Reduced downtown Metro Mobility fares start April 1

Metro Mobility riders who start and complete their trips in downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul will only pay $1 per ride starting April 1.

The Met Council this week approved cutting fares from $3 off-peak and $4 peak times for those who use the service, which provides door-to-door rides for those who are unable to use traditional buses and trains. Rides that go outside either downtowns or between them would still be charged full fare.

"It's a matter of providing matching service between Metro Mobility and Metro Transit," said Manager Andrew Krueger. "Federal law requires that we charge no more than twice the fare for a comparable regular-route trip. The reduced fare for Metro Mobility establishes a corresponding fare.

In Minneapolis, Metro Transit charges 50 cents for rides in an area roughly bordered by 3rd Avenue N. near Target Field, the former Metrodome on 11th Avenue, I-394 and the intersection of Hennepin and Central avenues just across the Mississippi River. In St. Paul, the Downtown Zone extends from University Avenue to Plato Blvd. and from Kellogg Blvd. to the Lafayette Freeway. Metro Mobility's Downtown Zone will follow the same boundaries.

Last year Metro Mobility provided about 1,040 rides in completely within downtown Minneapolis and 1,150 in St. Paul.

System wide, Metro Mobility provided rides for nearly 17,000 people last year. Collectively they took 1.82 million rides, an increase of about 100,000 rides from 2012.