Discontinued Bus Routes

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DanPatchToget
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Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby DanPatchToget » January 14th, 2017, 1:05 pm

I kept some Metro Transit brochures from when the Hiawatha Line (Blue Line) opened and noticed some routes that no longer exist or have changed quite a bit and was wondering if anyone has information on them (specific routing, frequency, why it was cut, when it was cut, etc.).

Route 586-Served the 82nd Street Transit Center, and I'm assuming was an express to downtown Minneapolis.

Route 557-At South Bloomington Transit Center you can see this route on one of the signs but its very faded.

Route 27-Used to serve the 46th Street and 50th Street light rail stations.

Route 539C-Served between Normandale Village and the Best Buy HQ via Nesbitt and 90th/Poplar Bridge Rd. Routing was changed to its current form where buses operate on France Avenue. Metro Transit's Service Improvement Plan calls for bringing back this route as Route 536.

Route 24-Don't know anything about it except that it served 46th Street Station.

Route 35-Don't know anything about it.

Route 442/445-Used to serve Mall of America.

Route 111-Used to serve Mall of America.

Route 681-Looks like an express between Southwest Station, Uptown Transit Station, and downtown Minneapolis.

Route 631-Looks like an express between Southwest Station, Southdale, and Best Buy HQ.

mplser
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby mplser » January 14th, 2017, 1:09 pm

681 sounds great. wonder why it doesn't exist anymore

MSPtoMKE
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby MSPtoMKE » January 14th, 2017, 11:44 pm

Route 27 used to extend beyond Lake St. Station and followed what is now the southern part of Route 7, except that it used to deviate to serve 50th St. Station as well. Route 7 ended at Lake St.

Route 24 was what is now the southern half of Route 9.
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Tcmetro
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Tcmetro » January 15th, 2017, 3:13 pm

586 - Can't say I remember too much about this line. The 82nd St Transit Center used to be a decently major transfer point, but I think a lot of the network in that area was restructured in the early 2000s, even before the Central-South restructure in 2004.

557 - this line operated on Lyndale Ave, Diamond Lake Rd, and 35W between 106th St and Downtown. Lyndale is a much less residential street than others that host express buses (552, 553, etc) and was a poor performer. It is now part of routes 535 and 558. I am pretty sure that the (pre-renumbering) predecessor was the 47, which was an all-day express line along with the 46.

27 - the first version of the 27 dates to 2004, when the light rail opened. It used Park/Portland - 26th/28th - Cedar - Lake - Minnehaha - 46th - Hiawatha - 50th - 34th. South of Lake St was taken over by the 7 in the late 2000s. The Park/Portland and 26th/28th was a new connection. The Minnehaha service was part of the 7 before 2004, and operated to the Airport and Mall of America. Park/Portland service was restructured into the 9 (which replaced the 24) and the 26th/28th service was modified to be a crosstown line.

24 - Short lived line started in 2004 that was a combination of different routings. For a short period (IIRC, about six months) the 24 replaced the north end of the 22 on Lyndale Ave. At that time the 22 only operated between Downtown and the VA Med. Ctr. On the south end the 24 replaced the 20, with some slight modifications. The south end of the 24 is what the 9 is today, with the exception of the service changing from Hiawatha to Minnehaha between 42nd and 46th.

The 20 was a route that operated from Wirth Park to Highland Park along Plymouth - 1st - Downtown (6th and 7th I think) - Washington - Cedar - Minnehaha - 25th - 36th - 34th - 42nd - 46th - Highland Pkwy. The terminal was either at the Ford Plant or at Kenneth, I can't remember.

539C - IIRC, this route used Normandale Bl. not Nesbitt. The Poplar Bridge/Normandale routing was replaced with a double-back on 98th and France because of low-ridership. I really doubt that the route change saves any time, though. This was done recently, maybe a few years ago with some other streamlining of 539 service.

35 - There were a lot of lines that used the 35 moniker. 35A, CEL, BD, GZ, HJK, L, M, NTVY, P, R, S, etc. There was also the 41, 44C, 44E, 37W, 46, 47, 80 and maybe some others. These were all 35W express lines. A=135, CEL=554, BD=133/146, HJK=578, GZ=552/553, L=can't remember, M=460, NTVY=464, 465, etc, P=Airport express, R and S were MVTA lines I think.

There was also a St. Paul set of 35s. I think there were the 35AB, C, DE. These all operated to Maplewood/White Bear Lake.

Other express lines were 33 (Roseville), 38 (Blaine), 94 (BCD was between the downtowns, AE, etc were Brooklyn Pk/Ctr, Maple Grove, MSY were St. Paul-Woodbury), 87 (Edina), 86 (Crystal), 91/92/93 (Plymouth), 55 (now 755/756), 63 (643/663), 64 (664), 65 (665), 67 (667/668), 68 (now discontinued 568), 70 (670), 71 (671), 72 (672/674), 73 (673), 74 (652), 75 (675/676/677), 78 (678, now 675), 36 (270), 95E (Energy Park crosstown), 95MU (452). All the University buses used to be numbered 52, Campus Shuttles were 13, SW Transit was 53 and 54.

442 was replaced by Red Line north of Apple Valley. 445 (And 437) MOA service replaced by Red Line.

111 - used Hwy 77 between 66th St and MOA. Probably eliminated because of low ridership.

681 used to travel between SW Station - Golden Triangle - Southdale - Minneapolis. Early 2000s it was rerouted to Uptown. Replaced by the 684 at some point. 681 was a reverse commute bus.

631 was created in 2004 to connect SW Station to Best Buy. Was later modified to service Southdale with all day service. Cut back at various points of time, replaced with 684 and 694. The 54C was the predecessor to the 631, and was replaced with the 590 in 1999 (joint venture between MT and SWT). The 590 was shortened to MOA-West Bloomington in 2001 or 2002 and was renumbered to 540. All day service was added on 540 in Dec. 2004.

DanPatchToget
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby DanPatchToget » June 22nd, 2017, 10:27 am

Not the best quality but here are a few videos of 1960s and 1970s Twin City Lines/MTC route maps and schedules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-jXWvVlNAw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymPvrxzGr5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2dRDTVIuqc

DanPatchToget
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby DanPatchToget » October 25th, 2017, 9:31 am

While driving I noticed a park & ride sign at Girard Avenue & Old Shakopee Road/98th Street in Bloomington. In terms of access its nice if you're going westbound, but if you had to go eastbound all I can say is good luck. Its next to a rail line, but as far as I know there have not been any considerations of light rail on these tracks so I assume its just a coincidence. Probably one of numerous underutilized surface lots rented to Metro Transit for a cheap and easy park & ride, but its no longer in use. Here is the street view-https://www.google.com/maps/@44.8267305 ... 312!8i6656

DanPatchToget
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby DanPatchToget » July 17th, 2021, 5:13 pm

Anyone know what bus route served this shelter and when it was last used?

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9531186 ... 6656?hl=en

DanPatchToget
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby DanPatchToget » March 7th, 2024, 11:30 am

While checking out the light rail construction in the Opus area I drove by a sign that I'm guessing was used by bus drivers for navigating (wouldn't be surprised considering how much of a confusing mess the road system is in that area). There wasn't a good and safe spot for me to take a picture so here it is on Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.904428, ... &entry=ttu

Considering Route 70 is currently a local route in the east metro, this sign must be pretty old, and I'm curious where that and the Route 12 C and G branches went.

Bakken2016
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Bakken2016 » March 7th, 2024, 12:20 pm

While checking out the light rail construction in the Opus area I drove by a sign that I'm guessing was used by bus drivers for navigating (wouldn't be surprised considering how much of a confusing mess the road system is in that area). There wasn't a good and safe spot for me to take a picture so here it is on Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.904428, ... &entry=ttu

Considering Route 70 is currently a local route in the east metro, this sign must be pretty old, and I'm curious where that and the Route 12 C and G branches went.
I have passed this along to Metro Transit's sign department to get it removed to prevent confusion.

DanPatchToget
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby DanPatchToget » March 7th, 2024, 12:33 pm

While checking out the light rail construction in the Opus area I drove by a sign that I'm guessing was used by bus drivers for navigating (wouldn't be surprised considering how much of a confusing mess the road system is in that area). There wasn't a good and safe spot for me to take a picture so here it is on Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.904428, ... &entry=ttu

Considering Route 70 is currently a local route in the east metro, this sign must be pretty old, and I'm curious where that and the Route 12 C and G branches went.
I have passed this along to Metro Transit's sign department to get it removed to prevent confusion.
Do you know anyone who might know about those old(er) bus routes, mainly where they went?

Korh
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Korh » March 7th, 2024, 7:05 pm

Route 12 has been dead for like 6-7 years iirc, G branch used to be an am westbound from downtown that used to make a full run down mainstreet in Hopkins, C either served United health or Opportunity Partners I'm not sure which, the circles have always been a mess. not sure what the 70 is about, maybe the opt outs or niche transit shuttle had a route that served one of the campuses.

DanPatchToget
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby DanPatchToget » March 7th, 2024, 7:35 pm

Speaking of the Opus area, around 10 years ago I remember a reverse commute route between Opus and downtown. It was either an express or limited-stop service, and there was only one trip per weekday. An oddball route to me, but maybe an employer contracted with Metro Transit to provide it. I know it wasn't Route 146 since that had multiple trips per weekday and I think it only ran in peak direction. The number for this route was something like 468, and it stayed around longer than I expected but still got removed long before the pandemic.

While I'm on the subject of bus routes intended only for suburban corporate campuses, I also remember Route 565, which was an express service between the Knox Avenue Park & Ride in Richfield (next to the Best Buy HQ) and Target's Northern Campus in Brooklyn Park. That one didn't last a year.

Eoin_Urban
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Eoin_Urban » March 7th, 2024, 9:47 pm

Speaking of the Opus area, around 10 years ago I remember a reverse commute route between Opus and downtown. It was either an express or limited-stop service, and there was only one trip per weekday. An oddball route to me, but maybe an employer contracted with Metro Transit to provide it. I know it wasn't Route 146 since that had multiple trips per weekday and I think it only ran in peak direction. The number for this route was something like 468, and it stayed around longer than I expected but still got removed long before the pandemic.
Route 568 ran down Nicollet Ave to Opportunity Partners in Opus. It was gone by about 2016.
Route 152 was a Southdale to UMN route that ran on local streets from Southdale up until about 46th Street. It was largely replaced by Route 579.
Both can be seen on this bus stop map at 47th and Nicollet in 2011.
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9176886 ... ?entry=ttu

Eoin_Urban
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Eoin_Urban » March 7th, 2024, 10:03 pm

Route 612 and Route 12 are heavily intertwined. It used to be most Route 12 trips went from around Opus/Hopkins to downtown via Hennepin Ave. Eventually more trips started just going between Opus and Uptown. Those shortline trips were numbered Route 612 in 2017. Before the pandemic, Route 612 mostly operated in the off-peak and on weekends between Opus and Uptown while during the weekday peaks, Route 12 operated between Opus and downtown via Hennepin Ave (but did not stop between Uptown Transit Station and Franklin Ave.) By December 2021, all of the remaining Route 12 trips were converted to Route 612 trips.

Here is an old route map that shows branch letters.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160909200 ... 012Map.pdf
You can see from this August 2019 system map how Routes 12 and 612 largely overlap with Route 12 going a little further in some locations
https://web.archive.org/web/20190922013 ... system-map

Korh
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Korh » March 7th, 2024, 10:03 pm

I also remember one that started from Normandale Community College that ended at Opus and no it wasn't that weird trolly bus that went back and forth from SW station.
Took it once or twice but not sure if its still a thing

Tcmetro
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Tcmetro » March 8th, 2024, 6:45 pm

The Mpls. 70 was separated into the 665 and the 670 in the early 2000s (2001 if I recall correctly). The branch that became the 665 served Hopkins and OPUS, while the branch that became the 670 served Hwy 7, Excelsior, and Orono.

At some point in the 2010s the 665 was reorganized into the 664, while the 670 was reorganized into the 667.

The 568 (previously Mpls. 68) was a single round-trip route from Downtown Minneapolis to Opportunity Partners in OPUS. It used Nicollet, 50th, and Vernon. It was replaced by a branch of the 46, then eliminated. Opportunity Partners is a nonprofit that gives employment to those with disabilities.

The SW Transit route that used trolleys between OPUS and Normandale was the 631. That one went through a number of changes and reroutes over the years.

Bakken2016
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Bakken2016 » March 11th, 2024, 9:11 am

While checking out the light rail construction in the Opus area I drove by a sign that I'm guessing was used by bus drivers for navigating (wouldn't be surprised considering how much of a confusing mess the road system is in that area). There wasn't a good and safe spot for me to take a picture so here it is on Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.904428, ... &entry=ttu

Considering Route 70 is currently a local route in the east metro, this sign must be pretty old, and I'm curious where that and the Route 12 C and G branches went.
I have passed this along to Metro Transit's sign department to get it removed to prevent confusion.
The sign has been taken down, it now lives in my transit sign collection.

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angrysuburbanite
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby angrysuburbanite » March 11th, 2024, 11:23 am

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7882818 ... &entry=ttu
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7883365 ... &entry=ttu

I found these bus stop signs in Shakopee when I was walking through a week or two ago. I compared their locations to the 497 downtown Shakopee route, and neither seem to be along the route. What route could these have been for?
just one more lane will fix it

Tcmetro
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby Tcmetro » March 11th, 2024, 12:00 pm

Shakopee Transit put these stops in for the 496 local route back in the late 2000s, maybe around 2008. They actually put the city seal over the T logo when they installed the signs.

MVTA took over Shakopee Transit in 2015 and split the route into the 497 and 499.

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angrysuburbanite
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Re: Discontinued Bus Routes

Postby angrysuburbanite » March 11th, 2024, 12:44 pm

It must be confusing from a rider's perspective to have clear signage and benches for a route that no longer exists, and absolutely no signage for the current routes. Keep up the good work, MVTA.
just one more lane will fix it


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