The University of Minnesota also operates a campus shuttle system that coordinates routes with Metro Transit services.

Just above 16% of ridership was concentrated on Metro Transit's busiest route, the Green Line light rail.

The agency also contracts with private providers such as First Transit to offer paratransit services which operate under the Metro Mobility brand.

The public complained that Twin City Lines buses were too slow, uncomfortable, and lacked connection with the other seven private suburban bus companies.

Originally, the bill also would have provided MTC the authority to acquire private bus companies though condemnation, but was removed after lobbying from Twin City Lines.

In October 1969 Simpson & Curtain, over two other alternatives, recommended public ownership of Twin City Lines, ridiculing them for "a record of long-term neglect".

On September 18, 1970, MTC acquired the dilapidated Twin City Lines bus system from businessman Carl Pohlad after mounting pressure for public ownership.

By 1975, MTC had acquired four private suburban companies, introduced 665 new buses to the fleet, and created the first highway express bus.

In 1972, the Regional Fixed Guideway Study for MTC proposed a $1.3 billion 37- or 57-mile (sources differ) heavy rail rapid transit system, but the then-separate Metropolitan Council disagreed with that idea—refusing to even look at the plan—and continuing political battles prevented its implementation.

Another system using smaller people movers was proposed in the 1975 Small Vehicle Fixed Guideway Study and gained the most traction with the Saint Paul city council, but was eventually dropped in 1980.

In 1986, cities and counties in the seven-county metropolitan area were given the option to run their own bus services and leave the MTC system.

Local policy requires that one third of the system's funding is to come from fares and current operations slightly exceed that level.

Metro Mobility users will pay $3.50 to $4.50 per ride, as well as an additional 75-cent surcharge for trips greater than 15 miles.

"[19] Metro is the system of frequent, all-day light rail and bus rapid transit lines owned by the Metropolitan Council that provide station-to-station service to the Twin Cities region.

Current plans call for a northern extension of the Metro Blue Line to Brooklyn Park.

On January 14, 2021, the Metropolitan Council announced that the Southwest LRT would not be able to make its targeted opening year of 2023 due to poor soil conditions in the Kenilworth Corridor.

The line began service on June 22, 2013, operated by Minnesota Valley Transit Authority on behalf of the Metropolitan Council.

The METRO Orange Line operates along Interstate 35W from Downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburbs, terminating in Burnsville.

The line will travel from downtown Saint Paul to White Bear Lake and 85-90% of the route will run on its own dedicated roads.

[28][29] There are two additional arterial bus rapid transit projects either under construction, undergoing engineering, or in the planning process.

The METRO B Line is a bus rapid transit route under construction for Lake Street, running from Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis's Uptown neighborhood to the Snelling & Dayton station of the A Line and continuing to Downtown Saint Paul along Selby Avenue.

An experiment to move buses off of Nicollet Mall to Hennepin Avenue in the afternoon rush hour occurred in 2005 and the results attracted mixed reviews.

[48] Bus-only lanes were first introduced to Hennepin Avenue South in 2018 and became permanent after a successful trial run.

[52] A report on the region's park and ride system, including other transit agencies, is published annually.

[54][55] To spend the money Metro Transit created a program called Better Bus Stops that reevaluated shelter placement guidelines.

Bus stop signs were redesigned to include more route information, and the agency made a goal of adding 150 additional shelters for a total of around 950.

[56][57] New shelter placement guidelines did away with different threshold for suburban and urban stops, and made the criteria based just on number of boardings and proximity to priority locations.

Diesel–electric hybrid buses introduced toward the end of the decade spurred new color schemes, with yellow at the front and the blue line moved above the side windows.

The METRO light-rail vehicles have a different color scheme: predominantly blue and white, with yellow on each end.

Metro Transit also uses vehicle wrap advertising on some buses and light rail cars, creating a different appearance.