Metropolitan Council outlines budget trade-offs: loans to MnDOT, free fares pilot for Metro Mobility and a $15 million ABRT bonding ask

Charlie Zelle, chair of the Metropolitan Council, told the Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee on Jan. 29 that the council is asking the legislature to approve several near-term and capital funding changes tied to the governor's budget.

The council’s priorities, Zelle said, include authorization to advance reserve funds to the Minnesota Department of Transportation to allow coordinated highway reconstruction and arterial bus rapid transit (ABRT) construction; a request to make permanent a pilot that essentially makes fares free for Metro Mobility-certified riders; a proposed reduction in the council’s general fund allocation for transit operations; and a $15 million bonding request for ABRT capital. The council also asked to expand its existing right-of-way acquisition loan program (the “Ralph program”) to allow loans for park and trail land acquisitions.

Those steps, Zelle said, are meant to “be a lot more efficient, a lot less disruptive, save the taxpayer’s funding, and frankly, advance really a really important transitway connection, sooner than if we had to wait.” He described the MnDOT advance-funding idea as a near-term, time-limited use of Met Council reserves so MnDOT can reconstruct roadways at the same time ABRT work occurs, reducing duplicate construction and lowering overall costs.

Why it matters

The council presented the package as a mix of timing and policy choices rather than permanent new spending. Zelle emphasized the loan would be short term — “a period of years,” not decades — and the council expects the reserves returned for future capital maintenance. He told senators the approach could lower construction inflation costs and reduce repeated disruptions along major corridors such as…