Shakopee Transit, Prior Lakes Laker Lines, and the MVTA are all opt-out transit agencies.  These agencies were formed in an effort to provide better transit service to suburban riders by keeping the property tax dollars that were being paid to the regional transit provider, in the local communities.  The MVTA has been a model of the success of this program, and now Scott County is offering a significant new service to its residents.

This will be a great enhancement to the life of residents in Scott County, said Commissioner Ulrich.  This is just the beginning of service from the south-of-the river region up the Highway 169 corridor, and should help to alleviate congestion out of Prior Lake and Shakopee.  The BlueXpress Commuter Bus service provides eight trips daily to and from downtown Minneapolis.  Scott County hopes to grow the site to a full transit station, and have other park & ride sites throughout Scott County with connectivity to the 494 corridor as well as the MVTA service in Burnsville.  Commissioner Ulrich said, Today and well into the future, we look forward to continuing our close partnership with the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority. After all, our goal is mutual: To provide a convenient, seamless transit system throughout the area.  To that end, this new Scott County service complements those provided by the MVTA for the Cities of Savage, Burnsville, Eagan, Rosemount, and Apple Valley, which operate in the I-35W, I-35E, and TH 77 corridors.

Riding transit is in vogue these days, with the price of gas flirting with $3.50 per gallon.  The BlueXpress Commuter Bus line should do quite well in this environment, said Scott Commissioner Barbara Marschall, who also serves as an alternate to the MVTA Board.  I cant think of a better time to introduce thus new service not only with gas prices at record levels, with but the construction project on Highway 62 progressing at full speed.

Beverley Miller, MVTAs Executive Director noted, MVTAs ridership is at record levels, with average ridership approaching 9,500 each weekday.  In the first quarter of 2007, we were up eight percent from the same period a year ago.  The MVTA is well on its way to meeting its strategic objective of being the transit provider south of the river.  Further, the MVTA now owns 109 buses and two bus garages, and has nearly 4,000 parking spaces in four transit stations and three park & ride facilities.

But with success comes a price:  Full park & ride lots, cars spilling into nearby streets, crowded buses, and no money to remedy the problem -- and no ready solutions coming from regional leaders.  The MVTAs vision is to Excel in transportation services that promote effective alternatives to the automobile in highway corridors, said Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz and Chair of the MVTAs Strategic Planning Committee.   By increasing ridership in key highway corridors, the MVTA and other providers not only transport riders in a comfortable and efficient manner, but help decrease congestion by removing thousands of cars from these corridors each day,  she said.   The MVTA and the City of Burnsville salute Shakopee and Prior Lake for their BlueXpress service in the Hwy 169 corridor, said Mayor Kautz.

"Growth throughout the metropolitan region is at the core of this issue, said Commissioner Ulrich, who is also a member of the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) and the I-35W Solutions Alliance.  More and more riders from third- and fourth-ring cities those outside the transit taxing district -- are using the system, creating a level of unmet transit needs that cannot be served with the same stagnant level of funding, he said.  

The MVTAs current situation in Apple Valley has reached a crisis point, Commissioner Ulrich said, and this problem is not unique.  In the past, Maple Grove has experienced overcrowding of their facilities due to the large number of people from outside the transit taxing district using the Maple Grove Transit Station.  Park & ride facilities in other fringe areas of the metro have had the same experience.  (A copy of a map showing the locations of riders using park & ride facilities is attached.) 

"While we should all celebrate the fact that transit usage continues to increase, we need to find ways to support these services in a financially fair, sustainable, and responsible manner, Commissioner Ulrich said. 

The MVTA is calling for a transit summit to engage local, regional, and state officials to partner and solve the problem of funding for the regional transit system.  The MVTA looks forward to participating with all of the parties (cities, counties, the Metropolitan Council) involved in seeking a resolution to this critical funding need.  We truly want to be the transit provider south of the river, said Mayor Kautz, and we believe that working together with our members, our neighbors and others is the best way to meet that strategic objective.  But, Commissioner Ulrich added, we cannot meet our objective without the problem of transit funding being solved.