Founded 1870's Routes 25 Headquarters Fargo Fuel types Diesel fuel, Biodiesel | Service area Fargo–Moorhead Website matbus.com Fleet 43 Service types Transit bus, Paratransit | |
Profiles | ||
Fargo Moorhead Metro Area Transit (popularly known as MAT or MATBUS) is a bus company serving the Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota Metropolitan Area.
Contents
History
Public transport in Fargo–Moorhead began in the 1870s, with horse-drawn coaches. In the twentieth century, trolleys and buses were introduced. Trolley tracks can still be seen in some alley ways in Fargo. Increased automobile use and growing urban sprawl caused public transport to decline in the area. Beginning in 1971, transit was subsidized.
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.
Ridership
Metro Area Transit has experienced a 28 percent increase in the number of riders in Fargo. In January and February, MAT carried 241,196 passengers on its Fargo routes, up from 185,292 during the same period in 2007.
High gas prices surely receive some of the credit for the increase in riders on MAT. Customers can buy a 30-day bus pass for just $40.00 for adults and $26.00 for youth, senior citizens, disabled. But Fargo Planning and Development Director Jim Gilmour sees other explanations as well.
“We greatly improved service to the shopping areas on 13th Avenue South in late 2007,” Gilmour said. “Since then, we’ve seen a 66 percent jump in ridership on Route 15, which was extended to serve Walmart and offer a more direct connection to the West Acres Shopping Center. The fact this route is now available every 15 minutes instead of every 60 makes it easier than ever for shoppers to reach their destinations.”
A third factor in MAT’s increasing passenger load is the number of Fargo college students using the bus system; this number was up 37% in January/February 2008 when compared to January/February 2007 statistics.
Link F-M
Link F-M is a route that serves the downtowns of Fargo and Moorhead, established as a way for people to conveniently move between both city's downtowns. Link F-M began giving rides in 2015.
Transit route and timetables
MATBUS operates the following routes. Click HERE to view the map with all 25 MATBUS fixed routes.