The METRO C Line surpassed the 1 million ride mark this week.
The milestone came five months after the Bus Rapid Transit line opened, significantly replacing and improving Route 19. The C Line provides fast, frequent service between the Brooklyn Center Transit Center and downtown Minneapolis, operating largely along Penn Avenue.
Average weekday ridership in the C Line corridor is about 30% higher than typical Route 19 ridership before construction on the C Line and other Penn Avenue improvements began. Combined, the C Line and Route 19 had nearly 8,300 average weekday rides in October.
With expanded weekend service, ridership is up about 25% on Saturdays and 40% on Sundays.
Similar ridership increases have been seen on the corridor served by the METRO A Line, which opened in 2016.
The success of Metro Transit's BRT lines is remarkable in part because it comes amid a general decline in bus ridership. Through the end of October, bus ridership is down nearly 6%.
Across all modes, nearly 66 million rides have been provided through the end of October, down about 3% compared to the same time last year.
Ridership on the Blue Line and Northstar is down slightly, but ridership on the Green Line is up more than 4%.
Learn more about plans to expand the Bus Rapid Transit network
Watch: Hey! Where Does This Bus Go, C Line edition