Gillig Advantage 8005

Location: Snelling Avenue at University Avenue, St. Paul, MN
Operator of Vehicle: Metro Transit
Date of Photo: April 12, 2017

Six years ago this month, I rode the Metro A Line in Minneapolis and Saint Paul for the first (and to date only) time.  There are now two additional BRT routes in the Twin Cities, but this is the first one to have opened.  The A Line incorporates some standard features of bus rapid transit in order to provide improved trip times over the local bus service in that same corridor.  Most notably, these are priority signaling at intersections, off board fare collection, all door boarding, wider doors, and high profile station designs with level boarding, on demand heating during the winter months, and other features.  However, Metro Transit opted not to construct bus lanes in this corridor, saying that they would not significantly improve travel times.  Despite the lack of bus lanes, travel times along the A Line have decreased since the line first opened and ridership has increased.  Some even call the A Line the best bus route in the entire United States.  

Have you been on the A Line?  Do you have thoughts about what the best bus route in the United States (or somewhere else) might be?  How do you even determine what the best bus route is?  Leave a comment below in response to any or all of these questions!

For more photos of Metro Transit buses, please click here.