Maple Grove Expands My Ride Bus Service
Maple Grove expanded My Ride busing destinations to include Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Osseo and Cross Services in Rogers.
As long as Maple Grove is included in one of the trips, people can schedule a ride.
One reason for the expansion is helping to meet the need of local employers in finding workers.
“COVID came and impacted a lot of things, including public transit. We really lost a lot of ridership, and the Express Bus Service to and from downtown Minneapolis. The local service to My Ride took a big hit as well,” said Mike Opatz, transit administrator for the city of Maple Grove. “But My Ride has really come back strong.”
Opatz says the service is back to pre-COVID levels. Another reason for the expansion is helping to meet the need of local employers in finding workers.
“What we are finding is all of our local employers have a strong demand competing for this labor supply. We want to do what we can to help out our local employers with workforce transportation trips and one way to do that is expand our service area,” said Opatz.
The trips do not have to be a work trip, but one leg of the trip must include Maple Grove.
Opatz estimates there might be a 15 to 20 percent increase in ridership. The city purchased another vehicle to be prepared for that and at present time, they are fully staffed with drivers.
“We were already serving parts of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center,” said Opatz. “It’s going to be a larger impact to people and their convenience, and not having to go to the Starlite Transit Center in Brooklyn Park or the Brooklyn Center Transit Station. We can just come right to their home in any one of those cities and bring them to shopping, businesses, workplaces or the community center here in Maple Grove.”
Reservations are also available through the My Ride call center at 763-493-2200, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit maplegrovetransit.org for more details.
