Metro C Line (Minnesota)

The METRO C Line is a bus rapid transit line in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis, Minnesota operated by Metro Transit.[3] Part of Metro Transit's bus rapid transit network, the C Line features fewer stops and modern bus stops with "train-like" amenities, including distinct stations and off-board fare payment. Additionally, the C Line features the Twin Cities' first battery-electric buses, built by New Flyer of America.[4] The route operates from the Brooklyn Center Transit Center along Penn Avenue and Olson Memorial Highway, terminating in downtown Minneapolis. The route is analogous to the existing Route 19 and is projected to increase ridership on this corridor from 7,000 to 9,000 by 2030.[5] Eventually, in coordination with the opening of the Bottineau Blue Line extension and pending the completion of accompanying stations, part of its route will shift south to Glenwood Avenue from Olson Memorial Highway.[3]

METRO C Line
A northbound bus on Penn Avenue in North Minneapolis.
Overview
SystemMETRO
OperatorMetro Transit
GarageFred T. Heywood
VehicleNFI XD60, NFI XE60
StatusOperational
Began serviceJune 8, 2019
PredecessorsRoute 19
Parts of 6th Ave N, Glenwood, and Penn Streetcars
Route
Route typeBus rapid transit
LocaleMinneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota
StartBrooklyn Center Transit Center
EndDowntown Minneapolis
Length8.4 mi (13.5 km)[1]
Stations20 (4 station pairs downtown)
Service
LevelDaily
FrequencyEvery 10 minutes
Journey time31 minutes
Operates6:00am – 1:00am
Ridership6,850 (2019 avg. weekday)[2]
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Construction on the C Line began in March 2018 and began revenue service on June 8, 2019.[6][3] The week of November 25, 2019, the C Line surpassed one-million rides after only five months of operation. Average weekday ridership was 30% higher than Route 19 ridership before C Line construction. Average Saturday and Sunday ridership has increased 25% and 40%, respectively.[7]

Route

The northern terminus of the C Line is at Brooklyn Center Transit Center in Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Station facilities include an indoor waiting area, restrooms, bike racks, and ticket vending machines and Go-To card readers for off-board fare collection.[8] Brooklyn Center Transit Center also has rapid chargers for battery-electric New Flyer buses, but as of October 15th, 2019 electric buses have been pulled from service due to charging problems at their garage.[9] From there, the C Line begins traveling southbound along Xerxes with one stop at 56th Avenue, adjacent to the former site of Brookdale Mall. The line then continues south on Brooklyn Boulevard with a station at 51st Avenue before entering the City of Minneapolis. The C Line turns south onto Penn Avenue, stopping the next block at 43rd Avenue. From there, the line stops every .25 miles (0.40 km) to .5 miles (0.80 km) serving North Minneapolis along Penn Avenue. At Olson Memorial Highway, the C Line turns east to head towards downtown Minneapolis with four station stops along the highway.

The route enters downtown along 7th Street, which splits into one-way pairs; 8th Street southbound and 7th Street northbound. Southbound, three BRT stations are currently open, at Ramp A/7th Street Transit Center and 8th Street at Nicollet Mall and at 3rd/4th Avenues. Stations on 8th Street at Hennepin and Park Avenues will fully open at a later date, with buses still stopping there on request.[10] After the final stop at Park Avenue, buses continue to 11th Avenue where they layover and await the return trip northbound.

Heading northbound from downtown, the C Line begins its route at Park Avenue Station located under Hennepin County Medical Center and continues north on 7th Street. Stations are at 3rd/4th Avenues, Nicollet Mall, and Hennepin Avenue. These stations are Metro Transit's standard bus rapid transit stations with off-board fare collection, real-time information, and near-level boarding. After exiting downtown, the C Line follows the same route north to Brooklyn Center Transit Center.[11]

6th Street operations

Upon opening day, 8th Street in downtown Minneapolis was being reconstructed.[12] As a result, southbound buses were detoured onto Glenwood Avenue until 6th Street where they turned right and continued with temporary stops at Hennepin Avenue, Nicollet Mall, 3rd Avenue, and Park Avenue. These temporary stops do not include real time information or fare-collection systems, and riders could not board C Line buses at these stops without a valid transfer. In July 2019, another temporary stop southbound was added in downtown Minneapolis at 7th Street on Glenwood Avenue, analogous and a short distance to the Ramp A/7th Street Transit Center.

Buses were permanently routed to 8th Street December 7th, 2019.[13]

Future Glenwood Avenue alignment

In the future, the Bottineau LRT Extenstion of the METRO Blue Line will run down Olson Memorial Highway between downtown Minneapolis and Penn Avenue. At the start of light rail service, the C Line will move from Olson Highway to Glenwood Avenue about a quarter mile south.[14] The goal is to balance transit service across multiple corridors while retaining similar travel times.[15] In 2016, it was identified that there would be four stations on Glenwood Avenue at Morgan, Lyndale, Royalston, and between Cedar Lake Road and Dupont Avenues. At Penn Avenue and Olson Highway, a new station will be constructed south of Olson on Penn, moving it from its temporary stop location on Olson.[16]

As an interim service on Olson Memorial Highway, three stations (Penn, Humboldt, and Bryant) were not built as normal C Line stations. Shelters are standard Metro Transit shelters and there is no near-level boarding, however, concrete pads were constructed the entire length of a bus. Real time information is provided at these stations, but they lack the service's distinct pylon markers. These stations still have off-board fare collection vending machines and Go-To card readers.[17]

Stations

Station characteristics
A typical C Line station at 7th St & 3rd Ave.

Stations on Metro Transit's bus rapid transit service are unique and have enhanced features to differentiate them from local bus stops. Station shelters follow a "kit-of-parts" design so they can be easily identified and used throughout the system.[18] There are three different station sizes–small, medium, and large–and the size chosen depends on daily boardings and site context. Stations have lighted canopies, on-demand heating, security cameras and emergency telephones, benches, and bike parking. Pavement in boarding areas are treated with a darker shade of concrete to delineate them from the sidewalk. Ticket vending machines and Go-To card readers are located on platforms for off-board fare collection, speeding up the boarding process and reducing bus dwell time. Each station has a pylon marker that provides real-time bus arrival information and station identification. Illuminated signage at the top of the station blinks when a bus is one minute away. Curbs at stations have tactile warning strips and are raised 9 in (23 cm) from the road surface, facilitating near-level boarding to speed up and make boarding easier.[19]

Penn, Humboldt, and Bryant stations on Olson Memorial Highway are temporary until the Blue Line extension beings service and use standard Metro Transit shelters, but still have real time information and off-board fare collection. Upon opening, the five southbound stops on 6th Street in downtown Minneapolis were drop-off only until the route permanently moved to 8th Street when construction was complete. These stops had no features or amenities due to their temporary use.

List of stations
Station[11] Neighborhood(s) City Opened Connections Notes
Brooklyn Center Transit Center Centennial Brooklyn Center June 8, 2019 Routes 5, 19, 22, 717, 721, 722, 723, 724, 761, 762, 801
Xerxes & 56th Avenue Routes 5, 19, 22, 717, 721, 724, 761
Brooklyn & 51st Avenue Happy Hollow Routes 5, 19, 22, 32, 721, 724, 761
Penn & 43rd Avenue Victory Minneapolis Route 19
Penn & Dowling Cleveland, Folwell, Victory, Webber-Camden Route 19
Penn & 36th Avenue Cleveland, Folwell Route 19
Penn & Lowry Cleveland, Folwell, Jordan Routes 19, 32 Hosted opening day celebrations, with two inaugural buses running to Brooklyn Center and to Downtown Minneapolis.[20]
Penn & 29th Avenue Jordan Routes 19, 32
Penn & West Broadway Jordan, Willard-Hay Routes 14, 19
Penn & Golden Valley Willard-Hay Routes 14, 19, 30
Penn & Plymouth Near-North, Willard-Hay Routes 7, 19, 32
Olson & Penn Harrison, Near-North, Willard-Hay Routes 19, 755
Olson & Humboldt Harrison, Near-North Route 19
Olson & Bryant Sumner-Glenwood Route 19
Olson & 7th Street North Loop Routes 5, 19, 22, 755
Ramp A/7th Street Transit Center Downtown West December 7, 2019 Many downtown routes Southbound service only
7th Street & Hennepin 8th Street & Hennepin June 8, 2019 Under construction Many downtown routes
7th Street & Nicollet 8th Street & Nicollet December 7, 2019 Many downtown routes, Nicollet Mall
7th Street & 3rd/4th Avenue 8th Street & 3rd/4th Avenue Elliot Park Many downtown routes
7th Street & Park 8th Street & Park Under construction Many downtown routes Southbound buses let passengers alight at 8th Street & Chicago

Fleet

The C Line has fourteen 60-foot articulated buses assigned to the route. Six buses are diesel XD60 models and eight are battery-electric XE60 models, the first electric articulated buses in Minnesota.[21] These buses were manufactured by New Flyer Industries in Saint Cloud, Minnesota and have three doors and wider aisles for faster boarding.[22][23] The fleet is also equipped with transit signal priority, Quantum wheelchair securement, free WiFi, and USB chargers. Each bus was given a unique name by communities along the corridor.[24]

Due to issues with charging equipment at garages, all eight electric buses were temporarily removed from service in July 2019 and then again in October.[25][26] Because of this, three Gillig BRTPlus buses ordered for the A Line were temporarily placed into service on the C Line from July 2019 through January 2020.[27] The electric buses returned to service late-October the same year.[28]

Additionally, five New Flyer XD60 buses were retrofitted with their fareboxes and Go-To card readers removed and repainted into METRO branding to be used on the C Line and A Line as necessary.[29]

History

he Metropolitan Council, the metropolitan planning organization for the Twin Cities, completed a 2030 Transit Master Study for the region in 2008 which identified arterial bus network corridors and encouraged further study of arterial bus rapid transit projects.[30] The council set the goal of doubling transit ridership by 2030 in their 2030 Transportation Policy Plan and identified implementing arterial bus rapid transit as a method of increasing ridership.[31] Metro Transit began study of 11 corridors for their potential for arterial bus rapid transit in 2011-2012.[32] Those 11 routes served 90,000 riders per weekday, which was close to half of the total ridership for urban routes. Ridership on implemented routes was predicted to increase 20 to 30 percent after the first year of opening. Corridors were evaluated on capital and operating costs, potential ridership, and travel time savings. At the time, an opening for the first BRT line was hoped to open in 2014.[31] The Penn Avenue corridor was not selected in this initial evaluation of 11 corridors in 2011-2012 because planning for the Bottineau LRT proposed Penn Avenue as possible alignment but an addendum to the study released in January 2013 added the Penn Avenue corridor as well as extended the Chicago Ave corridor to become what is now the D Line project. Both the Penn Avenue corridor and the future D Line corridor were selected as the next two priorities behind the A Line and the Riverview Corridor, which was then named the B Line.[33]

The A Line was selected as the first corridor for implementation in 2012, with the line opening in 2016. After the B Line project was postponed so the corridor could undergo further study as the Riverview Corridor,[34] the C Line was selected as the region's second arterial bus rapid transit project in 2014. At the time Metro Transit believed construction could begin in 2016. The corridor already had strong transit usage with buses making up 2% of vehicle traffic on Penn Avenue but carrying 26% of people. There were however limited bus shelters or benches despite Route 19 carrying 7,000 daily riders.[35]

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References
  1. "Addendum to the Arterial Transitway Corridors Study" (PDF). metrotransit.com. Metro Transit. January 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  2. "Transit Stops Boardings and Alightings" (XML). gisdata.mn.gov. Metropolitan Council. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  3. "C Line Project - Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  4. "New rapid bus line to include battery-electric buses - Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  5. "C Line Fact Sheet" (PDF). Metro Transit.
  6. "Construction officially begins on C-Line rapid bus". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  7. Komarek, John (25 November 2019). "METRO C Line surpasses 1 million rides". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  8. "Brooklyn Center Transit Center - Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  9. "Challenges don't change our commitment to electric buses - Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  10. "Quarterly Service Changes and Bus Operator Staffing Update". metrocouncil.org. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  11. "C Line Route Map" (PDF). www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  12. "8th St Reconstruction". www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  13. "Quarterly Service Changes and Bus Operator Staffing Update". metrocouncil.org. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  14. "C Line: Potential Long-Term Glenwood Realignment Study" (PDF). www.metrotransit.org. June 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  15. "C Line: Long-Term Glenwood Realignment Recommendation" (PDF). www.metrotransit.org. September 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  16. "c-line-realignment - Metro Transit". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  17. "Final C Line Station Plan" (PDF). www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  18. "A Line (Snelling) Bus Rapid Transit Technical Advisory Committee Committee Meeting #6" (PDF). www.metrotransit.org. April 28, 2014. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  19. "BRT Station Characteristics". www.metrotransit.org. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  20. Pan, Henry (6 June 2019). "Your Guide To C-Line Opening Day Events". streets.mn. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  21. "Metro Transit puts electric buses into service on new C-Line". KSTP. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  22. Steiner, Katie (8 June 2019). "Metro Transit Debuts Electric C Line Bus, Providing Connection For Underserved North Minneapolis". Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  23. "The New C Line: A Reason to Celebrate & A Sign of What's Possible". Move Minnesota. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  24. Bell, Demetairs; Bruce, Howard (13 May 2019). "Metro C Line Update". Metropolitan Council. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  25. Moore, Janet (19 July 2019). "Metro Transit's first electric buses temporarily removed from service". Star Tribune. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  26. "Metro Transit: Electric buses removed from service while issues resolved". KSTP. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  27. "Metro Transit (Minnesota) 8013-8015". cptdb.ca. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  28. "Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Transportation Committee". Metropolitan Council. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  29. "Metro Transit (Minnesota) 3420-3449". cptdb.ca. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  30. "2030 Transit Master Study". Metropolitan Council. August 8, 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  31. Dornfield, Steven (October 21, 2011). "Could bus rapid transit increase ridership 30 percent in the Twin Cities?". MinnPost. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  32. Roth, Katie (October 22, 2013). "Arterial Bus Rapid Transit in the Twin Cities" (PDF). Presentation at Railvolution. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  33. "Addendum to the Arterial Transitway Corridors Study" (PDF). Metro Transit. January 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  34. Melo, Frederick (July 22, 2014). "Metro Transit delays rapid bus line from St. Paul to Mall of America". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  35. Roper, Eric (September 9, 2014). "Penn Avenue rapid bus line may open sooner". Star Tribune. Retrieved 21 July 2020.

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