Metro Transit unveils short-term "Network Now" plan with new Brooklyn Park microtransit pilot and route changes

Metro Transit presenters outlined a short-term, regionwide service redesign called Network Now and described specific changes proposed for Brooklyn Park that would shift resources from underused commuter express service to more frequent local and on-demand options.

Cindy Harper, Metro Transit's manager of route planning, told the council the plan responds to a more than 50% ridership decline between 2019 and 2020 and a roughly 30% reduction in service hours since the pandemic. "Our routes that run all-day service and serve a variety of trip purposes are the ones that have been the most resilient," Harper said, noting that restoring pre-pandemic express service is neither practical nor fiscally sustainable without major ridership recovery.

The plan, described as a short-term vision through 2027, would first resolve the status of about 60 currently suspended routes (mostly commuter express routes) and reopen or retire park-and-ride facilities as warranted. For Brooklyn Park, Metro Transit's senior planner for the northwest metro, Victoria Dan, described several local changes: keeping and boosting a key express corridor (Route 768), converting Route 760 to an express-only alignment with improved peak frequencies, and permanently discontinuing several commuter-local-tail routes (listed by staff as 761, 762, 763, 765, 766 and 767). Dan said new peak shuttle routes (701, 702 and 703) would provide replacement connections to Noble Park-and-Ride and the 65th Avenue park-and-ride.

Dan also proposed a new local crosstown route (725) to improve east-west connectivity and said the concept plan would raise frequency on productive suburban local routes such as Route 724 (staff proposed boosting peak-period service to roughly 10-minute intervals from about noon to early evening). "This plan includes significant improvements in frequency and span and prepares us for new BRT and LRT openings through 2027," Dan said. The proposal also expands Metro Micro, Metro Transit's app-enabled shared on-demand service, with eight additional pilot zones regionwide and one placeholder zone in Brooklyn Park intended to feed major transit centers such as Starlight Transit Center.

Metro Transit emphasized that implementation depends on hiring roughly 500 additional operators and other support staff. Harper said the draft concept would increase regional service hours by "more than 35%" if workforce and funding assumptions hold. Reva Chambliss, who introduced herself as a Met Council member and vice chair of its transportation committee, told the council she is "aligned with the city of Brooklyn Park" and supportive of improved east-west connections and weekend and evening service.

Councilors probed details during a lengthy Q&A: fares and discounts for Metro Micro (staff said fares match local bus fare structure; off-peak $2.50, peak $3; passes and reduced-fare programs apply), how microtransit zones will be sited and scaled, coordination with adjacent suburban microservices (Maple Grove My Ride) and how stop spacing and transfers would be scheduled. Metro Transit staff said maps and zone boundaries in the draft are placeholders and that appendix C online lists every proposed route and schedule detail.

Metro Transit is collecting public comments through Nov. 15 and expects to refine the concept for final Met Council approval in winter/early 2025. Staff said implementation sequencing will be paced to hiring and operator availability and will be adjusted based on community input and ridership monitoring.

Metro Transit materials and the draft Network Now report (including appendix C route-level details) are posted on metrotransit.org/networknow. Public comments submitted by Nov. 15 will be incorporated as staff prepares a recommended plan for council action.