Not enough people are riding SouthWest Transit's local route 638 that runs between Shakopee and Eden Prairie, so the transit agency is ending the service.
The route serving destinations such as Eden Prairie, Eden Prairie Center, Hennepin Technical College, Amazon Corporation, St. Francis Medical Center, downtown Shakopee and the Marschall Road Transit Station will end on March 6, the transit agency said.
SouthWest said it will replace the fixed-route service with Prime. That's its Uber-style door-to-door on-demand rides to take riders to jobs, transit stations, shopping, entertainment, appointments and anywhere else they want to go. Riders use their smartphones or call SouthWest's dispatch to arrange a ride. Then one of SouthWest's 12-passenger vans is sent to pick them up. Prime operates from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays.
For more about Prime, see the Drive's January story.
Also beginning the week of March 6, SouthWest will discontinue Friday service on Route 687, which runs between SouthWest Village Station, SouthWest Station, Mills Church Park and Ride and Target's north campus in Brooklyn Park.
The reason: low ridership. Service on Monday through Thursday will continue.
In another change, the Mills Church Park and Ride served by Route 687 will close on Wednesday. Instead, the bus will pick up and drop off at the Minnetonka Boulevard and County Road 60 (Baker Road) park and ride across the street.
