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Metro Red Line (Minnesota)
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.
The line was designed to ease traffic congestion along the Cedar Avenue corridor. During planning the project was known as the Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transitway until it was renamed the Red Line in 2011 as part of a regional branding of the Metro system. After a few construction schedule setbacks, the line officially began operation on June 22, 2013. The Red Line cost $21 million but a further $34 million was spent on express bus service upgrades, and $57 million on roadway expansion for a total project cost of $112 million. A further $15 million was spent to construct an improved passenger station that no longer requires buses to exit the highway and saves 10 minutes on a round trip journey. The line was operated by the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority under a contract from the Metropolitan Council until December 5, 2020, when Metro Transit took over operations.
An extension to Lakeville is planned with an opening in 2040.
The Red Line's northern terminus is the Mall of America station at the Mall of America in Bloomington. At the station are connections to eight bus routes and the Metro Blue Line. From the Mall of America, the route travels on Minnesota State Highway 77 and serves the Cedar Grove Transit Station which has bus stops in the middle of the highway with an indoor walkway to a park-and-ride lot adjacent to the highway near the Twin Cities Premium Outlets shopping mall. The route crosses Interstate 35E and serves two stations at 140th and 147th streets. The final stop is at the Apple Valley Transit Station.
The Red Line aimed for 975 daily rides in its first year. While in the Red Line's first year of operation MVTA's ridership numbers reached record levels, ridership on the line in the first few years was lower than expected. Ridership reached only 85% of projected rides in the first year. Ridership was estimated to reach 1,600 per day by 2017.
From 2013 to 2017 half of the Red Lines budget came from the Counties Transit Improvement Board and half from the Metropolitan Council. After the Counties Transit Improvement Board was dissolved, the Metropolitan Council supported the full budget of the Red Line. Dakota County's portion of the Red Line's budget was $1.3 million in 2017. The MVTA operated the Red Line through a contract with the Metropolitan Council and cost $3.2 million in 2020 to provide the service. After first discussing the plan with MVTA in July 2020, the Metropolitan Council announced that it would not renew its operating contract with MVTA, instead opting for Metro Transit to take over operations starting on December 5, 2020. Frequency and hours of operations are planned to remain unchanged.
Ridership in 2019 was 242,372 rides for a subsidy of $9.97 per passenger. The other two bus rapid transit lines in the Metro system, the A Line and the C Line, had subsidies of $3.85 per passenger and light rail service cost $1.96 per passenger. Suburban local and commuter express bus subsidy for MVTA, which is the territory the Red Line operates in, was $12.10 and $6.07 per passenger trip respectively, which is higher than the Twin Cities region subsidies of $7.38 and $5.52 per passenger trip respectively.
Red Line buses run mostly on bus-only lanes and have transit signal priority. Trips to downtown Minneapolis from Apple Valley station that take the Red Line to the Blue Line take about an hour versus 40-43 minutes on an express bus.
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Metro Red Line (Minnesota)
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.
The line was designed to ease traffic congestion along the Cedar Avenue corridor. During planning the project was known as the Cedar Avenue Bus Rapid Transitway until it was renamed the Red Line in 2011 as part of a regional branding of the Metro system. After a few construction schedule setbacks, the line officially began operation on June 22, 2013. The Red Line cost $21 million but a further $34 million was spent on express bus service upgrades, and $57 million on roadway expansion for a total project cost of $112 million. A further $15 million was spent to construct an improved passenger station that no longer requires buses to exit the highway and saves 10 minutes on a round trip journey. The line was operated by the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority under a contract from the Metropolitan Council until December 5, 2020, when Metro Transit took over operations.
An extension to Lakeville is planned with an opening in 2040.
The Red Line's northern terminus is the Mall of America station at the Mall of America in Bloomington. At the station are connections to eight bus routes and the Metro Blue Line. From the Mall of America, the route travels on Minnesota State Highway 77 and serves the Cedar Grove Transit Station which has bus stops in the middle of the highway with an indoor walkway to a park-and-ride lot adjacent to the highway near the Twin Cities Premium Outlets shopping mall. The route crosses Interstate 35E and serves two stations at 140th and 147th streets. The final stop is at the Apple Valley Transit Station.
The Red Line aimed for 975 daily rides in its first year. While in the Red Line's first year of operation MVTA's ridership numbers reached record levels, ridership on the line in the first few years was lower than expected. Ridership reached only 85% of projected rides in the first year. Ridership was estimated to reach 1,600 per day by 2017.
From 2013 to 2017 half of the Red Lines budget came from the Counties Transit Improvement Board and half from the Metropolitan Council. After the Counties Transit Improvement Board was dissolved, the Metropolitan Council supported the full budget of the Red Line. Dakota County's portion of the Red Line's budget was $1.3 million in 2017. The MVTA operated the Red Line through a contract with the Metropolitan Council and cost $3.2 million in 2020 to provide the service. After first discussing the plan with MVTA in July 2020, the Metropolitan Council announced that it would not renew its operating contract with MVTA, instead opting for Metro Transit to take over operations starting on December 5, 2020. Frequency and hours of operations are planned to remain unchanged.
Ridership in 2019 was 242,372 rides for a subsidy of $9.97 per passenger. The other two bus rapid transit lines in the Metro system, the A Line and the C Line, had subsidies of $3.85 per passenger and light rail service cost $1.96 per passenger. Suburban local and commuter express bus subsidy for MVTA, which is the territory the Red Line operates in, was $12.10 and $6.07 per passenger trip respectively, which is higher than the Twin Cities region subsidies of $7.38 and $5.52 per passenger trip respectively.
Red Line buses run mostly on bus-only lanes and have transit signal priority. Trips to downtown Minneapolis from Apple Valley station that take the Red Line to the Blue Line take about an hour versus 40-43 minutes on an express bus.