For transit users, motorists, business owners and anybody else who has thoughts about Metro Transit's plans for a rapid bus line that would run along Hennepin Avenue, the time to speak up is now.

The Metropolitan Council, which oversees the transit agency, last week approved a Recommended Corridor Plan for the proposed E Line, which would run between the University of Minnesota, downtown Minneapolis and Southdale in Edina. The plan outlines the route buses will follow and identifies where stops and stations will be placed.

The public can provide feedback online at metrotransit.org/e-line-project or submit comments by email at eline@metrotransit.org or call customer relations at 612-373-3333 by April 8.

"It's definitely not a formality," said Kyle O'Donnell Burrows, a senior planner in Metro Transit's Bus Rapid Transit division.

Suggestions could ultimately shape the final plan for the $60 million project before Metro Transit brings it to the Met Council this spring for final approval, he said.

Metro Transit received 561 survey responses and emails when the agency solicited feedback after it rolled out its first version of the project. That resulted in two platforms being shifted from one side of an intersection to the other, and a third that was moved to a different block, O'Donnell Burrows said.

"We are hoping for a robust response," he said.

The E Line would largely replace Route 6, which before the pandemic provided about 8,000 rides a day. The 13.3-mile line would run primarily along France Avenue, Hennepin Avenue, 4th Street, and University Avenue from Southdale Transit Center in Edina to the Green Line Westgate Station in Minneapolis.

Service would run about every 10 minutes seven days a week during the day and most of the evening. The E Line will stop at 34 locations along the route.

Rapid buses operate like light-rail trains on wheels, stopping only at stations and platforms about every quarter- to half-mile apart. Riders pay fares on the platform before boarding and can board or exit buses through the front or back doors.

Route 6 buses are among some of the slowest. During rush hours, buses caught in traffic move as slow as 8 mph. With fewer stops and faster boarding, trips are expected to be 20% faster compared to current trip times, Metro Transit said. Similar results have been achieved on the A and C lines, the agency's first two rapid bus lines.

If approved, construction on the E Line is scheduled to begin in 2024, and service would start in 2025.

Free rides for St. Pat's Day

After a two-year hiatus, Miller Lite is bringing its Free Rides Program back on St. Patrick's Day.

Revelers on Thursday can ride Metro Transit and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority buses and trains at no cost from 6 p.m. through the last trip on each route.

The program has provided more than 1.2 million rides since on St. Patrick's Day since it debuted in 1997.