Tcmetro Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 There's some new schedules posted on MVTAs website for Saturday. They haven't posted a summary but I did notice: 442X is now hourly and stops on Cedar Grove Pkwy in front of the mall (but not at the transit station). 442Y is gone. 443 is gone. 447 is restructured to run from Apple Valley to Mystic Lake along CR 42, Hwy 13, and CR 21. Service is every half-hour, daily. I still would like to see the 444 increased to 30 minute service daily and with longer night hours. Also, would be great to have all trips extended to Savage P&R again. The new 447 route is a really good addition to the network, I definitely would have used that one back when I lived in the area. Hope it does well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted February 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 I agree, this new 447 routing looks very useful for connecting across the area. No surprise with the loss of the extra 442 and 443 services. 444 was split up originally due to the difficulty of meeting timepoints while scheduling within the consistent :X/:Y after the hour scheduling requirement MVTA uses. Burnsville Center ate too much time on each run so they went to every other trip service to Savage or the mall. Looking at it though I think relocating the Burnsville Center stop and then continuing all runs to Savage again might be a better solution now. Here's a quick doodle on the current 444 variants in the BC area. Basically get rid of the dual routing in the area and long loop around to the southeast of the mall, and run the route through the northwest end of the mall instead. (blue line) Throw a stop somewhere on the lot circular lane near Macy's perhaps. This would also bring back 30 minute frequency service to the Target plaza. Alternately just dump the mall service and run everything via Burnhaven Dr. (lime lines, also late night/early AM routing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcmetro Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 Given that Sears is now closed, it would make sense to move the mall stop by Macy's. I recall that the stop (at least in mid-late 2000s) was by Applebee's. The mall moved the stop by Macy's due to traffic a few years later. Shortly after that it was moved to the south entrance between JC Penney and Sears, and eventually banished to the parking lot. The mall is in pretty rough shape right now so I don't think traffic is a concern anymore, but most mall owners seem to want nothing to do with transit stops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp2ena Posted March 6, 2021 Report Share Posted March 6, 2021 MVTA is cleaning house! 2003 Low Floors being auctioned: 4341 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2003-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010928 4343 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2003-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010927 4344 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2003-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010925 2005 Low Floors being auctioned: 4577 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2005-Gillig-Transit-Bus/lotInformation/60010924 4578 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2005-Gillig-Transit-Bus/lotInformation/60010929 4580 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2005-Gillig-Transit-Bus/lotInformation/60010926 2007 Low Floors being auctioned: 4728 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2007-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010930 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted March 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2021 On 3/5/2021 at 7:32 PM, hp2ena said: MVTA is cleaning house! Figures, I was expecting those would pop up soon! I'll miss those 2003 and 2005 Gilligs, those things were good runners. MVTA certainly got their money worth out of them. Heck, they outlived the 2004 and 2006 D40LF and technically the 2012 LFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpDownAcross38 Posted April 7, 2021 Report Share Posted April 7, 2021 On 3/5/2021 at 5:32 PM, hp2ena said: MVTA is cleaning house! 2003 Low Floors being auctioned: 4341 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2003-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010928 4343 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2003-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010927 4344 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2003-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010925 2005 Low Floors being auctioned: 4577 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2005-Gillig-Transit-Bus/lotInformation/60010924 4578 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2005-Gillig-Transit-Bus/lotInformation/60010929 4580 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2005-Gillig-Transit-Bus/lotInformation/60010926 2007 Low Floors being auctioned: 4728 https://faheysales.proxibid.com/2007-Gillig-Low-Floor-Bus/lotInformation/60010930 Update that page a few weeks back? Is 4579 confirmed retired? Just now, UpDownAcross38 said: Update that page a few weeks back? Is 4579 confirmed retired? few weeks back** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp2ena Posted April 7, 2021 Report Share Posted April 7, 2021 11 hours ago, UpDownAcross38 said: Update that page a few weeks back? Is 4579 confirmed retired? few weeks back** 4579 doesn't appear to be listed in the roster I got from them in November. So it may be retired. Do you wanna follow up? I got the roster spreadsheet from Dan Rudiger, his e-mail address is drudiger[at]mvta.com. Copy the ED too: lwynder[at]mvta.com. Say you're requesting the data under Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statute Chapter 13. You shouldn't be charged for the request (because I wasn't). And you don't have to say why you're requesting the spreadsheet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpDownAcross38 Posted April 8, 2021 Report Share Posted April 8, 2021 10 hours ago, hp2ena said: 4579 doesn't appear to be listed in the roster I got from them in November. So it may be retired. Do you wanna follow up? I got the roster spreadsheet from Dan Rudiger, his e-mail address is drudiger[at]mvta.com. Copy the ED too: lwynder[at]mvta.com. Say you're requesting the data under Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statute Chapter 13. You shouldn't be charged for the request (because I wasn't). And you don't have to say why you're requesting the spreadsheet. Sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted May 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2021 Route changes starting tomorrow May 15th: https://www.mvta.com/news/mvta-schedule-changes-scheduled-for-may-15/ Changing the 444 to directly serve TCPO is interesting. I have to wonder if it's a discreet attempt to swipe back more ridership from the RED? 438 will be returning but without reservation stops, also slowly adding back more express service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcmetro Posted May 14, 2021 Report Share Posted May 14, 2021 They should send the regular 442 buses to stop at the outlet mall like the 442X and 444. I've always felt that the Cedar Grove median freeway station was a big expense for relatively little benefit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted July 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2021 Two potential service re-design scenario draft plans have been posted on the MVTA website under a survey link. Scenario 1 - more direct, higher frequency, less coverage Scenario 2 - more coverage, less direct, less frequency From skimming through both plans my initial thoughts are that both seem like a step backwards in some ways. It seems like some of these proposed routes are just randomly doodled lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcmetro Posted July 8, 2021 Report Share Posted July 8, 2021 Here's some of my thoughts on Scenario 1: - the new 420 is a good idea, IMO. - the new 440 idea seems pretty good. Getting rid of service east of Eagan TS is not really a good idea, IMO. Any east-west Eagan line should extend to Inver Hills College. - the new 442 seems like it will run empty all day. - branched 444 is strange. Given that the Burnsville Center is on its last legs, the current A/B service could be consolidated. - 446 to Cedar Grove is an interesting concept. I can't imagine the south end of the current route does well, so this might be a good change. - 447 to Burnsville TS is a good idea. This route will do well as an Orange Line feeder. I think they should keep the routing through Prior Lake instead of going down 42 & 21. - They may be overestimating the impact of Covid on the express routes, the proposed service levels seem low. - The loss of the 464 and 479 is not terribly surprising, but that would essentially mothball two park and rides. - 474 is not a good idea. That bus will probably be empty most of the time. - 494 and 498 routes probably won't do well either. These kind of routes are trialed every few years and never last. - 497 and 499 should just be combined in some way. Shakopee is small enough to get away with one route in my opinion. - The Southwest local lines all seem like they'll be bad performers. The 621 will probably do the best. - Strange choice to keep the SW expresses stopping at Southwest Station once the Green Line opens. - Scenario 2 just seems to have all sorts of weird compromises and the concepts seem really bad overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted October 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2021 MVTA is potentially getting 2 more Gillig 40' off contract 19P122 https://metrocouncil.org/getdoc/a695de35-2d0b-41cc-9830-f68a194458ab/BusinessItem.aspx Additionally the MVTA will be getting some CMAQ funding for an Orange Line feeder route project https://metrocouncil.org/getdoc/4e6ab4a2-e66a-412b-92ea-0407ab7fb049/BusinessItem.aspx ^Seems they're a bit behind the ball on this with the Orange Line opening coming up either in December* or March, but at least there's some sort of plan. Service reductions on select routes were implemented October 15th. Notably the 438 and rather redundant 442X have been replaced by the new Connect option and deferring to the Red Line. https://www.mvta.com/news/trip-reductions-take-effect-monday-on-several-routes/ Additionally some trips on express routes have been eliminated. I've also observed a few 2007 Low Floors still roaming about. *Edit: Orange line opens with 12/4 changes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted November 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 I found this buried in the News section on the MVTA site, not sure why it wasn't showing on the main page. I'll just quote the thing in case it gets shuffled around. Source (MVTA.com) Quote MVTA November Service Change includes new Orange LINK route Nov 1st, 2021 11:49 am Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will implement a service change Nov. 20 that will feature changes to several routes as well the launch of a new Orange LINK (Route 425) designed to serve the newly built Metro Orange Line Heart of the City station. The Orange LINK will connect riders to the new Orange Line service scheduled to begin in December. Notable destinations on the Orange Link route include Burnsville City Hall, Fairview Ridges Hospital, Burnsville Center Mall, and Burnsville Transit Station. Trips will operate on 30-minute frequencies on weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in both directions. New residential areas in Burnsville will now have additional access to MVTA connecting routes as well as the Orange Line. Limited trip reductions are also planned on Route 420, 442, 447, 460, 470, 476, 478. Detailed trip times for the Nov. 20 service change will be available online at mvta.com prior to Nov. 20. MVTA is also announcing service to the new 35W at Lake St. Station on all trips to and from Minneapolis for routes 460, 470, 472, 476, 477, 478. Route 465 will serve 35W at Lake St Station only on trips serving downtown Minneapolis. Riders will have increased access to local and express connections at the new Lake St. station with no adverse effect to run times for any routes. Other changes effective Nov. 20 include: Route 442 -- Run time adjustments to better reflect actual trip times for northbound trips and a better reflection of run times for buses traveling north from Apple Valley. Route 444 -- Adjusted run times and added stops at Burnsville Parkway and Travelers Trail. Route 447 -- Added stops at County Road 42 and Dakota Avenue, Route 478 -- Routing adjusted to allow for more direct trips to and from downtown Minneapolis with all trips beginning and ending at Rosemount Transit Station. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets 40 footers assigned. Would be cool if they specifically put the orange top Gilligs on it Edit: must've gone to Apple Valley as well (Image credit MVTA) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted November 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2021 MVTA schedule changes effective today. Here is the new 425/Orange LINK schedule. every 30 minutes on weekdays. 6am-7pm so not useful for a late night trip but still fairly practical for accessing some key areas of Burnsville or BTS during the morning/midday/afternoon. https://www.mvta.com/cms-files/orange_link.pdf Now, how about the actual Orange LINKability? Well supposing one arrived at the southern terminus of the METRO Orange at 11:03, it would be a 21 minute wait for the next NB trip to BTS (quicker to walk) but Orange is every 15 during the weekday, so taking an earlier or later trip would just be a 5-6 minute wait for the NB BTS connection. 11:03 connecting to SB down towards Burnsville Center would be a 5-6 minute wait. Not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted January 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2022 Most or all of the remaining 2007 Low Floors and a 2009 are being disposed of: 4730: 2007 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211671078401 2WD 4732: 2007 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211X71078403 2WD 4733: 2007 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211171078404 2WD 4734: 2007 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211371078405 2WD 4735: 2007 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211571078406 2WD 4736: 2007 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211771078407 2WD 4944: 2009 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211191176870 2WD I also spotted a 35' Gillig on the 495 last week. I wonder if ridership on the 495 is down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted January 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2022 A few more added: 4731: 2007 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211871078402 2WD 4943: 2009 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211591176869 2WD 4945: 2009 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211391176871 2WD 4947: 2009 GILLIG LOW FLOOR TRANSIT BUS VIN: 15GGD211791176873 2WD I would guess 4946 is either retired, or will retire with the next round. With these retirements only the 35' Gilligs (and perhaps 4946) remain from the basic white livery era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp2ena Posted February 1, 2022 Report Share Posted February 1, 2022 4946 is indeed alive. Just rode it on the 447 today. Photos to come 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted February 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2022 Final draft of the MVTA - Southwest Transit network revamp is posted for review and comments. Personally I'm still not a fan of them completely eliminating a chunk of fixed-route coverage in the western Eagan area in favor of microtransit. But heck, It's been almost 10 years now since I moved away from there so really I'm not sure what demand even exists on the current routes 445 and 446 anymore. (To be fair, it is a pretty tough area to cover adequately with fixed-route) That aside, skimming through it looks like some of the concepts actually make some sense. The express service (presumably just peak period) to Brooklyn Center is interesting. https://www.mvta.com/news/feedback-requested-on-proposed-service-changes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcmetro Posted February 20, 2022 Report Share Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/18/2022 at 1:41 AM, MVTArider said: Final draft of the MVTA - Southwest Transit network revamp is posted for review and comments. Personally I'm still not a fan of them completely eliminating a chunk of fixed-route coverage in the western Eagan area in favor of microtransit. But heck, It's been almost 10 years now since I moved away from there so really I'm not sure what demand even exists on the current routes 445 and 446 anymore. (To be fair, it is a pretty tough area to cover adequately with fixed-route) That aside, skimming through it looks like some of the concepts actually make some sense. The express service (presumably just peak period) to Brooklyn Center is interesting. https://www.mvta.com/news/feedback-requested-on-proposed-service-changes/ There were a few surprises in the final plan to me as well. I don't think it's necessary for the 445 to be combined into the 440, and I'd rather see the 445 extended to the IGH Target and Inver Hills College. It might require some kind of agreement with Metro Transit, but the "South of St. Paul" portion of the metro is dying for a restructure, especially with the G Line on the horizon. The other issue is the removal of the 445 from the commercial areas east of 35E in Eagan. Having both the 422 and the 447 on County Road 42 is strange. It provides that corridor with a lot of service between Burnsville Center and Mystic Lake which seems to be a poor use of resources. I am not a big fan of keeping the 444 split. The entire reason for doing that was positioning of the mall stop on the east side and the traffic at the time. Now that the mall is on it's last legs and likely to be redeveloped, there should be focus on simplifying the 444. I like some of the concepts around the express reorganization, but I feel that there is too much emphasis on non-Downtown express service. The 496 from Shakopee to Starlite is probably hard to justify, especially given the emphasis of the route serving Amazon. Given that Amazon has a location in Brooklyn Park, it's hard to envision anyone commuting by bus 25 miles each way for that type of job. The other one that is excessive is the 474. Even though the Minnesota Zoo is a major destination, it never seemed to be a big source of transit ridership. That might just be better served with MVTA Connect service. I like the way they've handled the Shakopee service reorganization. Downtown Shakopee is a much better place for the 497 and 499 to meet, and I like the local extension of the 499 from Shakopee to Burnsville. I would imagine that some of the consultant's recommendations will be tweaked and I am very hopeful that the improvements to frequency and span happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp2ena Posted April 27, 2022 Report Share Posted April 27, 2022 MVTA to replace Luminator signs on their fleet with Hanovers.april_27_board_packet.pdf https://www.mvta.com/about/meetings-materials/2022-board-meeting-materials/2022-board-meeting-agendas/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmaryahJohnson1996 Posted May 6, 2022 Report Share Posted May 6, 2022 Hi all good everyone, Welcome to Minnesota. It feels comfortable to be free to join a new member in the group. Thanks! https://www.facebook.com/groups/521689702663522/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp2ena Posted May 8, 2022 Report Share Posted May 8, 2022 The 410 aka the 4FUN bus will resume service on May 20 and run to October. New stop at Marschall Road Transit Station, with one or two late night trips bypassing Valleyfair. https://www.mvta.com/news/mvta-4fun-bus/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted May 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 Service changes effective 5/21/22: https://www.mvta.com/news/service-change-to-take-effect-may-21/ More express service is restored. Route 436 will begin operating all day. Primarily to better serve the Viking Lakes area it looks like. Route 445 will now be 'properly' serving the large mobile home park at the end of the route by traveling northbound up Argenta vs. southbound on the current routing. (Now we'll have to see if MT flips out as technically this means MVTA is serving riders with a stop in IGH...) Weekend service on the 446! Routes 497 and 499 note they will now be operating with 40' buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted May 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2022 https://www.mvta.com/cms-files/may_25_board_packet.pdf 2022 buses/facilities program applications: Majority of flag stops to be converted to signed stops, some equipped with real-time solar powered displays. 5 electric Gilligs for route 444. (I assume BRTPLUS style) Upgrades to AVTS for new training lot, security, and better microtransit pulse point. MVTA is also going to be doing a study of potential BRT service on County Road 42 between Shakopee and Rosemount. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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