Duluth Transit Authority Readies ‘Major Changes’ To Service

Major changes are coming for the Duluth Transit Authority - a "ground up" transformation - the kind not seen in decades.  With the improvements will also come changes that some might not understand.

The plan is called the Better Bus Blueprint and it's set to roll out in June.  Under the plan, the Duluth Transit Authority will aim to increase frequency along their busiest routes.  In order to accommodate the changes, the agency will also reduce bus routes.

According to details shared by the Superior Telegram [paywall], the Better Bus Blueprint will reduce the number of bus routes by more than half - "from 33 to 15".  That trade off will allow for what the Duluth Transit Authority is calling "Go Lines" - their major routes; stops along the Go Lines will see increased frequency:  "every 15 minutes during peak hours and 20 minutes during midday and evenings".

One thing that won't be changing - route start times.  The remaining routes will "mostly start around the same times - 5:00 AM on weekdays, 6:00 AM on Saturdays, and 7:00 AM on Sundays - and end no earlier than 8:00 PM, and as late as Midnight".

The changes aim to bring improvements that have been requested by passengers for years.  Two of the proverbial complaints about bus ridership in the Twin Ports has been "long rides and waits".

The plan got underway late last summer.  That's when the DTA Board of Directors approved the Better Bus Blueprint.

One other part of the plan that bus riders might notice is changes with where their usual bus stops are located.  Under the Better Bus Blueprint, the Duluth Transit Authority will remove "350 to 400" of it's less-needed bus stops.  Right now the DTA services about 1,300 bus stops throughout the Twin Ports.