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The Metro A Line is a bus rapid transit line in the Twin Cities, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit. The A Line operates primarily along the Snelling Avenue corridor and travels through the cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, and Roseville. From the Blue Line in Minneapolis, the line travels past Minnehaha Park, through the Highland Village commercial area, past Macalester College, and connects to the Green Line near Allianz Field. The line continues through Saint Paul, past Hamline University, before traveling through Falcon Heights and Roseville, where the line passes the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Har Mar Mall, and terminates at Rosedale Center.
While lacking dedicated bus lanes typically associated with bus rapid transit, there are many features that improve the speed and reliability of the line. Specially designed buses stop only at stations spaced roughly .5 miles (0.80 km) apart. Buses have wider doors and allow entry at all doors because fares are collected in advance at machines located at stations. Station shelters also have light, heat, and real-time arrival signs. Many intersections along the line have transit signal preemption, which in combination with all of the other features of the line, improved travel times in the corridor by 25%.
Transit has operated in the corridor since 1905 when streetcars began operating until they were replaced by buses in 1952. In the mid-2000s the Met Council began making plans for upgraded urban core local bus routes, which it called arterial bus rapid transit. A study completed in 2012 found the A Line corridor to be the best suited in the region for the first project and after delays and construction setbacks, the line opened in 2016 at a cost of $27 million. Ridership in the corridor has increased roughly 33% since opening. In 2018 the A Line carried an average of 4,860 passengers per weekday, and by 2030, the A Line is expected to carry 8,000 passengers per day.
- ^ Kerr, Drew (February 11, 2019). "Light rail, Bus Rapid Transit lines set annual ridership records". Metro Transit. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020.