St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission
The St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission, branded as Metro Bus, is the primary provider of mass transportation in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Service is provided daily using a fleet of 37 full-sized buses. The agency was formed in 1969 after the private St. Cloud Bus Lines began to cut routes and increase fares, leading the Minnesota State Legislature to establish a Transit Authority to make up for perceived inadequate service. Nineteen total routes are available in the system, providing access to the community via nearly 700 bus stops. Thirteen city routes are provided, plus the  Northstar Link, which connects commuters to the Northstar Line train to Minneapolis. Additionally, five routes are primarily intended for St. Cloud State University (SCSU) students. About 2.4 million people used the service in 2009. Metro Bus is one of the only public transit agencies in the nation to have transit signal priority at all traffic lights. Since 2003, a universal transit pass has been part of SCSU fees, which has greatly increased ridership. A downtown transit center serves as a transfer point for many lines, and also serves Jefferson Lines intercity buses and Northstar Link service. Regular routes. Most of  these routes operate in loops originating at the downtown transit center at the corner of 1st Street South and 5th Avenue South. On weekdays, most routes run every half-hour during rush hours and every hour during non-rush hours. On weekends, most routes run every hour. Northstar Link. The Northstar Link (route 887) is a commuter bus route connecting St. Cloud to Metro Transit's Big Lake station which is currently the northernmost stop on the Northstar Line commuter rail service which opened in 2009. The train is eventually expected to serve St. Cloud directly, but the Northstar Link  bus has taken on the role in the meantime. The Northstar Link makes three stops in St. Cloud: the downtown transit center, SCSU, and a commuter parking lot at Lincoln Avenue SE and U.S. Highway 10. On Fridays, a special midday Northstar Link roundtrip designated 887F continues to/from downtown Minneapolis, making additional stops at Elk River, Ramsey, Anoka, and Coon Rapids. The northbound trip treats those Northstar stations as flag stops — disembarking passengers must tell the driver at Minneapolis, boarding passengers must call ahead.