u/Sunbeam4242

Last year, Metro Transit received about 120 of these new Gillig Low Floor Plus buses, and they have been such a positive upgrade in my opinion. Metro Transit has long ordered pretty bare-bones buses outside of the BRT system. To get regular route buses with more "fancy" features previously reserved for BRT (like fat tire bike racks, stop request tape, vinyl seats, USB chargers, etc.) was pretty unexpected. I also really like the frameless windows, white headsigns, and streamlined roof that give them a more modern appearance.

It looks like most of the early 2010s Gillig BRTs are being replaced by these over the next few years, so they will become the new norm for the regular route buses. Another nice quirk is that with the taller roofline, the diesel, HEV, and full electric buses will all look the same. That gives the fleet a much more consistent appearance overall. Across all types, another 200 or so of these are being delivered throughout 2026 and 2027.

I don't usually nerd out too much on individual bus models and stuff like that but I just really like the upgraded riding experience these buses provide.

Reposted due to errors with image uploads. I apologize for this error, luckily I caught it almost immediately.

Dataset source

VERY IMPORTANT: This dataset is based on average daily boardings rather than average daily ridership, which is calculated differently. This is the disclaimer from the dataset:

>This data set should only be used to determine stop level ridership patterns. It cannot be used to summarize total route or system level ridership for the same time period. The data set is aggregated at the stop level and is filtered to exclude non-representative days. This will not match the total ridership calculated from APC or fare collection data.

However, as I am directly comparing to the dataset from the same time period the previous year, the overall numbers are within the ballpark of the true daily average ridership change year-over-year (based on comparisons I’ve done of previous years’ data). Please keep in mind that fall is typically the busiest time of the year, especially for routes around the University of Minnesota, so assume that typical numbers on a yearly basis are slightly lower in most cases. Without further ado, the numbers:

Largest raw increase:

1 - Route 6 (+984)

2 - A Line (+834)

3 - Route 54 (+729)

4 - Orange Line (+637)

5 - Route 94 (+569)

Largest raw decrease:

1 - Green Line (-3,592)

2 - Route 10 (-653)

3 - Blue Line (-472)

4 - Route 62 (-385)

5 - Route 63 (-351)

METRO Routes:

Blue Line - 16,995 (-3%)

Green Line - 23,433 (-13%)

Orange Line - 2,420 (+36%)

Red Line - 606 (+13%)

Gold Line - 1,709 (NEW!)

A Line - 4,610 (+22%)

B Line - 10,742 (+5%)

C Line - 5,884 (+5)

D Line - 14,014 (-1%)

Core Local Routes

Route 2 - 5,628 (+3%)

Route 3 - 7,196 (+1%)

Route 4 - 3,864 (+5%)

Route 6 - 5,237 (+23%) replaced by E Line

Route 7 - 1,369 (+5%)

Route 9 - 1,695 (0%)

Route 10 - 5,331 (-11%)

Route 11 - 3,667 (6%)

Route 14 - 3,630 (-4%)

Route 17 - 4,078 (-4%)

Route 18 - 6,379 (-2%)

Route 22 - 3,489 (-2%)

Route 54 - 4,849 (18%)

Route 61 - 2,081 (10%)

Route 62 - 1,892 (-17%)

Route 63 - 3,128 (-10%)

Route 64 - 3,497 (+1%)

Route 67 - 737 (+1%)

Route 72 - 680 (+240%) replaced route 70

Route 74 - 2,872 (-3%)

Route 75 - 398 (0%)

Supporting Local

Route 5 - 1,014 (-2%)

Route 25 - 401 (+3%)

Route 27 - 329 (NEW!)

Route 30 - 672 (-5%)

Route 32 - 1,634 (-9%)

Route 33 - 36 (-29%)

Route 38 - 1,731 (+32%) replaced routes 23 & 612

Route 46 - 599 (-5%)

Route 65 - 486 (-3%)

Route 80 - 510 (26%)

Route 83 - 391 (-15%)

Route 87 - 918 (2%)

Suburban Local

Route 219 - 482 (+4%)

Route 223 - 147 (NEW!)

Route 225 - 72 (-12%)

Route 227 - 45 (-22%)

Route 323 - 304 (-6%)

Route 515 - 1,430 (+12%)

Route 534 - 254 (+239%)

Route 537 - 61 (+85%)

Route 538 - 435 (+11%)

Route 539 - 638 (-7%)

Route 540 - 617 (-17%)

Route 542 - 350 (74%)

Route 546 - 243 (34%)

Route 615 - 141 (-11%)

Route 645 - 763 (+2%)

Route 705 - 256 (-1%)

Route 716 - 138 (-11%)

Route 717 - 236 (+3%)

Route 721 - 741 (+15%)

Route 722 - 727 (+5%)

Route 723 - 587 (+4%)

Route 724 - 1,656 (-1%)

Route 801 - 371 (+10%)

Route 804 - 234 (+4%)

Route 805 - 267 (+2%)

Route 852 - 382 (-6%) - now route 827

Express (* denotes Key Express Network route)

Route 94 - 1,677 (+51%)

Route 113 - 225 (+1%)

Route 114 - 356 (+2%)

Route 134 - 45 (NEW!)

Route 250* - 524 (+21%)

Route 252 - 135 (+9%)

Route 264 - 79 (+39%)

Route 270 - 220 (+15%)

Route 275 - 59 (4%)

Route 294 - 22 (-19%)

Route 355 - 400 (+30%)

Route 363 - 132 (-1%)

Route 467 - 228 (+23%)

Route 578 - 80 (+31%)

Route 667 - 65 (-6%)

Route 673* - 143 (+39%)

Route 755 - 163 (+3%)

Route 760 - 46 (-27%)

Route 763 - 50 (+14%)

Route 764 - 50 (+32%)

Route 765 - 29 (NEW!)

Route 766 - 54 (-22%)

Route 768* - 358 (+31%)

Route 781 - 622 (+14%)

Route 784 - 106 (+18%)

Route 785 - 225 (+17%)

Route 789 - 167 (+23%)

Route 850 - 438 (+15%)

Route 860 - 33 (NEW!)

Northstar - 403 (-7%)