Known mainly for offering express bus service on motor coaches between the southwestern suburbs and downtown Minneapolis, SouthWest Transit recently launched a new Chanhassen Connector in an effort to bring back some local service.
Route 692E will circulate through Chanhassen's downtown area four times an hour from 8:50 a.m. to just after 4 p.m. on weekdays throughout the summer. Buses will travel on a loop that follows Lake Drive, Powers Boulevard, W. 78th Street and Great Plains Boulevard.
The route will take passengers past key shopping and dining destinations such as Target, Cub Foods and Market Square, the city's library and large employers such as Emerson. It also will pass St. Hubert's Church and City Hall. It will stop at the Chanhassen Transit Station, where riders can connect with SouthWest's routes that serve Eden Prairie, downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.
"We are trying to re-establish some level of local service," said CEO Len Simich.
Over the past few years, Simich said SouthWest has had to cut local services in the three communities it serves, Chanhassen, Eden Prairie and Chaska, and use its resources to keep its express service strong and beef up service.
"There simply have not been additional dollars to keep both going at any significant level, and our growth has been in the express market," he said.
SouthWest does operate one local route in Eden Prairie, but it runs only one day a week. Although anybody can ride the "Shopping Bus," that is a route that runs on Tuesdays and is aimed at seniors. It runs between senior high-rises and shopping centers.
Last summer, SouthWest had a local route in Chanhassen, but it operated primarily north of Hwy. 5. Merchants on the south side of the highway, which splits the downtown, said they wanted to showcase the shopping opportunities, coffee shops and dining establishments on their side of the highway. So this year, SouthWest expanded the loop to circle south of Hwy. 5.
