MnDOT adds more Greater Minnesota transit agencies to the Transit app

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) is strengthening its partnership with Transit app by giving residents across Greater Minnesota more ways to plan for and, in some cases, book and pay for public transit and intercity bus trips.

“This is a big step for Minnesota and for rural communities,” said MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger. “Transit agencies currently provide public transit services in all or part of all 87 counties in Minnesota, but many people are not aware of the services in Greater Minnesota or what their options are. This will allow residents and visitors throughout Greater Minnesota to see their options and plan trips now or months into the future.”

MnDOT says this expansion builds on efforts to help transit agencies make their services more accessible. To complete the upgrade, the agency tapped into nearly $500,000 in grant funding from the Minnesota Technology Modernization Fund.

Travelers can plan trips using the Transit app or the website. The agency notes that more than 20,000 Minnesotans are using the Transit app each month in Greater Minnesota, citing that prior to this recent expansion, only transit agencies in southern and western Minnesota were covered in the app.

The multimodal trip planning is powered by standardized transit data fed by transit agencies that is pulled into websites and apps so that travelers can plan trips statewide. MnDOT’s original pilot program started with 12 rural Minnesota transit agencies in March 2023. Researchers from the University of Minnesota studied the pilot phase and found that the transit agencies that used the Transit app saw a 4.2% increase in ridership compared to similar agencies that didn't have this technology.

“The Mobility as a Service platform is making Greater Minnesota transit resources visible in a way they were not before,” said MnDOT Emerging Mobility Unit Supervisor Elliott McFadden. “Minnesota is the first state doing this on a statewide basis. We’re proud to help connect people with transit options and strengthen our local transit partners.”

What’s next

MnDOT recently added six rural transit agencies to the Transit app:

• Paul Bunyan Transit
• Hubbard County Heartland Express
• Prairie Lakes Transit
• Prairieland Transit
• Three Rivers Hiawathaland Transit
• City of Winona Transit

The Department of Iron Range Resource and Rehabilitation will add funding for Arrowhead Transit, including goMarti service, in Northeast Minnesota this spring. 

A list of the 15 public transit agencies MnDOT will add to the Transit app by this summer can be found on its website.