Commute from Apple Valley to Nicollet Mall Area (Minneapolis, Plymouth: houses, good schools)

[rbeale98]

Is anyone familiar with the commute from Apple Valley to downtown Nicollet Mall area (and back)? I am relocating to MSP soon and am looking at houses in various towns. Apple Valley seems affordable with good schools but the commute is farther than other towns I'm looking at.

[mnlife]

Some of my co-workers from that area use the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA). They run express buses to downtown Minneapolis. I would check that out if you will be working traditional hours.

[gweilo845]

I live in AV and work in downtown Minneapolis. I usually take the bus. If you will be commuting alone (ie, can't use the diamond lane) I would recommend it because either way you will be going (77 or 35) the traffic can get pretty bad, especially when you get to Crosstown and/or bad weather.


For the bus, there are a couple of express routes, the 477 (originates from the AV transit center) and 476 (goes around AV a bit before going downtown). Both are pretty reliable, the 476 from where I get it takes about 40 minutes to get downtown and the 477 is about 30 minutes from the transit center to downtown. These buses are usually pretty nice, with coach seating and wifi.


If you are not traveling during rush hour though, it can get more tricky. There is a route 475 that goes from the transit to downtown and eventually to the U of M. The trip to downtown is about 45 minutes. That route only goes about once an hour.


Beyond that, you can take the Red Line from the transit center to the MOA and then the light rail to downtown. That is a pretty long trip, though, about 25 minutes to MOA and then 40 minutes to downtown, not counting how long you have to wait for a train.


If you do not live close to the transit center, there is a ramp you can park at.


You can go to Metro Transit's site Home - Metro Transit and use their trip planner to look at various scenarios.

[BryaninMSP]

I'll third the express bus from AV to downtown. A good friend rides it every day and loves it.

You can also drive to a light rail station and park. That's what my wife did when she lived in Eagan.

[Citykid3785]

I take this exact commute, via car and bus.

By Car: most days I cover my 22 miles in 32 mins (no traffic like today) - 50 minutes (worse traffic/accident, etc), with maybe 38 minutes being average (10 of them just to navigate the one ways to get in/out of downtown)

By bus: 7 mins drive to station, 5 mins waiting since you don't want to arrive late, take the 476 for 32 mins, then walk for 2 mins, call it 45 mins. all in.

If you drive, be sure to add in time for parking. Not that it's bad here, it just adds 5 mins each way for me.

I can say that the bus options from AV are both inexpensive, comfortable, and convenient. The buses also have wifi.

[rbeale98]

Thank you all very much for the information. I ended up putting in an offer in Plymouth. We'll see how it goes.

[mnlife]

Plymouth Metrolink has express buses to downtown. They appear to have regular service as I see their buses downtown a lot.