Increased automobile use and growing urban sprawl caused public transport to decline in the area.

[4] In 1974, the Fargo-Moorhead Council of Governments began management of the area's public transit, which was subsequently named MAT.

Fargo and Moorhead later took control of their portions of the transit system, but continued cooperation and coordination under the MAT brand.

[5] During special events, MATBUS also operates a free shuttle between the Fargo and Moorhead downtown areas called LinkFM.

The system allows students at the university to request a ride via a smartphone app to and from any location on campus or nearby neighborhoods.