Dear Neighbor,
For the past decade or more, a healthy and robust debate has taken place over the need, cost, sighting, safety and efficiency of light rail transit. However, overlooked in that debate has been the role an effective bus service should play in providing transit services to Minnesotans.
Northwest suburban residents have access to two of the finest suburban bus systems in the country with Maple Grove Transit and Plymouth Metrolink offering high quality, affordable bus service to downtown Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota and multiple stops in each suburb.
Beginning on January 19, 2016, that high quality service is getting even better. On that date, commuters in Maple Grove, Plymouth, Hopkins, Eden Prairie and Shakopee will have access to the state's first Suburb-to-Suburb Transit Service. This bus service, created from a bipartisan law I was proud to support earlier this year, will run along Highway 169 and Interstate 494 and offer commuters connecting service from the Maple Grove Transit Station, Station 73 in Plymouth and Marschall Road Transit Station in Shakopee.
Maple Grove and our neighboring western suburbs are home to a number of outstanding businesses that provide good-paying jobs and help spur economic development in our state. Suburb-to-Suburb Transit has the potential to serve employees and businesses both large and small throughout our community, and I am pleased that it will be available as a viable alternative for people who work and live in the northwest and western Twin Cities suburbs.
The Suburb-to-Suburb Transit Service plan includes 20 trips in both southbound and northbound directions during the peak morning and afternoon rush hours, and will be operated by four suburban transit services: Maple Grove Transit, Plymouth Metrolink, SouthWest Transit and the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA).
Peak fares will be $2.25 per trip with additional options to connect to other routes. More information, including route maps and schedules can be found at http://bit.ly/1OxNR1d or via email to info@S2S494.com.
Suburb-to-Suburb bus service is a more efficient and a much less costly alternative than light rail lines that cost billions to construct and serve passengers only along fixed rail lines. It is my hope the Maple Grove to Shakopee Suburb-to-Suburb bus service is the wave of the future, a future that will provide riders more flexibility and taxpayers more value.
Should you need assistance over the holidays, my office is available to help. My direct line is 651-296-7806. My email address is rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn and my mailing address is Room 459 State Office Building, 100 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Happy New Year to you and your family,
Joyce