MN: Metro Transit’s Gold Line turns 1. Here’s what riders have to say.

Last year, more than 430,000 rides were taken between Woodbury and downtown St. Paul on Metro Transit’s new Gold Line bus rapid transit service, according to the Metropolitan Council.

“I think that is something that is very, very exciting and shows that there was an actual need in the east metro for this,” said Deb Barber, a Met Council member and Transportation Committee chair.

Sunday marks one year since Metro Transit’s Gold Line went into operation. Its purpose is to provide people with more options for travel to their key destinations from Woodbury to downtown St. Paul, Barber said. The bus runs every day from around 5 a.m. to midnight with service every 10 to 15 minutes on weekdays and 15 to 30 minutes on weekends, according to Metro Transit.

The bus drives most of its route on a dedicated lane, marked in red, called a guideway. No other vehicles are allowed on the guideway and that helps the bus deliver a more speedy commute. The Gold Line is the first and only BRT in Minnesota to have its own guideway, according to Barber.

“So the Gold Line was introduced to the 41,000 people who live along the corridor to try and connect them to things like jobs and destinations, and ultimately to the larger metro system,” Barber said.

Gold Line buses are more than 60 feet long, ADA accessible and include bike racks along with trash and recycling bins. The stations have real-time departure signs so riders know when the next bus will arrive, along with ticket vendors, heaters, security cameras and emergency phone systems.

Riders pay in advance at the station, so they can enter the bus at any door instead of lining up and paying one by one as they board, helping to speed the process. People in wheelchairs also can roll right onto the bus without driver assistance.

Fares are $2, which includes transfer to other Metro Transit routes for up to 2½ hours. A $1 fare is available for youth, seniors and Medicare card holders. Find more information at metrotransit.org/fares.

Park and Ride facilities are available at the Sun Ray Station in St. Paul, Helmo Station in Oakdale, Queens Station in Woodbury and Woodlane Station in Woodbury.

Barber said community members have shared with her how they’ve taken the Gold Line to Minnesota Wild games, as a part of their work commute or to go shopping.

“People are appreciating the option to be able to take it, whether it’s all the way into the city or somewhere along the line,” Barber said.

Of the Gold Line’s 16 stations, the busiest eastbound stops in 2025 were at Fifth and Cedar streets in downtown St. Paul, which is also served by the Green Line light rail, and Smith Avenue and Fifth Street, near United Hospital and the Catholic Charities Higher Ground shelter.

The westbound stations with the most boardings were Sun Ray in St. Paul and Woodlane Drive in Woodbury, according to Metro Transit.

So what do riders have to say about the Gold Line?

College student and Woodbury resident Tiffany Omoarebun said she takes the Gold Line and the light rail to get to her classes daily.

“There’s not a whole lot of people on it, at least when I use it, which is nice,” she said. “It’s also cleaner than other buses because it’s new.”

Omoarebun said her total commute to school is close to an hour long. Before the Gold Line, she said she’d take two buses and the light rail. Though the time difference hasn’t changed drastically, the Gold Line does shave off a bit, she said.

“Public transportation is convenient,” she said, adding that she enjoys reading during her rides.

She said she hasn’t had any issues riding the Gold Line, although toward the evening, when she takes the bus home, “sometimes there are sketchy people,” something she said she tries to be aware of but does not deter her from the overall positive experience.

Humberto Garcia Munoz lives in St. Paul and rides the Gold Line to his retail job in Woodbury six days a week, he said.

“I ride it because it’s faster than the 323 (bus), and it comes through every 15 minutes,” Garcia Munoz said.

Garcia Munoz said riding the Route 323 bus to his job was close to a 40-minute commute, and since taking the Gold Line, his ride is between 10 and 15 minutes long. A big bonus, he said, is that he doesn’t have to wake up as early to get to work on time.

In the mornings, Garcia Munoz said there are typically between two and five people riding the bus with him to Woodbury, but in the evenings, as he gets closer to St. Paul, it really starts to fill. He said he enjoys the Gold Line but has noticed that the stations in St. Paul aren’t as clean as the ones in Woodbury.

Woodbury resident and University of Minnesota student Jonah Colon said he’s been riding the Gold Line for close to six months. He enjoys taking public transportation, he said, especially due to its reduced environmental impact.

“I take the Gold Line from the Maplewood Station in front of Sun Ray, and I take it all the way down to downtown St. Paul, and then I take the Green Line through the East Bank (station in Minneapolis),” Colon said.

His total commute is close to an hour long, he said.

“I’d recommend public transportation to a lot of people, but the Gold Line in particular — I’ve always enjoyed this ride because it’s got (station) heating, which has been very useful over the winter, nice seating and it feels very comfortable,” Colon said.

Colon said there are usually fewer people on the Gold Line in his early morning rides to school, but he notices more get on around noon, especially near the Sun Ray Shopping Center.

Lower ridership than estimated

Ridership estimates for the Gold Line during planning and construction were outlined to be close to 6,000 riders per weekday, but that was a pre-pandemic estimate, Barber said. She said because the route itself is still new, it’s no surprise that ridership was lower.

According to Metro Transit, Gold Line ridership started out around 1,000 to 1,200 riders per weekday a year ago and grew to a peak of about 1,700 riders per weekday last fall.

In comparison, the A Line on Snelling Avenue delivers between 3,000 and 4,500 rides a day (closer to 6,500 during the Minnesota State Fair) and the new B Line on Selby and Marshall avenues has logged 9,000 to 11,000 rides a day.

“The biggest challenge is that it’s a new transit market, and it always takes some time to build that into a new market, to have people make it a part of their daily life,” Barber said. “It will continue to grow over time, but it does take that first piece to get people out on the transit system.”

Despite the lower numbers, Barber said more than 400,000 rides in the first year is a clear sign of success, and the system is headed in the right direction.

“I think the main takeaway is that our goal at the Metropolitan Council and Metro Transit is to really be thoughtful about how we’re building out the networks to make sure that we’re building something that is connected and can take you to as many destinations as possible,” Barber said. “With that, the Gold Line is one of those key lines that takes you out to the east metro.”

Extending to Minneapolis

Barber also said the Gold Line rolled out on time and under its initial $505 million budget. First-year operating cost calculations have not yet been completed, according to Metro Transit.

The Gold Line also connects with Woodbury’s Metro Micro service, and in 2027 the BRT will extend to downtown Minneapolis, adding close to an additional 10 miles to the route.

Barber said the extension will replace Route 94, which saw 80,000 more rides in 2025 compared to 2024.

“I think that Gold Line extension rolling in through both centers of the two big cities will be really, really critical and will help make this line successful into the future,” Barber said.

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