C Line rapid bus launches Saturday between Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center

For the past few weeks, sharp-eyed observers in north Minneapolis and nearby suburbs may have noticed shiny new buses shuttling about a bunch of … sandbags.

The weighted masses intended to mimic passengers were part of the testing regimen for the new C Line rapid bus service, which debuts Saturday. Eight new electric buses — a first for the Twin Cities — are part of the new line's 14-vehicle fleet. And Metro Transit spent weeks making sure they can hold their electric charge along the C Line's 8½-mile route.

That has involved "stopping, starting, running high air conditioning, trying to simulate regular service," said Brian Funk, Metro Transit's deputy chief of operations for buses. "Testing has been going great; all the buses completed their trips."

Minnesota's long winters will test the durability of the electric bus batteries, which will charge overnight and then stop for a quick 12-minute charge at the Brooklyn Center Transit Center while in operation.

Funk said the extra testing is worth it because electric buses are more environmentally friendly than traditional diesel and hybrid vehicles. There's a "huge benefit for concentrated urban environments like ours to have zero tailpipe emissions," he said.

The $37 million C Line will be the second rapid bus line in the metro — the A Line in St. Paul began service two years ago and saw an increase in demand at a time when local bus ridership is down. The C Line will link downtown Minneapolis to Brooklyn Center, largely along Penn Avenue on the city's North Side.

Rapid bus service takes its cue from light rail. Passengers pay before boarding; stations are heated and feature schedules in real time. The 60-foot accordion buses on the C Line, made by New Flyer of America in St. Cloud, will also have three doors to help facilitate boarding. Although the buses operate in traffic, they have signal priority to smooth the way, and fewer stops mean the service is 20% to 25% faster than local buses, according to Metro Transit.

The C Line will largely replace Route 19 service, which will operate less frequently.

"The Route 19 has been pretty consistently one of our top performing routes," said Katie Roth, arterial bus-rapid transit manager for Metro Transit. "On parts of the corridor, buses make up less than 2% of traffic but are carrying 25% of the people."

Data from Route 19 show people not only use the bus Monday through Friday, but also on weekends.

"This tells us that all-day, frequent transit is a lifeline for people," Roth said.

Metro Transit hopes to invest in at least eight more rapid bus lines, although funding for the expansion is unclear. The $75 million D Line, planned to begin service in 2022, is slated to replace the Route 5 bus that operates mostly along Chicago and Fremont/Emerson avenues in Minneapolis and is the busiest in the state. But state legislators this session did not fund $20 million that was needed to complete the project.

Metropolitan Council spokeswoman Kate Brickman said the regional planning body is assessing its funding options regarding the D Line. Both the A and C lines were funded with federal and local money.

Then the B Line, now the Route 21 bus operating along Lake Street in Minneapolis and Marshall Avenue in St. Paul, is slated to open in 2023, and the E Line, largely on Hennepin Avenue, a year after that. The other routes have not been finalized.

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752 @MooreStrib