The Minnesota Department of Transportation is currently studying the viability of launching intercity bus service between Greater Mankato and Minneapolis/St. Paul. To help determine the level of usage and type of users of this service, MnDOT is asking residents to participate in a brief survey. Check out the full release from MnDOT below and participate in the survey.

Interested in bus service along Hwy 169 Mankato to Twin Cities?
MnDOT survey asks destinations, frequency and tries to determine who the users would be

MANKATO, Minn. – Live in St. Peter or Mankato, but want to see a ballgame in the Twin Cities? Don’t have a car, or just don’t want to drive, but you found a good job in Belle Plaine?  MnDOT and several partners want to know if you are a potential bus user along the Highway 169 corridor.

A short survey found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/Hwy169IntercityBusGeneralSurvey  will ask the participant if they have a car, if they travel to Mankato or the Twin Cities, and if so, for what, how and how often.  And finally, the survey tries to figure out who are these potential bus users. Two lucky participants will win $25 VISA gift cards for completing the survey. The deadline to take the survey is May 15.

While the actual bus service would take shape around the yet-to-be identified markets, goals of an intercity bus along Highway 169 would include:

• A regular schedule with limited stops
• Fixed routes connecting two or more urban areas
• Capacity for transporting passenger’s baggage
• Tying into local and regional bus services

“We want to determine if there is a measurable unmet need for connecting our rural areas with the larger cities and tie this service into existing services along the route as well as those being developed in the Twin Cities area,” explains Planning Director Lisa Bigham.

In the fall of 2015, MnDOT assembled a team of agencies to evaluate the potential for intercity bus improvements between Mankato and the Twin Cities and an even broader stake holder group to engage in the study. The survey and more information can also be found at www.mndot.gov/d7/projects/hwy169study/.