# Metro Transit *Transit operating subsidiary of the Metropolitan Council, serving seven counties in the Twin Cities region.* Metro Transit is the operating subsidiary of the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]] and runs transit operations across seven counties.[^1] The agency publishes the post-2021 operational framework of its police force, the Metro Transit Police Department, on its own website.[^2] The agency's newest opened line is the [[Gold Line]]. It is 10 miles long with 16 stations and runs from downtown St. Paul to [[Woodbury]]. Metro Transit puts the line's total project cost at $505.3 million, and service began on March 22, 2025.[^3] The corridor north of the Gold Line has carried three names without being built: the Rush Line, the Purple Line, and the [[Bronze Line]]. Metro Transit discontinued the Purple Line in September 2025.[^4] Two outside reviews in the pack concern the agency's region and operations. The Office of the [[Legislative Auditor]] reviewed transit governance in the Twin Cities region in January 2011.[^5] The [[Citizens League]] issued a final report on Metro Transit safety in September 2021.[^6] ## Who Metro Transit is the operating subsidiary of the Metropolitan Council.[^1] The Metro Transit Police Department is the agency's police force, and its post-2021 operational framework appears on the agency's website.[^2] The Office of the Legislative Auditor published *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region* in January 2011.[^5] The Citizens League published *Metro Transit Safety Conversation Final Report* in September 2021.[^6] ## Where Metro Transit runs transit operations across seven counties.[^1] The Gold Line runs from downtown St. Paul through [[Oakdale]] to Woodbury. About 70 percent of the route is in dedicated bus-only lanes.[^3] ## When Construction of the Gold Line began in 2022, and service began on March 22, 2025.[^3] Wikipedia's article on the line records local opposition. The [[Lake Elmo]] council supported the project in 2014 but voted against it by 2016. Oakdale residents opposed it, and a nonprofit, Citizens for Smart Transit, formed to fight it. St. Paul East Side businesses reported reduced access during construction.[^7] ## How much Metro Transit gives the Gold Line's total project cost as $505.3 million. The funding shares were as follows: - Federal Transit Administration: 45 percent (about $249 million) - Ramsey County: 26 percent - Washington County: 26 percent - Federal Highway Administration: 1 percent - [[Counties Transit Improvement Board]]: 1.5 percent - State of [[Minnesota]]: 0.5 percent[^3] Minnesota Statutes § 473.446 is the section on transit tax levies.[^8] ## How many Metro Transit gives the Gold Line as 10 miles long with 16 stations.[^3] Wikipedia's article on the line gives a different station count of 12; this article follows the agency figure.[^7] ## In the at-issue record The corridor north of the Gold Line has carried three names without being built. It began as the Rush Line. It was then officially designated the Purple Line on July 14, 2021. As of December 2025, it is the Bronze Line. Metro Transit discontinued the Purple Line in September 2025. As of the record's date, further development, engineering and construction were expected to take at least six more years. The federal permitting record for the corridor is the Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit project entry, which persists across each rename.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Metro Transit, *Metro Transit* (undated agency page) — Metro Transit as the Metropolitan Council's operating subsidiary; transit operations across seven counties. https://www.metrotransit.org/ [^2]: Metro Transit, *Metro Transit Police* (undated agency page) — Metro Transit Police Department post-2021 operational framework. https://www.metrotransit.org/police [^3]: Metro Transit, *Gold Line Facts* (undated agency page) — total project cost $505.3 million; funding shares; 10 miles, 16 stations; about 70 percent bus-only lanes; route; construction began 2022; service began March 22, 2025. https://www.metrotransit.org/gold-line-facts [^4]: U.S. Permitting Dashboard, *Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit* (undated) — federal permitting record for the corridor across its renamings; primary anchor of the at-issue record on the Rush, Purple and Bronze Line names. https://www.permits.performance.gov/permitting-projects/rush-line-bus-rapid-transit [^5]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Governance of Transit in the Twin Cities Region* (January 2011), Summary — review of transit governance in the Twin Cities region. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/ped/2011/transitsum.htm [^6]: Citizens League, *Metro Transit Safety Conversation Final Report* (September 2021) — report on Metro Transit safety. https://citizensleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Citizens-League_Transit-Safety-Project_-Final-Report.pdf [^7]: Wikipedia, *Metro Gold Line (Minnesota)* (undated; tertiary) — Lake Elmo council position in 2014 and 2016; Oakdale opposition; Citizens for Smart Transit; East Side business access; station count of 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Gold_Line_(Minnesota [^8]: Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minn. Stat. § 473.446, Transit tax levies* — statute on transit tax levies. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473.446