It's the End of the Line for Central Fridley Bus Route

The 810 Bus stayed within Fridley, circulating between Northstar station and large employers, but had "low ridership." Metro Transit said the route will be eliminated May 17, 2013.

A new bus route that made its debut a little more than a year ago will stop running next month. That's the word from Metro Transit, which blamed the elimination of Route 810 on low ridership. The bus runs between Northstar Commuter Rail trains and major employers in Fridley. Related at Patch: Here is the announcement Metro Transit posted online March 26, 2013: For Route 810 customers. Effective Friday, May 17, Route 810 will be eliminated due to low customer demand. Route 810 has been partially supported by a federal grant that was expected to fund operations through March 2014, but due to low ridership on the route, the grant money will be spent in April. Thank you for riding this route. The last day of service will be Friday, May 17. To …

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New Bus Route 810 Changes Monday: Now Circulates Clockwise in the Afternoon Too

The afternoon route of Fridley's new bus line will match the morning.

Metro Transit has announced changes effective Monday to the new bus route that started running in Fridley last month. Route 810 buses will now circulate through Fridley in a clockwise direction on their afternoon runs, as they already do for morning runs. The counter-clockwise circulation along Mississippi Street NE, Old Central Avenue NE, Osborne Road NE and University Avenue NE led to "concerns about missed connections with Northstar trains," Metro Transit said in its announcement. Take a short video ride aboard Route 810 during its afternoon service. "This will allow buses to make a series of right turns instead of left turns, improving reliability and on-time performance," according to the announcement. The six trips each in the …

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VIDEO: Take a Ride on Fridley's New Bus, Route 810

Route 810, Fridley's new circulator bus route, is increasing ridership.

The new Route 810 gives rush hour riders a 30-minute tour of Fridley, taking them from the Northstar Commuter Rail trains at Fridley Station to major area busineses, including Medtronic's Rice Creek campus, Cummins Power Generation and Unity Hospital. The route circulates 12 times daily during rush hours. Bus driver Mario Lee said ridership is still relatively low since the route's March 5 launch, with most afternoons so far seeing fewer than 10 customers.

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Central Ave.-University Ave. Not First in Line for Bus Rapid Transit

Two St. Paul routes will likely get BRT first among 11 proposed.

A bus rapid transit route that would send speedy buses flying up Central Avenue NE to 53rd Avenue NE then over to University Avenue NE is among 11 such routes under consideration by Metro Transit.  But two St. Paul routes have the greatest chance of being developed first, according to an article at MinnPost.  The last in a series of public meetings is set for Wednesday in St. Paul. 

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Q&A: How Fridley Got a New Bus Route

Route 810, which starts next week, was years in the works.

It's not every day that a city gets a new bus route that runs entirely within its borders. In fact, it's not every year that Metro Transit starts a new bus route. Fridley Patch asked Cyndi Harper, manager of route planning for Metro Transit, about the origins of Route 810, which starts rolling next Monday, March 5, 2012. Here is what she said, via email: Fridley Patch: Can you please tell me about how Route 810 came to be? Cyndi Harper: Route 810 is the result of a partnership between Metro Transit, the City of Fridley and Medtronic. The City and Medtronic first approached Metro Transit even before the train started operating, interested in looking at ways to leverage the new service to help people get to jobs in Fridley. The City and …

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New Bus Route 810 Links Employers, Mississippi St., Northstar Station

Service to Unity Hospital, Medtronic's Rice Creek campus through 2012.

The city of Fridley will get new bus service all to itself starting Monday, March 5, 2012. Buses on the new Route 810 will circulate within Fridley 12 times a day—six trips each in the morning and afternoon commuting periods. The bus route connects Northstar Commuter Rail trains at Fridley Station with two major employers: Medtronic's Rice Creek Campus and Unity Hospital. Along the way, it also runs through several commercial and residential sections of the city. Beginning at Fridley Station, buses travel in a counter-clockwise direction around a square (see map PDF): According to a Metro Transit statement announcing the new route, there are 5,355 entry-level jobs in the area that the Route 810 serves. All but one of the new route's 12 …

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Metro Transit Ridership on Bus Routes, Trains Serving Fridley Tops 4M

Fridley trips on Northstar totaled 28,275 for the year.

People took more than four million rides in 2011 on bus routes and the Northstar commuter rail line that serve Fridley, according to Metro Transit. Overall Northstar ridership last year was down by 1 percent from 2010—primarily due to the freight-train derailment in Fridley that caused the line to in July 2011, the transit agency said in a press release. Total ridership—including the Hiawatha Light Rail line—topped 80 million rides for only the second time in 30 years, General Manager Brian Lamb said, for a 3.5 percent increase over 2010. Here are the 2011 ridership figures for bus routes serving Fridley and the Northstar: 2011 Ridership for MetroTransit Bus Routes Serving Fridley *MetroTransit doesn't operate Route 801 and has yet to …

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Bus-car Crash at 81st and University

Fridley police assisted with incident on Spring Lake Park side of University Avenue.

A car and Metro Transit bus collided on northbound University Avenue NE just north of 81st Avenue NE at about 6:42 a.m. Monday. Initially, one person reported a minor back injury, according to Anoka County emergency dispatch. Metro Transit spokesperson John Siqveland gave this account via email: Approaching a bus stop, bus was rear-ended by a small sedan. No injuries in car. Two of several customers aboard bus transported to Unity hospital conscious and breathing with unknown injuries. Fridley police assisted at the scene, according to Fridley Police Lt. Mike Monsrud. The incident occurred on the Spring Lake Park side of University Avenue NE. An Allina ambulance and Metro Transit also responded.

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Agency Eyes Central Ave. in Fridley for Fast Buses

Metro Transit Is Deciding Where to Put High-speed Bus Lines.