Southwest Transit reports ridership gains, asks Eden Prairie to support funding guarantee

Morris Leatherman, a Southwest Transit representative, gave a year-in-review to the Eden Prairie City Council on Feb. 10, noting agency growth and a state-level funding concern.

Leatherman said Southwest Transit’s ridership rose about 14% last year to roughly 614,000 passengers and reported local usage metrics, including about 25,000 rides originating in Eden Prairie. He highlighted operational changes that increased service and reduced costs: the April 15 launch of an autonomous vehicle service produced a substantial ridership increase compared with prior service, and a new 686 route along I-494 to Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America was introduced. Leatherman said the agency’s change in service saved “about half $1,000,000 a year in operating cost” compared with its prior approach.

Leatherman asked the council to support a legislative proposal to guarantee suburban transit agencies a specific share of a statewide three-quarter-cent sales tax passed three years earlier. He explained that the recent sales-tax distribution left suburban agencies dependent on the Metropolitan Council’s allocation rather than a fixed share, and urged Eden Prairie residents to contact state legislators via a campaign page at swtransit.org/activate.

Council members thanked him for local service and asked no formal action at the meeting other than recognition. Leatherman said the suburban transit agencies are coordinating through the Suburban Transit Association and are pursuing legislative remedies in the coming session.