Metro Transit’s Network Now Plan Puts New Transit Funding to Work

Thanks to a decade of advocacy from Move Minnesota, our allies, and legislative champions, Minnesota made history in 2023 by passing the most progressive transportation bill in the United States and securing unprecedented long-term funding for public transit in the Twin Cities. With these transformative resources secured, we called on Metro Transit to quickly initiate investments in better service, to plan and build transit to grow ridership, and to increase the frequency of major capital investments. 

Metro Transit’s recently-released Network Now plan starts to put those new dollars to work to improve service for current and future riders — but we need to speak up to ensure that the final plan supports high-impact strategies that make public transit more frequent, equitable, and reliable. 

Our staff worked with a team of amazing volunteers to analyze the draft plan’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities. With an overall focus on local and frequent service, Network Now makes significant progress toward a transportation system that prioritizes people, our climate and our communities. But it still needs changes to ensure our transit system more fully advances equity and is poised to adapt to the changing needs of riders. 

We know that improving public transit improves the lives of everyone in the region—saving families money, supporting our public health, protecting our climate, and giving us greater choice and freedom. With important changes and effective implementation, we look forward to Network Now making it possible for more people to drive less, take transit more, and get where they’re going more quickly and easily.

What is Network Now?

Recognizing the dramatic impacts of the pandemic on our transit system and the region’s workforce, Metro Transit began developing Network Now in 2023 to create a forward-looking plan that addresses previous service cuts, accounts for changes in commute patterns, and incorporates the expanded revenue from the new metro-area transit sales tax. The three-year plan will be finalized this winter, approved by the Metropolitan Council in early 2025 and will roll out in phases from 2025 through 2027.

Because Network Now is focused on near-term service priorities, it does not include everything we need for a great transit system—including plans to build new capital projects, electrifying the transit network, or long-term planning.

What we’re excited about

For decades, our transit system has been starved of resources, forced into a constant state of scarcity that has left many communities without quality service. Network Now introduces a new era of stability and progress.  

Making Use of New Resources

In our recent report on the impact of the new transit sales tax, we called on Metro Transit to quickly initiate investments in better service, and not wait for long-term planning processes to begin serving transit riders today. We’re excited to see Metro Transit taking that ask seriously, beginning to spend these resources to better serve the people who rely on transit every day.

Focus on More Local and Frequent Service

Network Now will improve frequencies on core routes, with an increase in High Frequency routes and more than doubling the amount of routes with service every 10 minutes or less at peak! There are also more bus rapid transit routes, more emphasis on local routes, and overall just more transit service! 

The plan begins adapting Metro Transit’s service model to both meet people’s changing travel patterns and emphasize the key role transit service plays in allowing people to get around within their communities. With greater frequency, it will be easier for riders of core routes to catch the bus when they need to, make connections, and not have to plan their days around the transit schedule. With greater frequency on intersecting routes, the whole network will work better for current and future transit riders.

The Network Now plan generally spreads service more evenly throughout late morning, afternoon, and early evening to adapt to these changing travel patterns. The plan also changes suburban service, making investments in frequency and crosstown connections on suburban local routes and putting focus on consolidating park-and-rides onto more limited routes that offer more frequent service throughout the day.

Strategically Expanding Micro Transit

Everyone should have access to mobility choices that get them where they need to go — regardless of age, ability, race or geography. Network Now plans eight new microtransit zones, where riders would have access to on-demand service. Microtranist is not a substitute for good fixed-route service, but integrating microtransit with frequent, reliable fixed-route service can create more comprehensive access, especially in areas where Metro Transit needs more information about potential ridership data to effectively plan routes. The microtransit zones will help people in North Minneapolis and suburban communities connect to regular and commuter routes, which is especially important for people who don’t drive.

What Needs Improvement

While there is a lot we support in the Network Now plan, Move Minnesota staff and volunteers identified several needed improvements as Metro Transit moves toward finalizing Network Now.

Further Advance Equitable Access

Network Now makes some strides toward equitable access, with Metro Transit beginning to address historic disproportionate service by expanding access for low-income riders, BIPOC riders, and riders without car access.

For instance: 

• More than 35% of residents who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the Metro Transit service area will be within a 5-minute walk or roll of transit that comes every 15 minutes or better, an improvement over current and pre-pandemic service.
• More than 40% of low-income residents in the Metro Transit service area will be within 5 minutes of transit that comes every 15 minutes or better,  an improvement over current and pre-pandemic service.
• The plan offers a nearly 25% increase of average access to jobs, and helps reduce disparities by prioritizing greater-than-average job access for people without a car.

These are improvements over the past and today—and an important first step. But, given that 50% of all transit riders will be within a 5-minute walk or roll of transit that comes every 15 minutes or better, these efforts fall short of providing service parity to marginalized community members. Our region and Metro Transit still have much to do to improve equity, and Metro Transit plans need to bring parity of access to High Frequency service to BIPOC residents and low-income residents.

Provide Consistent Frequency on Arterial Bus Rapid Transit (aBRT) Lines

All arterial bus rapid transit lines should operate at 10 minutes or less. METRO bus rapid transit lines promise fast, frequent service and should be the same across all aBRT lines so riders know what to expect. But Network Now proposes to open the upcoming METRO G line at 12-15 minute frequency; Metro Transit should improve frequency of the G Line to match the other arterial bus rapid transit routes and maintain this approach for other new arterial bus rapid transit routes going forward.

Expand Ridership with Longer Service Hours 

Public transit should allow and encourage people to meet most of their daily needs — whatever time of day or night they need to travel. Offering bus and train service more hours of the day—also known as span of service—enables Metro Transit to serve more riders, as well as a greater diversity of trips. Network Now has made some important strides in span by adding or improving weekend service on a dozen routes and making limited improvements to evening and early morning hours on a smaller handful of routes.

People work days, nights, and weekends, as well as want to travel around their community outside their workday or on their days off. Workers who staff stores, restaurants, hospitals, and entertainment venues don’t have the option to work from home and are directly impacted by a limited service span. Both Minneapolis and Saint Paul have recognized that the “9-5” office culture is no longer the center of downtown vibrancy and livability, and city leaders are aspiring to create “24/7” downtowns that balance work, recreation, and residential needs. 

Public transit is an essential urban infrastructure that has to support these shifts. We encourage Metro Transit to implement an improved span of service in evenings on one or more High Frequency lines. This will allow Metro Transit to gather current data about latent ridership demand across a longer span and better plan for increasing service span in the future.

Limit Branching for Better Service & Rider Experience

Taking transit should be easy and intuitive. That’s why routes with branches — where at some point some of the buses deviate (“branch”) from the main route — can be challenging. They reduce frequency on each branch because they run on alternating cycles; delays on one branch can impact other branches on the route; and they can be confusing for transit riders, especially new riders or people who ride a route infrequently. 

Network Now has no single approach to branches—it cuts some, maintains some, and adds some. Given their drawbacks, Move Minnesota recommends that Metro Transit limit branching as much as possible, such as peak-only branches that cover the busiest parts of a route as a way to add capacity and frequency. In general, fewer or no branches will support better service and rider experience.

Take Action

We need you to speak out as Metro Transit finalizes this plan! Overall, Network Now is a great step forward for our region’s transit system, and for current and future riders. Help us support the positive aspects of the plan and push for further changes.

SUPPORT:

• Transit improvements that prioritize frequent, local service.
• Taking steps to advance racial and economic equity.
• Strategic use of microtransit to expand service access to fixed routes, and gather data that can inform future route planning.

PUSH METRO TRANSIT TO:

• Bigger steps toward parity of access to High Frequency service for BIPOC and low-income communities.
• At least 10-minute frequency on all arterial bus rapid transit lines, including the new METRO G Line.
• Increased span of evening service on one or more High Frequency routes, which will serve riders who need it and help Metro Transit gather information for future span expansion.
• More work toward eliminating branches, which are confusing for riders and often impact quality of service.

Thanks to years of advocacy by Move Minnesota supporters and partners, our transit system finally has the resources to provide equitable, high-quality service to people across the region. Network Now is a necessary and exciting first step toward the transformation we need. 

Take a look at how the plan affects your route or neighborhood. Attend an information and comment session or share your feedback online by November 15. Together we are advancing  a transportation system that puts people, our climate, and our communities first.