MVTA proposes returning service to Dakota County Technical College, express service to Savage

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) wants to restore express service in Savage, enhance connections to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and bring back service to Dakota County Technical College.

“Customer demand is driving the proposed changes” that would be enacted this fall, said MVTA spokesman Richard Crawford.

Route changes could bring an increase in transit service to more than 20,000 residents, Crawford said of the proposals.

The agency serving eight cities south of the Minnesota River will show off its plans during meetings at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Scott County Government Center in Shakopee, and 6 p.m. Thursday at Rosemount City Hall.

Feedback will be accepted at both meetings and through an online survey open until July 11.

Riders of Route 420 would see the biggest changes. The route currently operates primarily north of County Road 42 as it makes its way through Apple Valley. In its new configuration, the route would drop several blocks south and run through residential and commercial areas along W. 157th Street. Service would run from 6 a.m.-9 p.m. on weekdays.

The east-west route would remain largely unchanged east of Pilot Knob Road until it gets to Rosemount. Then the line would extend farther east to Dakota County Technical College (DCTC).

MVTA once served DCTC, but funding for a pilot route ran out in 2018. And the college has wanted to get bus service back, Crawford said.

“We’ve always had support from the college and the student union to provide direct transportation to a premier institution in the south metro,” said Luther Wynder, MVTA’s chief executive director. “Now we have identified funding to restore service and allow it to build.”

MVTA cut back on express service from Savage to downtown Minneapolis when COVID hit, forcing riders to get to the Burnsville Transit Station to hop a bus to downtown. The agency would extend three Route 460 buses to the Savage Park and Ride and provide a one-seat ride.

A third major change would have Route 436 stopping at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Eagan Transit Center on its way to the 46th Street Station in south Minneapolis. The route would also run on weekends instead of just Monday through Friday, the agency said.