Metro Transit adds Blaine to State Fair park and ride network

As many as 2 million people will attend this year's Minnesota State Fair — and if battling traffic and finding a parking place does not sound like a good time, three transit agencies are ready to give you a ride.

This marks Metro Transit's 31st year of offering express bus service from suburban park and rides, including from Blaine for the first time since 2017. The agency is bringing back service from the north metro after having success filling vacant bus driver positions. And if the favorable hiring trend continues, a fifth lot in the metro will be added in 2024, said Brian Funk, deputy general manager.

Metro Transit "likes doing big events," Funk said. Drivers, he said, "like driving for happy events."

While not as robust as in the past, when buses ran from a dozen sites, adding the Blaine location mirrors what is happening throughout the system. On Saturday, Metro Transit enacted service changes on 19 routes where buses will run more frequently. That includes increasing service to every 10 minutes on the A-Line, the rapid bus line that stops near the fair.

With the additional local service, Metro Transit's urban core and rapid transit routes are back to 90% of pre-pandemic levels, said Adam Harrington, director of service development.

However, 60 bus routes across the metro remain suspended, he said.

Metro Transit took more than 217,000 people to the Great Minnesota Get-Together last year on express and regular route service, double from 2021, the agency said. The agency will have a booth in the Grandstand to promote its services and answer rider questions.

Here is how to take express buses to the fair, which runs Thursday through Sept. 4:

Metro Transit: Buses will run every 30 minutes from the 95th Avenue Park and Ride at I-35W and 95th Avenue NE in Blaine, the I-394 and County Road 73 Park and Ride in Minnetonka, the 30th Avenue Park and Ride near the Mall of America in Bloomington, and the Cottage Grove Park and Ride on Hwy. 61 between 80th Street and Jamaica Avenue.

Service will begin at 9 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends and Labor Day. The last return trip departs at midnight, except Labor Day at 11 p.m. The round trip fare is $6.

MVTA: Daily service every 15 to 60 minutes from the Burnsville Transit Station will start at 7 a.m., and from the Eagan Transit Station and Southbridge Crossings Park and Ride in Shakopee at 10 a.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. weekends and Labor Day. Return service runs from noon to 11:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. Labor Day). The fare is $6, or $5 for tickets purchased on the RideMVTA app.

SouthWest Transit: Service is planned about every 20 minutes Thursday through Sunday and Aug. 30-Sept. 3 between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. from SouthWest Station in Eden Prairie, SouthWest Village in Chanhassen and East Creek Station in Chaska. The last bus returning leaves at 11 p.m. Fare is $6.