Twin Cities Buses in Bloom: Metro Transit Puts Network Now In Motion
Wearing bright yellow and black costumes complete with fuzzy antennae, a group of bus riders created a friendly swarm to celebrate the debut of the metro’s newest bus rapid transit line earlier this summer. On June 14, the new METRO B Line officially opened, replacing and speeding up former Route 21 between Downtown Saint Paul and Uptown Minneapolis along Selby, Marshall, and Lake Street.
With kazoos and handmade signs the bees created a joyful scene, taking pictures with fellow bus riders and getting waves from folks in passing cars. Their excitement is well-founded. With buses coming every 10 minutes much of the day on the new route, Bee Brian told us: “I don’t even need to consult a bus schedule to plan my trips. And the rapid boarding and longer intervals between stops means the ride is much quicker than the former 21 bus!”
The METRO B Line has many transit riders buzzing with excitement about faster and more frequent service — which is happening all over the Twin Cities.
For decades, our transit system has been starved of resources, forced into a constant state of scarcity. Thanks to years of advocacy by Move Minnesota supporters and partners, Metro Transit finally has the resources to provide equitable, high-quality service to people across the region. Network Now is a necessary and exciting first step toward the transformation we need — and the results are already impacting our communities.
Recognizing the dramatic impacts of the pandemic on our transit system and the region’s workforce, Metro Transit began developing Network Now in 2023 to create a forward-looking plan that addresses previous service cuts, accounts for changes in commute patterns, and incorporates the expanded revenue from the new metro-area transit sales tax. The three-year plan was approved by the Metropolitan Council in early 2025 and is rolling out in phases from 2025 through 2027.
With the quarterly changes that started on Saturday, Network Now hit some exciting milestones, including:
- Fully recovering from the cuts brought on by COVID-19, Metro Transit will be running at 101% of the level of service they did in August 2019 for local buses and BRT lines — including the return of some express routes discontinued since the pandemic!
- Boosting capacity with a bigger workforce, increasing service hours by 5% over June 2025.
- Significantly improving frequency on 16 local and express routes, including the 18, 61 and 68.
- Listening to community needs to provide a Better Bus Route on the 61 by consolidating stops, increasing service, and improving accessibility — resulting in significantly faster travel times!
- Reaching 30% implementation of the overall Network Now Framework!
We know that improving public transit improves the lives of everyone in the region—saving families money, supporting our public health, protecting our climate, and giving us greater choice and freedom. With important changes and effective implementation, we’re beginning to feel the impact of the Network Now improvements across our communities.
With greater frequency, it will be easier for riders of core routes to catch the bus when they need to, make connections, and not have to plan their days around the transit schedule. Network Now is making it possible for more people to drive less, take transit more, and get where they’re going more quickly and easily — whether they’re out to smell the flowers or heading home to the hive!