![]() | |
![]() SouthWest Transit bus at Marquette Ave and 5th St on the Marq2 transit corridor | |
Headquarters | 13500 Technology Drive, Eden Prairie, Minnesota |
---|---|
Service type | bus service, paratransit |
Destinations | Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Chaska, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota, Fairview Hospital Southdale, Southdale |
Daily ridership | 1,400 (weekdays, Q1 2024) [1] |
Annual ridership | 446,400 (2023) [2] |
Website | swtransit.org |
SouthWest Transit is a public transportation agency that is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The agency was formed in 1986 when the southwest Minneapolis suburbs of Chaska, Chanhassen, and Eden Prairie chose to opt out of the Metropolitan Transit Commission transit system in accordance with Minnesota State Statutes. Under a joint powers agreement between the three cities, they created their own transit system, SouthWest Metro Transit. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 446,400, or about 1,400 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
Now known as SouthWest Transit, the agency continues to be the public transit agency for Chaska, Chanhassen, and Eden Prairie, as well as Carver and Victoria. They currently offer fixed route service to and from the Southwest Minneapolis Suburbs, Downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota, Normandale Community College and Best Buy Headquarters. In addition to fixed route services, they offer microtransit services (Southwest Prime) for communities in the SouthWest Suburbs as well as special event services to events around the Twin Cities such as sports games, concerts, the state fair, and other highly attended events.
In addition to their regular service, SouthWest Transit also offers a number of seasonal services, including State Fair, Twins Express, Vikings Express, Gophers Express, Summer Adventures, select concerts, and more.
In 2004 SouthWest Transit was named Transit Agency of the Year by the American Public Transit Association. [3]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, SouthWest Transit initially laid off 50% of its drivers but has since struggled to re-staff its workforce like transit agencies across the nation. [4]
SouthWest Transit also operates a microtransit service, SW Prime. This service operates in the cities of Carver, Chanhassen, Chaska, Eden Prairie, and Victoria. Other regional transit providers provide similar services with the Metropolitan Council's Transit Link, Maple Grove Transit's My Ride, MVTA's Connect, Plymouth Metrolink's Click-And-Ride, and Metro Transit's microtransit pilot Metro Transit micro. [5] [6] SW Prime was the first microtransit service to launch in the Twin Cities. The service accepts the region's low-income fare program. Drivers of the service belong to a union. [7]
SouthWest Transit offered a dial-a-ride transit service in the 1990s that required riders to book a trip by phone several days in advance. The service had high rates of trip cancellations and customers no-showing. SW Prime was launched in July 2015 and allowed customers to book a ride by phone or via a smartphone app. The service was initially offered Monday through Friday, but it has since expanded to Saturdays as well. [8] [9] The service was expanded to medical rides in 2019. [10] Some service is offered to select areas of Shakopee and I-494 strip. [11] [9] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, around 500 SW Prime rides were served a day. Ridership lowered during the pandemic and in January 2021 was roughly 50% of pre-pandemic ridership, but by June 2022 ridership was 94% of pre-pandemic numbers. SW Prime ridership rebounded faster than SouthWest Transit express ridership. [6] Ridership in August 2023 was higher than pre-pandemic ridership in 2019. In 2024, Southwest Transit plans to replace the Prime service along the I-494 corridor to the Mall of America with a fixed-route service which will help reduce costs. [7]
Bold route number denotes an express route.
Route | Origin/Destination | Major Destinations/Transit Stations | Notes | Link | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
602 | East Creek Station SouthWest Village SouthWest Station | Normandale Community College Best Buy HQ | |||
690 | 690: SW Station A: Dell Rd & Hwy 62 | Downtown Minneapolis |
| link | |
695 | East Creek | Downtown Minneapolis, University of MN |
| link | |
697 | Carver Station | Downtown Minneapolis |
| link | |
698 | 698: East Creek | Downtown Minneapolis, University of MN |
| The 698L Stops at East Creek or Carver Station if requested. | link |
699 | 699: Carver Station | Downtown Minneapolis |
| link | |
Normandale Shuttle | SouthWest Station | Normandale Community College | |||
SouthWest Transit operates out of the following park-and-ride locations:
SouthWest Transit opened three new park & ride facilities near Highway 212. The first, SouthWest Village, is at County Road 101 and Highway 212 in Chanhassen. The second new park & ride is East Creek Station in Chaska. That facility was opened in early June 2008 at the southwest corner of Highway 212 and County Road 41. The third new park & ride is Chanhassen Transit Station opened in December 2011 and is located north of Highway 5, just next to the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres on Market St.
Due to near capacity issues, in 2007 the East Creek Station Park and Ride CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality – a federal program) grant submittal was approved for the construction of 450 park and ride stalls, a transit station and busway. The new 450 stalls are structured parking (a ramp), and the station includes passenger waiting areas along with vending and restroom facilities. The total project cost $7.8 million. Bidding for the construction of the ramp and station is expected to take place in the spring/summer of 2012, with construction beginning later in the summer/fall and an opening of the new facility in September 2013. SouthWest is also in discussion with private developers to develop approximately one acre of land currently set aside for future development use. Options for the site include office, neighborhood commercial, and day care. [12]
Records of the SouthWest Transit Commission are available for research use. They consist of annual reports (1997–2005); management plans and budgets (1992–1993, 1995); oversight (1993–1994); and On the Move rider newsletter (2005). [13]
The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response services. [14]
Chaska is a city in and the county seat of Carver County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 27,810 at the 2020 census. An outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities, Chaska is home to the Hazeltine National Golf Club and is known for its historic downtown area located on a bend of the Minnesota River. The City of Chaska merged with Chaska Township in 2006. The city still has some remaining agricultural land.
Chanhassen is a city about 16 miles southwest of Minneapolis in Carver County and partially in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. Located in the southwest Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs, there is a mix of suburban residential neighborhoods and rural landscapes. The population was 25,947 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate of 26,469.
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. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 44,977,200, or about 142,700 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
Minnesota State Highway 5 is a 76.347-mile-long (122.869 km) highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 19 and MN 22 in Gaylord and continues east and northeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with MN 120 in Maplewood. The route passes through downtown Saint Paul.
Metro Transit is an enterprise of the Bi-State Development Agency and operates public transportation services in the St. Louis region. In 2023, the system had an annual ridership of 19,528,200, or about 57,500 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
Green Bay Metro is the mass transit system found in the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin. It also provides service in Ashwaubenon, Allouez, De Pere, and Bellevue. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 832,900, or about 3,400 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The DC Circulator is a bus system in Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia Department of Transportation operates the service in a public–private partnership with RATP Dev.
The Southwest LRT is an under–construction 14.5-mile (23.3 km) light rail transit corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, with service between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. The estimated one-way travel time from Southwest Station in Eden Prairie to Target Field Station in Minneapolis is 32 minutes. The Southwest LRT will extend through St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka along the route. Major locations on the line will include Bde Maka Ska, Cedar Lake, the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.
The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) is the public transport agency serving Cincinnati and its Ohio suburbs. SORTA operates Metro fixed-route buses, bus rapid transit, microtransit, and paratransit services. SORTA's headquarters are located at the Huntington Building in Cincinnati’s Central Business District. The agency is managed by CEO and General Manager Darryl Haley along with a 13-member board of trustees. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 13,091,500, or about 42,500 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
Transportation in the U.S. State of Minnesota consists of a complex network of roadways, railways, waterways and airports. The transportation system is generally overseen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a cabinet-level agency of the state government. Additionally, regional governments such as the Metropolitan Council have authority over regional planning for the transportation system and local governments such as cities and counties oversee the local transportation network.
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.
Antelope Valley Transit Authority is the transit agency serving the cities of Palmdale, Lancaster and Northern Los Angeles County. Antelope Valley Transit Authority is operated under contract by MV Transportation, and is affiliated with and offers connecting services with Metro and Metrolink. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,523,700, or about 5,500 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
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.
Yolobus provides public transportation throughout Yolo County, California and into downtown Sacramento, western Sacramento County and northeastern Solano County.
U.S. Highway 212 (US 212) within the state of Minnesota travels from the South Dakota state line in the west, crosses the southwestern part of the state, to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the east and end at its interchange with US 169 and State Highway 62 (MN 62) in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. US 212 in Minnesota has an official length of 161.8 miles (260.4 km). It is an urban freeway within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area and is mostly a two-lane rural road elsewhere in the state.
Hennepin County Road 61 or County State-Aid Highway 61 is a 24.853-mile-long (39.997 km) major route along the east side of Interstate 494 (I-494) in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The route travels through the west suburbs of the Twin Cities through Maple Grove, Plymouth, Minnetonka, Hopkins and Eden Prairie.
SouthWest station is a park and ride facility and a transit hub with two bus platforms for SouthWest Transit in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The station is being reconfigured to include a light rail station on the Metro Southwest LRT, which is an extension of the Green Line. The station is located on Technology Drive in Eden Prairie, just north of the Purgatory Creek wetland area and south of U.S. Route 212. In December 2018 the Metropolitan Council purchased the station from SouthWest Transit for $8 million. The Metropolitan Council's 2021 park-and-ride system report found 156 cars parked at the station compared to 829 in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.