Twin Cities Bus Plan Would Expand Service By 2030

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Metro Transit wants to expand Twin Cities-area bus services over the next 10 to 15 years with improvements that would cost $72.3 million a year.

The agency has proposed 122 changes for local and express bus services that it says would increase bus frequency, make connections easier and create 14 more reverse-commuting routes by 2030. The draft plan says the expansion would increase ridership by 16 million trips a year and would require about 100 more buses.

The proposed $72.3 million annual cost for implementing all 122 changes is a third more than the agency's 2015 operating budget. Many of the improvements would be enacted in the next five years but the agency says it will take a gradual approach.

Five public meetings are scheduled before a Nov. 18 public hearing on the proposal.

Metro Transit