The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, also known by the
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
MVTA, is a
public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
agency that serves seven communities in the southern portion of the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...
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.
MVTA was one of several transit agencies created by suburban communities in the Twin Cities who chose to "opt-out" of the regular route transit system operated by
Metro Transit's predecessor, MTC. The suburban cities decided to opt-out due to disputes over the value of transit service they were receiving in receiving compared to the amount of property taxes they were paying. The original service area consisted of six suburbs but has now grown to seven suburbs all located south of the central cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The agency's name refers to the
river valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
along the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
in the region.
The agency offers local buses through the communities and to select destinations north of the agency's service area, as well as express bus service to downtown Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
. Demand response transit service is also offered within select service area communities. Two regional transitways, the
Metro Orange Line and
Metro Red Line
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 i ...
, extend into MVTA service area but are operated by Metro Transit. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
History
The six cities of Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Prior Lake, Rosemount, and Savage voted to leave the MTC service area in 1989. In the prior year, the cities paid roughly $3 million in property taxes to MTC but only received $2 million in transit service in return. By opting out of the MTC system, they were allowed to spend 90% of the transit property taxes generated in their communities on transit service within their cities. Initially goals were to add additional trips on routes with one trip so that each route had at least 3 trips, and creation of a dial-a-ride service.
In March 1990, MVTA sought bids to operate their bus service, and in January 1991 routes began operating under MVTA branding while still being operated under contract by MTC. At first, no trip times or route changes were instituted but some changes were under consideration for spring or summer. At the time there were 3 routes to Saint Paul, and 6 routes to Minneapolis. After only six weeks of service, MVTA along with the other six opt-out communities rallied against budget cuts impacting their transit systems. The budget cuts were instituted by a state-wide budget decrease of 3% and passed down through the Regional Transit Board, which oversaw all transit operations in the Twin Cities. The budget cuts impacted all transit operations within the Twin Cities with opt-out communities losing $185,000 or roughly 5% of the total amount of money cut. At that time most opt-outs were operating under budgets that drew less than their 90% share of available transit property taxes.
After consultation with the Regional Transit Board's attorney, budget cuts were tabled with the understanding that the Regional Transit Board had overstepped it's authority to institute budget cuts and impinge on the independence of the opt-out communities.
While MVTA hoped to increase service in 1991, they were unable to because the existing amount of service provided by MTC covered the full budget allotment available from their transit property tax revenue. Between 1989, when independence from the MTC system was studied, and 1991, MTC added 19 round trips from MVTA communities for a total of 85 daily round trips. Service was provided by a fleet of 45 buses. While the service in 1989 cost around $2 million, the additional service covered the fully $2.9 million in revenue dedicated to transit within the MVTA service area. By April 1992, MVTA was operating 88 round trips and ridership for March improved from 67,200 to 76,700 year-over-year. MVTA served 1,470 riders each weekday by 1993, and offered suburb-to-suburb service with several of the five suburban only routes terminating at the recently built
Mall of America
Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...
. MVTA along with ten suburbs and Dakota County participated in a "High-Speed Bus Coalition" to study high speed transit service along freeways with feeder local bus service in 1993. Interstates 494 and 35W were both discussed as corridors for improved service. I-35W is the main thoroughfare between the communities and downtown Minneapolis and at the time was under consideration for a light rail line. While MVTA provided 1,085 parking spaces for riders throughout their system, 97% were full which led to the Regional Transit boarding funding projects to improve park-and-ride locations in Apple Valley, Burnsville, and Eagan. Demand for more spaces was projected as needing 300 more spaces in 1993 and 700 more spaces by 1996. A need for a 500 space park-and-ride lot in Burnsville by I-35W were identified but no timeline for construction had been established.
![Burnsville Transit Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Burnsville_Transit_Station.jpg)
A year later in 1994, the new park-and-ride lot in Burnsville near I-35W was slated for construction in that same year. The 550 space lot with room for expansion would quadruple the previous lot.
Burnsville Transit Station opened in 1995 and its combination of many parking spaces, indoor waiting area, space for additional businesses nearby was the first in the Twin Cities.
Other opt-out communities followed suit with construction of park-and-rides in Maple Grove, Plymouth, and Eden Prairie. MVTA would follow the same format of large park-and-ride lot with easy access to highways and space for additional businesses in facilities at
Apple Valley Transit Station
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 an ...
and
Eagan Transit Station
The Eagan Transit Station is a transit facility located in Eagan, Minnesota. Riders also hail from the nearby communities of Mendota Heights and Northern Rosemount. The Park & Ride lot has 750 parking spaces for bus passengers and retail employe ...
which both opened in 2001 and 2003 respectively.
In the mid 1990s, MTC had been renamed to MTCO and faced budget cuts which caused cuts in service and the need to raise fares. Opt-out transit providers like MVTA were largely immune from Metro Transit cuts because they did not rely on state and federal funding. In 1995 MVTA expected to provide 1.2 million rides and was the largest of the opt-out providers. An 18-day strike by
Amalgamated Transit Union
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a labor organization in the United States and Canada that represents employees in the public transit industry. Established in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, the un ...
in October 1995 suspended all commuter express routes. The commuter express routes were operated by MTCO under contract from MVTA. While transit ridership for MTCO declined after the strike, MVTA ridership increased by December 1995. The 5,130 rides provided each weekday in December were 55 percent more than four years ago when MVTA first started providing service.
A tweak in state law in 1996 allowed opt-out providers to directly levy their own taxes for transit rather than collect them through the Metropolitan Council. MVTA began operating an express bus route from Burnsville Transit Station to the I-494 strip in Bloomington and Edina. The route performed poorly, just as when MTC operated the same route but eventually eliminated it.
Service area and governance
![Regional Transit Authorities in the Twin Cities](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Regional_Transit_Authorities_in_the_Twin_Cities.png)
The MVTA service area currently includes the cities of
Apple Valley,
Burnsville,
Eagan Eagan may refer to:
People
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* James Eagan (1926-2000), American politician from Missouri
* John J. ...
,
Lakeville and
Rosemount in
Dakota County Dakota County may refer to:
*Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota
*Dakota County, Nebraska
Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...
; and the cities of
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
,
Shakopee
Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...
and
Prior Lake
Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis seated next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city lies south of the Minnesota River in an area ...
in
Scott County. MVTA also provides service from these areas to key destinations in the cities of
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, as well as the
Mall of America
Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...
in
Bloomington.
MVTA is governed by an eight-member board, each member representing the governing body of a member jurisdiction, plus one at-large member and several ''ex officio'' members.
In 2002, the
City of Prior Lake withdrew membership from the MVTA. Prior Lake rejoined and the city of
Shakopee
Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...
joined MVTA in September 2014 with service in those areas beginning in 2015.
In 2013, the MVTA starts providing service to
Lakeville, even though it is not a part of the company's service party.
Service
![MVTA bus at Marqutte Ave and 5th St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/MVTA_bus_at_Marqutte_Ave_and_5th_St.jpg)
MVTA's service is designed primarily to transport passengers from the residential suburbs within its service area to job and activity centers in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. While the majority of the agency's ridership is concentrated during peak periods of travel (rush hour), MVTA service operates seven days per week and up to 18 hours per day on some routes.
METRO Red Line
The
Metro Red Line
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 i ...
is a bus rapid transit line running along Cedar Avenue (State Highway 77/County Road 23) from the Mall of America to
Apple Valley Transit Station
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 an ...
. Due to extreme traffic congestion between Highway 62/Mall of America & County Road 42, enhanced public transit was needed. The METRO Red Line was chosen for the transitway as an alternative for regular drivers who want a faster way across the
Cedar Avenue Bridge. Additions for the new service include: The addition of many new stations and park & ride lots, and changes to existing bus routes & the addition of new local and express bus service. MVTA operated service on the METRO Red Line from opening day on June 22, 2013 until December 5, 2020 when
Metro Transit took over operations.
METRO Orange Line
In January 2005, MNDOT released their plans to improve transit service on the corridor in I-35W. Bus rapid transit was chosen as the preferred alternative. An inline transit station at
I-35W & 46th Street opened in advance of further changes to the corridor. Full bus rapid transit service was created as part of the
Metro Orange Line. The terminus of the route was built at
Burnsville Heart of the City station, across MN Highway 13 from
Burnsville Transit Station. An additional inline station was built at
I-35W & Lake Street and transit only exit lanes from I-35W directly onto the
Marq2 transit corridor
The Marq2 transit corridor is a north–south thoroughfare in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It consists of the parallel streets of Marquette and Second avenues in the downtown area. Each public streetway has two contraflow bus lanes ...
were created to serve buses from I-35W. Metro Transit is the primary operator of the line (with the MVTA being a project partner). Construction started in 2018, with the line opening on December 4, 2021.
Robert Street transitway
In 2007, Dakota County completed a study on the Robert Street Corridor. The modes of transit considered are
light rail transit,
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
and
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
. The MVTA communities of
Eagan Eagan may refer to:
People
* Daisy Eagan (born 1979), American actress
* Dennis Eagan (1926–2012), British field hockey player
* Eddie Eagan (1897–1967), American sportsman
* James Eagan (1926-2000), American politician from Missouri
* John J. ...
and
Rosemount are included in the south end of the corridor.
BlueXpress
BlueXpress was a public transit service operated by the two cities of
Prior Lake
Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis seated next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city lies south of the Minnesota River in an area ...
and
Shakopee
Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...
. It consisted of five bus routes, the 490, 491, 492, 496, and 498. In September 2014, the two cities reached a deal with the MVTA to merge their services. As of 1 January 2015, all former BlueXpress services and its five routes are now operated by the MVTA.
Connect
MVTA Connect is a
demand-responsive transit service. The service launched June 3, 2019 with service just in Savage and western Burnsville but has expanded over time. Service is offered 7 days a week and serves the cities of Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Rosemount, and Savage. The service is offered seven days a week with rides booked via a smartphone application. In January 2022, around 6,700 rides were taken using the service.
Bus routes
Notes
Routes 460, 465, 470, 472, 477, and 479 make stops at the
I-35W & Lake Street station
I-35W & Lake Street is a bus rapid transit station along the Metro Orange Line and planned Metro B Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It replaced an inconvenient pair of on-highway bus stops along the outside lanes of I-35W at Lake Street. The s ...
.
Route 436 offers service from the
46th Street METRO Blue Line Station to Ecolab, Boulder Lakes and Thomson Reuters in Eagan.
Route 440 offers rush-hour service to VA Medical Center.
Route 465 offers service from Burnsville to the South Bloomington Transit Center and the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
campus.
Route 475 offers direct service to both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Zoo.
Route 489 offers service from Union Depot in Downtown St. Paul to Ecolab, Boulder Lakes and Thomson Reuters in Eagan.
Route 490 offers service from Marschall Road Transit Station/Shakopee to the University of Minnesota.
Route 495 between Mall of America, Burnsville and Shakopee that started operating on August 20, 2016.
Local bus routes
*Orange LINK — (''Local Route'' — Burnsville to
Burnsville Heart of the City station on the
Metro Orange Line)
*Route 420 — (''Flex Route'' — Apple Valley to/from Rosemount)
*Route 436 — (''Local/Limited Stop Reverse Commute'' — Eagan to/from Minneapolis)
*Route 440 — (''Local Route'' — Apple Valley to/from Minneapolis)
*Route 442 — (''Local Route'' — Apple Valley to/from Burnsville)
*Route 444 — (''Local Bus Stop Route'' – Savage & Burnsville to/from Bloomington)
*Route 445 — (''Local Bus Stop Route'' — Eagan to/from Cedar Grove)
*Route 446 — (''Local Route'' — Eagan to/from Minneapolis
*Route 447 — (''Shuttle Route'' — Apple Valley to/from Burnsville)
Express bus routes
![Contraflow bus lanes on Marquette Ave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Contraflow_bus_lanes_on_Marquette_Ave.jpg)
*Route 460 — (''Express Route'' — Burnsville to/from Downtown Minneapolis)
*Route 465 — (''Express/Limited Stop Route'' — Burnsville to/from University of Minnesota)
*Route 470 — (''Express Route'' — Eagan to/from Downtown Minneapolis)
*Route 472 — (''Express Route'' – Eagan to/from Downtown Minneapolis)
*Route 475 — (''Express Route'' – Apple Valley to/from
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
)
*Route 477 — (''Express Route'' – Lakeville to/from Downtown Minneapolis)
*Route 479 — (''Express Route'' — Apple Valley to/from Downtown Minneapolis)
*Route 480 — (''Express Bus Stop Route'' — Apple Valley, Burnsville & Eagan to/from Downtown Saint Paul)
*Route 484 — (''Express Route'' — Eagan and Rosemount to/from Downtown Saint Paul)
*Route 489 — (''Limited Stop Reverse Commute'' — Downtown Saint Paul to/from Eagan)
*Route 490 — (''Express Route'' — University of Minnesota to/from Prior Lake & Shakopee)
*Route 493 — (''Express Route'' — Shakopee to/from Downtown Minneapolis)
*Route 495 — (''Express Route'' – Shakopee, Prior Lake to/from the Mall of America)
*Route 497 — (''Local Route'' — Shakopee)
*Route 499 — (''Local Route'' — Shakopee)
Transit facilities
![Eagan Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Eagan_Station.jpg)
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority operates several
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
facilities, often with
multistory parking ramps, indoor waiting areas, and transfer opportunities to other routes.
* Palomino Hills Park and Ride (1993)
*
Burnsville Transit Station (1995)
*
Apple Valley Transit Station
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 an ...
(1999)
*
Eagan Transit Station
The Eagan Transit Station is a transit facility located in Eagan, Minnesota. Riders also hail from the nearby communities of Mendota Heights and Northern Rosemount. The Park & Ride lot has 750 parking spaces for bus passengers and retail employe ...
(1999)
* Savage Park and Ride (1999)
* Blackhawk Park and Ride (2002)
* Heart of the City Park and Ride (2004)
* 157th Street Station (2006)
* Southbridge Crossing Station (2007, acquired from BlueXpress merger)
* Lakeville Cedar Park and Ride (2009)
*
Kenrick Avenue Park and Ride (2009, currently only serviced by Metro Transit)
*
Cedar Grove Transit Station (2010)
* Rosemount Transit Station (2012)
* Eagle Creek Park and Ride (2012, acquired from BlueXpress merger)
* Marschall Road Transit Station (2014, established during BlueXpress merger)
See also
*
Metro Transit (Minnesota)
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. Although Metro Transit is one of the smallest transit systems for a large met ...
*
*
List of bus transit systems in the United States
The following is a list of presently-operating bus transit systems in the United States with regular service. The list excludes charter buses, private bus operators, paratransit systems, and trolleybus systems. Figures for daily ridership, number ...
Notes
References
External links
Official website
{{Twin Cities Transit
Bus transportation in Minnesota
Minnesota transportation-related lists
Transportation in Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Transportation in Dakota County, Minnesota
Transportation in Scott County, Minnesota
Transportation in Minneapolis
Transportation in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Bloomington, Minnesota
Burnsville, Minnesota
Eagan, Minnesota
1990 establishments in Minnesota
Companies based in Minnesota
Transport companies established in 1990