When Travis Ohum commuted from Menomonie, Wis., he could spend up to three hours alone in his car traveling to and from his job in St. Paul.
Today he’s cut his travel time down to 15 minutes. From his home in Woodbury, Ohum drives less than three miles to the Hwy. 61 & Lower Afton Rd. Park & Ride lot where he boards a Route 361 bus just before 8 a.m.
“I feel like I’ve recaptured a bit of my life,” he said during a recent northbound trip on a 60-foot articulated bus.
Fellow commuters on the bus said they too elected to use transit to reduce the time they spent traveling to and from the office. Customers also said they preferred riding the bus because it costs less than paying for gas and parking, and it is simply more relaxing than fighting traffic on the Highway 61 corridor.
“I found myself filling up (with gas) almost every other day,” said Alicia Marcks, who commuted from River Falls, Wis. to St. Paul until she began riding Route 361 four months ago. “I don’t do that anymore.”
Gina Gross, Vicki Milverstedt and Andre Fasbender have found another reason to ride Route 361. The women board at the Cottage Grove Park & Ride lot and visit while traveling to and from their jobs in downtown St. Paul.
Though they didn’t know each other before, the trio are now self-proclaimed “bus buddies.” The group makes a habit of sitting in the middle section of the bus where the seats face one another and it's easier to talk.
“You ride long enough eventually you just say, ‘Hi,’” explained Fasbender, who lives in Hastings and began riding Route 361 a year ago as a way to save money.
Fasbender is the newest member of the group: Gross has ridden for a decade and Milverstedt began using Route 361 almost five years ago.
“We took a train (the METRO Blue Line) once to Target Field for a game and then I said, ‘Well this is pretty nice, I think I’ll try the bus,’” Milverstedt said.
Milverstedt isn’t the only south metro resident to sample transit and then make it a part of the routine. Since service began in 1997, Route 361 has seen more than 60,000 annual customer boardings. In 2012, there were almost 64,000 customer boardings.
Route 361 buses make four northbound trips during the morning rush hour and five southbound trips during the afternoon rush hour.
Anticipating 100,000 new residents in the Highway 61 corridor over the next two decades, the Washington County Regional Railroad Authority and the Red Rock Corridor Commission are studying options for a 30-mile transitway between Hastings and St. Paul’s Union Depot, where commuters could connect with other buses and the METRO Green Line.
Expanded express bus service, Bus Rapid Transit like the METRO Red Line and commuter rail are under consideration. The transitway could mirror the route taken by commuter trains that ran in the corridor beginning in the 1880s and include stops in Hastings, Cottage Grove, Newport and Lower Afton.
“As the region grows, alternatives to sitting in traffic congestion are only going to become more important,” said Andy Gitzlaff, a senior planner with the Washington County Regional Railroad Authority.
Route 361 At a Glance
Type: Express
Service: Route 361 travels along the Highway 61 corridor between the Cottage Grove Park & Ride and downtown St. Paul. A branch, Route 361B, makes two additional stops in Cottage Grove. Buses stop at the Hwy. 61 & Lower Afton Rd. Park & Ride. There are four northbound trips between 6 a.m. and 7:40 a.m. and five southbound trips between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Route length: Approximately 14 miles
Vehicles: 40-foot standard, 60-foot articulated
Ridership: Nearly 64,000 customer boardings in 2012
History: Express buses began running on the Highway 61 corridor in the 1970s. Route 361 was launched in 1997, providing all-day express service between Cottage Grove and St. Paul. Service was eventually pared back to its existing level, with trips only in the morning and evening rush hours. Commuter trains ran in the Highway 61 corridor beginning in 1881
Future: The Washington County Regional Railroad Authority and the Red Rock Corridor Commission are studying expanded express bus service, Bus Rapid Transit and commuter rail in the Highway 61 corridor.