Metro Transit’s newest rapid bus line, running from Edina to U of M, is ready to debut

After years of planning and construction, all that’s left is to do is start the engines on buses that will roll on Metro Transit’s newest rapid bus line on Saturday.

Free rides, a ribbon cutting and a “Passport Adventure” are part of the pomp and circumstance to open the new E Line, which will run between Southdale Center in Edina and the University of Minnesota, passing through downtown Minneapolis on the way. The line will replace most of Route 6 with faster trips and more frequent service.

A celebration starting at 10 a.m. at Minneapolis Community and Technical College will be held to officially launch the line.

“It truly caps an exciting year for Metro Transit. It’s an opportunity to improve service,” said Lesley Kandaras, the agency’s general manager. “We are excited to see BRT [bus rapid transit] expand.”

The E Line is the third such line to launch this year. The Gold Line running from St. Paul to Woodbury opened in March. The B Line running from southwest Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul, primarily on Lake Street and Selby Avenue, opened in June.

With the addition of the E Line, Metro Transit has eight rapid lines in operation with three others on the drawing board. Next in the pipeline is the G Line on Rice and Robert streets in St. Paul with an anticipated opening in 2027 and 2028. The H and Bronze lines in the east metro are in the early planning stages.

Rapid bus lines debuted in 2016 in Roseville with the A Line on Snelling Avenue and are a major component of the agency’s Network Now, an initiative to bring frequent reliable all-day service on core urban routes, increase ridership and enhance mobility.

The A, C, D, Orange and Gold lines have all seen ridership rise slightly since January, the data shows. As of October, BRT trips account for 26% of Metro Transit’s total ridership, an agency spokeswoman said.

BRT routes stop less often than traditional routes. Passengers prepay fares at stations featuring heated and lighted shelters, security call boxes, cameras and other amenities “to improve the waiting experience,” Kandaras said. BRT is “a service riders will grow to expect.”

And one she hopes will attract riders.

The $64 million E Line will use 18 buses to provide service between 4:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. daily on 4th Street and University Avenue near the U campus, the newly rebuilt Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis and France Avenue on the south end of the route. Local Route 6, which saw about 3,800 weekday rides a day in November up until Thanksgiving week, will be retired.

A new Route 36 will run on Xerxes Avenue between the Uptown Transit Center and Southdale to replace the segment of Route 6 not served by the E Line.

Ambassadors will be deployed to direct riders to new stops. From Saturday through Dec. 13, riders can pick up an E Line passport and have it stamped as they visit businesses, libraries and cultural attractions along the route. Prizes will be awarded.

In conjunction with the E Line’s opening, Metro Transit will enact its quarterly schedule changes Saturday. Among them is the debut of Route 827, one of two routes that will ultimately replace the Northstar rail service ending in January.

Route 827 will run every 30 to 60 minutes between Anoka and downtown Minneapolis with stops at the Foley park-and-ride in Coon Rapids, the Northtown Mall Transit Center and Anoka-Ramsey Community College.

New Route 725 also will debut with service between Osseo and Blaine. New Route 345 with service between Woodbury and Bloomington, including stops at the Newport Transit Station, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Mall of America, will start Saturday.

With the additions, Metro Transit will end the year with 15% more service on the streets than it provided in 2024.