The Metro A Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The A Line operates primarily along the Snelling Avenue corridor and travels through the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, and Roseville. From the Blue Line in Minneapolis, the line travels past Minnehaha Park, through the Highland Village commercial area, past Macalester College, and connects to the Green Line near Allianz Field. The line continues through Saint Paul, past Hamline University, before traveling through Falcon Heights and Roseville, where the line passes the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Har Mar Mall, and terminates at Rosedale Center.
While lacking dedicated bus lanes typically associated with bus rapid transit, there are many features that improve the speed and reliability of the line. Specially designed buses stop only at stations spaced roughly apart. Buses have wider doors and allow entry at all doors because fares are collected in advance at machines located at stations. Station shelters also have light, heat, and real-time arrival signs. Many intersections along the line have transit signal preemption, which in combination with all of the other features of the line, improved travel times in the corridor by 25%.
Transit has operated in the corridor since 1905 when streetcars began operating until they were replaced by buses in 1952. In the mid-2000s the Met Council began making plans for upgraded urban core local bus routes, which it called arterial bus rapid transit. A study completed in 2012 found the A Line corridor to be the best suited in the region for the first project and after delays and construction setbacks, the line opened in 2016 at a cost of $27 million. Ridership in the corridor has increased roughly 33% since opening. In 2018 the A Line carried an average of 4,860 passengers per weekday, and by 2030, the A Line is expected to carry 8,000 passengers per day.
Route description
The A Line's southern terminus is at the 46th Street station of the Metro Blue Line. At the station are connections to four Metro Transit routes and two Minnesota Valley Transit Authority routes. A Line buses travel east along 46th St, cross Minnesota State Highway 55, also known as Hiawatha Avenue, before passing near Minnehaha Park. East 46th St becomes Ford Parkway and crosses the Mississippi River on the Intercity Bridge which is just north of the Mississippi River's Lock and Dam No. 1. The line enters the city of Saint Paul on the bridge, and then passes by the former Twin Cities Assembly Plant which in 2020 was being redeveloped into housing and commercial properties. Ford Parkway continues through the Highland Village commercial node in Highland Park, Saint Paul where there are connections to seven Metro Transit bus routes, until reaching Snelling Avenue next to the Highland Park Tower. After turning north on Snelling, the passes Macalester College in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood before crossing Grand Avenue and Summit Avenue. While traveling through the Merriam Park neighborhood of Saint Paul the line passes a future connection to the Metro B Line near Selby Avenue. After crossing Interstate 94, the line passes Allianz Field and the Midway shopping area in the Hamline Midway neighborhood. A connection to the Green Line at the Snelling Avenue station along University Avenue is available. The line continues north past Hamline University, the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and the Como Park neighborhood of Saint Paul. The line enters Falcon Heights, Minnesota and passes Larpenteur Avenue before passing by the Har Mar Mall in Roseville, Minnesota. The line crosses Minnesota State Highway 36 before terminating at Rosedale Center where there are connections to eight Metro Transit bus routes.
Service
The A Line runs every 10 minutes during daytime service on weekdays and weekends, with reduced frequencies of up to 30 minutes in the early morning and late evening. Route 84, which previously served the Snelling Avenue corridor, was retained with 30-minute service to provide connections from the corridor to other areas. When the Green Line opened in 2014, just the Snelling Avenue portion of the route had 10-minute service. After the opening of the A Line, the entire corridor had 10-minute service which was part of an increase of 63,300 to 80,900 annual service hours. Estimated annual operating costs are $4.2 million.