Metro Transit Enhances Twin Cities BRT Service with New Flyer Buses

New Flyer of America Inc. has announced that the Metropolitan Council of Minneapolis has exercised options for six heavy-duty, sixty-foot Xcelsior clean diesel transit buses (or 12 equivalent units).

The buses will be operated by Metro Transit. These buses will operate along Metro’s new C-line, a bus rapid transit route.

“New Flyer is proud of its long-term relationship with Metro Transit,” said Wayne Joseph, president, New Flyer of America. “Minnesota is home for both of us, and we are proud to support community growth and economic development by enhancing public transit with advanced transportation solutions built in our own back yard.”

Rapid bus service brings better amenities, faster service, and a more comfortable ride. The C Line is a part of the Penn Avenue Improvements Project and is scheduled to open in 2019, offering service with sixty-foot buses running every ten minutes between downtown Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center.

“The Twin Cities are experiencing economic and population growth with an expected 700,000 new people coming into the area by 2040,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “BRT and projects like the C Line are essential to the long-term vitality of the Twin Cities.”

Metro is one of the country's largest transit systems, with 130 bus routes covering seven Minnesota counties. Metro plans to connect 200,000 people a day to almost half a million jobs across the region with a new rapid bus network. Ridership along Route C alone is expected to grow to 9,000 rides a day by 2030.