Transit Improvements

Blue and yellow bus with red trim at a but stop with passengers boarding.

Bus

Metro Transit continues to expand its offerings of fast, frequent bus rapid transit lines, including the METRO Orange Line, which travels along I-35W between downtown Minneapolis and Burnsville, and the METRO D Line, which opened in late 2022. Planning continues on the proposed METRO B Line (currently Route 21), METRO E Line (currently Route 6), METRO F Line (currently Route 10), METRO G Line (currently Route 62 and Route 68), METRO Gold Line, the state’s first bus rapid transit line to operate partially on its own roadway between downtown St. Paul and Woodbury, and the METRO Purple Line, which will connect communities between downtown St. Paul and northeast suburbs. 

Metro Transit also is always looking for ways to improve its transit service, which includes making routes faster and more reliable, through its Speed & Reliability Program and Better Bus Route projects.  

White bus with blue and yellow accents.

Network Now

Network Now is an effort to reshape the Metro Transit network to meet the needs of today – given the changes in travel patterns since 2020 – and for the coming five years. We need customers to help us prioritize and asses this work. Learn more about Network Now and how to get involved.

Block of granite carved into the form of a Great Northern locomotive drive wheel.

Facilities

Learn more about Metro Transit’s work to beautify its facilities through Public Art, improve the customer experience through its Better Bus Stops program, expand its capacity by opening a new North Loop Bus Garage, and improve existing transit facilities like the Brooklyn Center Transit Center. You can get involved in your neighborhood and Adopt-A-Stop.

White, blue and yellow light rail car at Government Plaza.

Light Rail

Work is already under way on construction of the METRO Green Line Extension (also known as the Southwest Light Rail Project) between downtown Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. Planners are also working on the proposed METRO Blue Line Extension (Bottineau Transitway) between downtown Minneapolis and northwest communities.

Thumbnail map of future METRO lines.

Long-term plans

Metro Transit is looking to the future while it serves the Twin Cities region today. We are guided by our Strategic Plan. See the long-range planning work done in our Central Corridor Transit Study, Network Next, Downtown St. Paul Study, Annual Service Equity Report, Highland Park Transit Service Study, Service Improvement Plan, and the Metropolitan Council’s Transportation Policy Plan, a document that guides regional transportation planning through 2040.

Other initiatives

Better Bus Route – Route 17