$27 million rapid transit bus service launches Saturday

The Twin Cities' new rapid transit bus line, which will run from south Minneapolis to Roseville, is scheduled to begin service Saturday.

The $27 million "A Line" is Metro Transit's first rapid transit bus line on an urban street. It has fewer stops, quicker travel times and more frequent service than local buses.

"Every Minnesotan has a stake that these systems work well because it improves safety, reduces mitigation and provides access to jobs, and schools, and healthcare and shopping that are fundamental to making this region really great," said Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Charles Zelle.

The A Line begins at the 46th Street Station in Minneapolis. It crosses the Ford Parkway Bridge and travels down Snelling Avenue in St. Paul and Falcon Heights to its endpoint at the Rosedale Mall in Roseville.

The rapid transit route links to Metro Transit's Blue Line and Green Line light rail routes. It's part of a plan to create a web of about a dozen more rapid transit bus lines in the region by 2030.

"We have to provide choices and options and deliver the quality of life to make this a viable, vibrant, competitive metropolitan area," said state Sen. Scott Dibble. "And this is the start of that."

Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb said the connections the A Line creates among transportation hubs, shopping centers and communities makes it an ideal first rapid transit bus route for the region.

"This route is the first in a series of routes that we hope to be able to bring on over the course of the next 12-15 years that really connect the high-use corridors throughout the Metropolitan area," Lamb said.

The rapid transit buses are different than typical Metro Transit buses: They have wider doors and lower floors. And the 20 stations along the route are different, too, with electronic signs that will display when the next bus will arrive.

In an effort to speed up boarding, riders pay beforehand. And buses contain technology that can keep a traffic signal green for a few seconds more than usual.

At a ribbon-cutting for the A Line on Friday, Democratic politicians, including Lt. Governor Tina Smith, called for the Legislature to pass a transportation bill. House Republicans and Senate Democrats disagreed over whether to fund mass transit projects.

"Let's all try to remember that the A Line is an incredibly important project, but there are dozens of projects like the A Line that we need to get moving to get and keep Minnesota moving forward," Smith said.

Metro Transit's next rapid transit bus line, the C Line, between Brooklyn Center and downtown Minneapolis, is slated for construction in 2018.