It's now a whole lot easier for Minnesota Valley Transit Authority bus riders who pass through the Burnsville Transit Station to pay fares, buy tickets or add value to their transit cards.

On Tuesday, the station's new ticket vending machine went live.

"This is a good thing; it provides more flexibility," said transit agency spokeswoman Robin Selvig, who noted that many riders board buses before the center's customer service window opens at 8 a.m. and long after it closes at 4:30 p.m.

The transit center at 100 E. Hwy. 13 is the first in the MVTA system to have a ticket vending machine, but it might not be the last. The agency has identified other locations that it would like to install the machines.

Machines at the Cedar Grove Transit Station, which are operated by Metro Transit, sell tickets for the Red Line, the BRT line that runs along Cedar Avenue. Vending machines along the Red Line also are in operation at stops in Apple Valley at 140th and 147th Streets.