Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 12, 2009
RIDING METRO TRANSIT IS PART OF STATE FAIR FUN
Discount bus tickets on sale now
MINNEAPOLIS – (Aug. 12) –The State Fair is here and getting there is part of the fun! Metro Transit will operate express service and regular-route buses to the Minnesota State Fair, which opens Thursday, Aug. 27, and runs through Labor Day (Sept. 7).
One in every four people who attend the Great Minnesota Get-together each year get there on a Metro Transit bus. Not only is it convenient, Metro Transit uses special bus-only roads to take customers right past traffic congestion and straight to the gate.
New this year – discounted tickets and Coon Rapids service
Metro Transit is offering a State Fair Bus Bargain Ticket with savings for those who buy their ride in advance. Normally, the roundtrip fare for a State Fair Express bus is $5. Through Aug. 26, Fair-goers can purchase a State Fair Bus Bargain Ticket for just $4. This offer is available only at metrotransit.org, and tickets cannot be purchased after Aug. 26. (Tickets buyers should allow two to three days for delivery.)
New State Fair service will operate from the Foley Park & Ride Ramp in Coon Rapids. The ramp – with more than 1,200 free parking spaces – is located off Highway 610 near East River Road. State Fair Express buses will serve the Foley Ramp every half hour on weekends and Labor Day only.
Non-stop express service
Metro Transit will operate State Fair Express service continuously throughout the day from 11 suburban parking lots. Buses leave suburban sites from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Return buses will leave the fairgrounds from noon to midnight.
Service from six suburban locations operates every 15 minutes each day of the fair:
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Northtown Mall – Blaine
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Brookdale Shopping Center – Brooklyn Center
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I-394 & County Road 73 Park & Ride – Minnetonka
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Dunwoody College of Technology – downtown Minneapolis
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Southdale Shopping Center – Edina
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Bloomington – across 24th Avenue from Mall of America’s East parking ramp
Three parking areas will have departures every 30 minutes daily
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Oakdale Center – west of I-694 on 10th Street
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Signal Hills Shopping Center – West St. Paul
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Cottage Grove Park & Ride lot – Highway 61 and West Point Douglas Road
On weekends and Labor Day only, service is available every half hour from the Foley Park & Ride Ramp, off Highway 610 near East River Road in Coon Rapids. Weekend and Labor Day service also is available at Maple Grove Transit Station on I-94 and Hemlock Lane.
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority and SouthWest Transit also will operate express service to the State Fair.
The round-trip fare for express buses, which is payable in bills or coins when boarding at express sites, is $5 per person. Children age four and under ride free. Fareboxes accept bills of any denomination amounting to the correct fare; fareboxes and drivers do not make change. Go-To Cards, Metropasses, SuperSavers, U-Passes, Go-To College Passes, coupons and transfers are not valid on express service.
Regular-route service
Three regular-service routes serve the State Fairgrounds. Route 960 travels between downtown Minneapolis and the fairgrounds in about 15 minutes. Fair-goers can hop on Route 960 anywhere along Nicollet Mall. Buses operate to and from the fairgrounds roughly every 15 minutes daily.
Routes 3 and 84 also serve the State Fair. Route 3 travels between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul via Como Avenue on the south side of the fairgrounds; Route 84 travels between the Hiawatha Line’s 46th Street Station and Rosedale on Snelling Avenue, on the east side of the fairgrounds.
The one-way fare for regular-route buses during non-rush hours is $1.75 for adults and 75 cents for children, seniors and Medicare card holders with proper identification. During rush hours, all customers pay $2.25, except certified Mobility customers who ride for 75 cents at any time when they present required ID. Go-To Cards, Metropasses, SuperSavers, U-Passes, Go-To College Passes, coupons and transfers are valid for regular-route buses.
For free shuttle locations, call the State Fair at 651-288-4400 or visit mnstatefair.org.
Detailed State Fair bus service information is available by touch-tone phone on NexTrip, a 24-hour automated information system, at 612-373-3333, and at metrotransit.org.
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(Editors: For more information contact Bob Gibbons, director of customer services, at 612-349-7509 or robert.gibbons@metc.state.mn.us)
