/DFW Station] and then be able to go to Dallas or Fort Worth without having to take their cars and deal with traffic. I think it's a great service for students to use here at UTA."

Riders can get a free pass for the remainder of August. After that, a $5 fare allows you to ride the MAX, then on the TRE and any DART or T bus train for the day. All students will pay a reduced fare with a transit authority-issued photo ID.

"For current students, if you have an internship in a city other than Arlington, in other parts of North Texas, now those possibilities are realities," said Varun Mallipaddi, UT Arlington Student Congress president. "Students living in the area who are thinking about coming to UTA now have no excuse if they really want to come here."

There's already a possibility the MAX bus route could expand to include a stop in the Entertainment District, providing riders easy access to AT&T Stadium, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, great shopping and restaurants.

MAX updates are available via Facebook at RideTheMax and on Twitter at @ArlingtonMAX. Subscribe to email updates at [email protected]. For more information, please visit RideTheMax.com.