Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2008
METRO TRANSIT EXPRESS BUSES RETURN
TO NORMAL ROUTES IN DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS
MINNEAPOLIS – (Nov. 24) –Metro Transit express buses in downtown Minneapolis will return to their normal routes on Marquette Avenue and 2nd Avenue South beginning Monday, Dec. 1.
Express routes have been detoured to other streets since early September while the City of Minneapolis began work to rebuild Marquette and 2nd avenues between 1st Street South and 12th Street South.
The reconstruction project is funded by the Urban Partnership Agreement, a federal initiative to enhance transit service and reduce congestion. When the project is complete in late 2009, express buses will operate on Marquette and 2nd Avenue South, using two bus-only lanes on each street that will allow buses to pass one another and improve travel speed. The double bus lanes will triple the capacity of transit on each street and reduce the number of express buses on other streets.
Plans also call for new, wider sidewalks and larger, more comfortable transit shelters with real-time bus arrival information.
Construction and bus detours on Marquette and 2nd Avenue South will resume when construction season begins in the spring.
Starting Dec. 1, buses will follow the routes and schedules shown in their published schedules. Schedules are available on buses, at Metro Transit stores and outlets and online.
Routes operated by Plymouth Metrolink, Maple Grove Transit, BlueXpress and Metropolitan Council Regional Routes also will return to regular service. Customers of SouthWest Transit or Minnesota Valley Transit Authority should contact their provider about route changes.
Metro Transit is a service of the Metropolitan Council. Customers boarded its buses and trains 77 million times last year, the highest annual ridership in 25 years.
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(Editors: For information call Bob Gibbons, director of customer services, 612-349-7509 or via e-mail at robert.gibbons@metc.state.mn.us)
