Nearly 400,000 people rely on Metro Transit in the Minneapolis-St.Paul area as its the largest transit network in the State of Minnesota.

Metro Transit Gillig Advantage 

Type: Public

Union Representation: Metro Transit employees are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005

Fleet Size: 679 Low Floor Transit Buses, 169 Articulated Buses, 60 Highway Coaches, 86 Light Rail Vehicles, 6 Heavy Locomotives paired with 18 Rail Coaches

Routes: 132 Bus Routes, 2 Light Rail Lines, 1 BRT Express Route, 1 Commuter Rail Line

Manufacturer and Powerplant: The bulk of Metro Transit's fleet consists of the Gillig Advantage and older Gillig Phantom models. Metro Transit awarded a new contract to Gillig for its newer Gillig BRT units which will be used for Express bus service. High Volume routes demand use of articulated buses and Metro Transit makes use of the New Flyer D60LFR and New Flyer XD60 in those situations. The Fleet is mixed with older units being diesel powered and all new vehicles being ordered with Hybrid technologies. Metro Transit also placed an order with New Flyer for several New Flyer Xcelsior XDE units to replace the oldest buses in the fleet. Metro Transit purchased the Siemens S70 and Bombardier Flexity Swift Light Rail Vehicles to service its two lines.

Metro Transit Bombardier Flexity Swift Light Rail Vehicle

Metro Transit Go-To Card and Reader

Fare Collection: The Contactless Card Payment System in the Twin Cities is known as Go-To Card. Metro Transit initially wanted the card payment system to be ready in 2003 after hiring Cubic Transportation Systems to install the network. Metro Transit suspended its contract with Cubic after delays forced the project to be put behind schedule. The Cards and readers were not made available until 2007 after many software issues. The System uses technology from Phillips and has variants for Students and Seniors.

Metro Transit Gillig BRT

Livery and Registration: In The 2000s the previous livery was the tradtional white backdrop and line pattern. The Bus and Light Rail Fleet have received an updated look with colorful patterns of Yellow, Red and White on a Blue backdrop. Light Rail Vehicles use Gray instead of White. Metro Transit Buses are issued license plates from the State of Minnesota however do not wear them for identification, a function served by the vehicle's fleet number. Metro Transit does sell the sides and front for advertising space.

Metro Transit Gillig BRT

Innovations: Despite harsh winter conditions faced yearly Metro Transit's safety record is nearly 5 times higher than the national average making it one of the safest systems in the Country. Metro Transit also uses the "T" symbol found on other Transportation systems in the Country and in Europe. The MBTA in Massachusetts and the Metro in Stockholm also use the "T" Symbol. The symbol was created to help people quickly identify public transit in dense urban downtown areas. During heavy traffic buses are allowed to use "Bus Only Shoulders" which allows them to bypass congestion however their speed is limited to 15 MPH in this situation. The system houses 28 major hubs to better distribute service across the area.

Metro Transit On The Move