Metro Transit May Expand Bus Lines

Metro Transit has announced they may begin expanding their system of express bus lines, known as Bus Rapid Transit. The express lines, which in their truest form are intended to function a bit like trains on wheels, are proposed to augment the planned and under-construction light rail lines around the Twin Cities, including a line going down Nicollet Avenue in Southwest Minneapolis.

The transit agency is in the process of setting up two lines down Interstate 35W and down Cedar Avenue, and it hopes that any more new lines will help dramatically increase ridership.

But there's a bit of a downside to the Bus Rapid Transit lines, from the perspective of Southwest residents. They don't stop all that often. While a proposed Nicollet Ave. line would likely stop more often than the 35W line, it wouldn't be nearly as frequent as the Number 18 bus that currently travels the road. Which would you prefer?