The Metro Blue Line is a 12-mile (19.3 km) light rail line in Hennepin County, Minnesota, that is part of the Metro network. It travels from downtown Minneapolis to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and the southern suburb of Bloomington. Formerly the Hiawatha Line prior to May 2013, the line was originally named after the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha passenger train and Hiawatha Avenue, reusing infrastructure from the former and running parallel to the latter for a portion of the route. The line opened June 26, 2004, and was the first light rail service in Minnesota. An extension, Bottineau LRT, is planned to open in 2028.
Metro Transit is the primary public transportation operator in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest operator in the state. Although Metro Transit is one of the smallest transit systems for a large metropolitan area in the United States, it has previously been ranked as one of the best. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 38,794,700, or about 138,800 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023.
King County Metro, officially the King County Metro Transit Department and often shortened to Metro, is the public transit authority of King County, Washington, which includes the city of Seattle. It is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in the United States. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 66,022,200, or about 244,500 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2023. Metro employs 2,444 full-time and part-time operators and operates 1,540 buses.
30th Avenue station is a light rail and bus station on the Blue Line in the Twin Cities region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The station opened with the second phase of the Hiawatha Line on December 4, 2004. It has a 1,585-space park and ride facility. The south parking lot was closed for construction of a 1,443 space parking ramp, which opened in Fall 2008.
The Mall of America station is the busiest transit center in Minnesota, with bus and light rail service linking the Mall of America to many destinations in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro. Public transit service is provided by Metro Transit and the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority. The station is served by Metro Blue Line and Red Line. The station previously hosted private shuttle services to hotels and Mystic Lake Casino until those services moved to a new charter bus terminal on the north side of the mall in 2015.
Interstate 35W (I-35W) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Minnesota, passing through downtown Minneapolis. It is one of two through routes for I-35 through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the other being I-35E through downtown Saint Paul.
The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, also known by the acronym MVTA, is a public transportation agency that serves seven communities in the southern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The agency provides fixed-route and demand-responsive transit within the service area of the communities and to select destinations in the region.
The Metro Red Line is a bus rapid transit line between the Twin Cities suburbs of Bloomington, Minnesota and Apple Valley, Minnesota. The Red Line travels primarily on Minnesota State Highway 77 and Cedar Avenue from the Apple Valley station in Apple Valley, north through Eagan, Minnesota, to the Mall of America station in Bloomington where it connects to the Metro Blue Line. The line has bus rapid transit elements including bus-only lanes, specially branded vehicles, transit signal priority, and dedicated stations.
Burnsville Transit Station is a transit facility located in the vicinity of downtown Burnsville, Minnesota, and is the flagship station of the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA). The station is the busiest park and ride location in the Twin Cities region and offers approximately 1,400 parking spaces. It is also a major transfer hub for routes operating the south of the Minnesota River. The station has indoor climate-controlled waiting, restrooms, lost and found, drinking fountains, vending machines, Go-To card sales, newspaper racks, and transit information. Due to high park and ride demand, MVTA moved some service to the 370 space Heart of the City public ramp about a 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) south in 2018. The Metropolitan Council's 2021 park-and-ride system report found 267 cars parked at the station compared to 1,116 in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U of M Transitway is a busway that runs between the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. Use of the roadway is limited to buses, bicycles, and emergency vehicles. The University of Minnesota runs zero-fare buses along the busway connecting the two campuses, primarily the Campus Connector but also shuttles to and from the St. Paul campus for football games. A bicycle trail runs alongside the transitway for most of its distance. Between the endpoints, there are only two intersections with stoplights controlling busway traffic at Energy Park Drive and Como Avenue. The stoplights are designed to normally give the buses priority, so it is possible for many buses to run the length of the transitway without stopping.
The Metro Orange Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The line operates primarily along Interstate 35W from downtown Minneapolis through Richfield and Bloomington before terminating in Burnsville, Minnesota. The Orange Line provides access to 198,000 jobs with roughly a quarter of them outside downtown Minneapolis. The route serves a mix of stations located in the center of the highway, stations near highway exits, and on-street stations. The line has features typical of bus rapid transit systems with off-board fare payment, articulated buses with extra doors, stations with improved passenger amenities, and transit-only bus lanes on portions of the route.
The Apple Valley Transit Station is a transit facility located in Apple Valley, Minnesota. It is owned by the City of Apple Valley and the MVTA. The transit station is near Cedar Avenue and Gaslight Drive. This station has 337 parking spaces and is almost full almost each weekday. It also serves the nearby communities of Lakeville and Farmington.
I-35W & 46th Street station is a Metro Orange Line bus rapid transit station located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to the BRT service, the station is also served by Metro route 578. The station was constructed as part of the I-35W/Minnesota State Highway 62 Crosstown Commons reconstruction project and opened in 2010. Consisting of two levels, one on East 46th Street, and the other in the median of Interstate 35W, the station was the first of its kind in Minnesota. The station allows for transit routes operating on I-35W to stop for riders without leaving the region's high occupancy toll lane system. The station was designed in anticipation of full bus rapid transit service along I-35W to downtown Minneapolis, a vision that was realized in 2021 with the opening of the Metro Orange Line. The station cost $4.5 million to build.
I-35W & Lake Street station is a bus rapid transit station along the Metro Orange Line and planned B Line bus rapid transit (BRT) routes in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to the BRT services, the station is also served by Metro route 578, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority routes 460, 465, 467, 470, 472, 475 and 477, along with SouthWest Transit routes 600 and 695.
Metro is a transit network in Minnesota serving the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It also provides service to some suburban areas. As of 2022, the system consists of two light rail lines and five bus rapid transit (BRT) lines all of which are operated by the local public transit company: Metro Transit. The five lines connect Downtown Minneapolis and St Paul with the Bloomington, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, Roseville, Richfield, Burnsville and Brooklyn Center.
The Metro C Line is a bus rapid transit line in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The line is part of Metro Transit's Metro network of light rail and bus rapid transit lines. The route operates from the Brooklyn Center Transit Center along Penn Avenue and Olson Memorial Highway, terminating in downtown Minneapolis. The route is analogous to the existing Route 19 and is projected to increase ridership on this corridor from 7,000 to 9,000 by 2030. Eventually, part of its route will shift south to Glenwood Avenue from Olson Memorial Highway.
The Metro B Line is an under construction bus rapid transit route in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The route will operate mostly on Lake Street in Minneapolis before crossing the Mississippi River into St. Paul and operating mostly on Selby Avenue and ending in downtown St. Paul. The route was identified in Metro Transit's 2014 Arterial Transitway Corridors Study as one of eleven local routes to be upgraded to bus rapid transit. The route will have "train-like" features to speed up service, such as signal priority, all-door boarding, further stop spacing, and specialized vehicles. Planning and design was completed in 2021, with construction beginning in May 2023. The line will join a number of Metro Transit's future Metro system lines, as well as the currently operating A Line, C Line, and D Line. Full funding for the line was secured in October 2020 with a final $35 million from the state of Minnesota.
Ramp A/7th Street Transit Center is a bus rapid transit station in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. The transit center is a southbound station on the Metro C Line and D Line, as well as several local routes. The transit center is located inside of Ramp A, a 3,637 stall parking ramp built over sunken Interstate 394.
The Marq2 transit corridor is a north–south thoroughfare in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It consists of the parallel streets of Marquette and Second avenues in the downtown area. Each public streetway has two contraflow bus lanes with two lanes available for general-purpose traffic in the opposite direction. Vehicular transit flows south on Marquette Avenue and north on Second Avenue. The inner curb lane allows buses to stop for riders, while the second bus-only lane allows buses to pass each other along the corridor. Bus routes that operate on the corridor stop at every other block at an assigned gate with each route assigned a northbound and southbound gate. Gates are assigned letters A, B, C, or D on Marquette Avenue and E, F, G, and H on Second Avenue. Custom bus shelters are installed at each stop with heaters and real time transit information. The corridor primarily serves express buses operated by all five public transit agencies in the Twin Cities.
