Metro Transit and transit stakeholders celebrated the opening of the 18-mile D Line on Dec. 3. The bus rapid transit (BRT) service will connect two major transit centers – Mall of America to the south with Brooklyn Transit Center while servicing downtown Minneapolis, Richfield and Bloomington. This is the fifth BRT line to serve a region that plans to open 12 BRT lines by 2030.
The D Line largely replaces Route 5, which is Minnesota’s busiest bus line, where one in four residents who live along the D Line corridor do not have access to a vehicle. Metro Transit says limited Route 5 service will continue.
“This is a big day for the thousands of people who rely on Route 5 to get to work, school, appointments and other destinations,” Metropolitan Council Vice Chair Molly Cummings said. “Our riders are voting with their feet, and they’re telling us they want the kind of all-day service and high-quality stations the D Line provides.”
The Metro Transit D Line will feature the same advancements as previously opened BRT lines, including pre-boarding fare payment, stops spaced farther apart, bus lanes and technology to speed transit movement on the corridor and accessible stations with ticket machines, real-time signs, on-demand heat, light, security cameras and emergency call buttons.
On the D Line, 60-foot buses will arrive at stations every 10 to 15 minutes weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The next BRT lines scheduled to open are the Metro B Line on Lake Street and Marshall and Selby Avenues in 2024 and the Metro Gold Line along the I-94 corridor east of Saint Paul, which is expected to open in 2025.
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