The City of Fresno will extend weekday bus service on five of its most popular routes starting next week, and offer more frequent pickups on five other routes on weekends.

The new schedules will begin Monday, and to help make riders aware of the changes, Fresno Area Express will offer free rides after 6 p.m. from Monday to May 5 and free weekend rides all day May 6-7.

“We are pleased that we are able to improve FAX service by providing later service during the week and more frequent service on Saturdays and Sundays,” Fresno City Manager Bruce Rudd said in a press release. “It is extremely important that we continue to find ways to provide public transit services that are responsive to our customers as well as the community.”

Normally, all Fresno buses begin their final weeknight runs at 9 p.m. and end at about 10 p.m. With the changes, the most popular weekday routes — 9, 28, 30, 32 and 38 — will continue to run until 1 a.m.

Those routes serve busy corridors including Shaw, Manchester/Sunnyside, Blackstone, Fresno Street and Cedar.

City officials also plan to run more busses on the five most popular weekend routes — 20, 22, 26, 39 and 41 — so riders will have to wait only a half hour at bus stops instead of the hour-long waits they had to endure in the past.

Those routes include Hughes/McKinley, West Ave./Tulare, Palm/Butler, FYI/Clinton and Malaga/Shields/Chestnut.

Other routes will not be affected by the changes, according to a press release issued by the city.

“It is extremely important that we continue to find ways to provide public transit services that are responsive to our customers as well as the community,” Rudd continued in the press release.

“Along with our FAX 15 service launched earlier this year on the Shaw and Cedar Avenue corridors, FAX is continuing to improve its system to give riders more transit choices and to support jobs and businesses in Fresno.” Mayor Lee Brand stated in the press release.