Getting Around Without a Car: Transit, the Green Line & the Campus Connector

Reviewed 2026 — confirm time-sensitive details on the official links.

Here's the truth no campus tour fully explains: the U is huge, it's split across a river, and you do not need a car to handle any of it. This is your peer-to-peer cheat sheet to moving around campus and the Twin Cities for basically free.

First, the lay of the land

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities isn't one tidy quad — it's three areas, and the Mississippi River runs right through the middle of it.

East Bank — the biggest chunk. Most classes, the rec center, Coffman Union, the stadium, a ton of dorms. If someone says "campus," they usually mean here.
West Bank — across the river (west side). Home to a lot of arts, music, business, and social-sciences buildings. Smaller, walkable, a little quieter.
St. Paul campus — a few miles east, out past Prospect Park. Think agriculture, food science, vet med, and the bee lab. Greener, calmer, genuinely a different vibe.

East Bank and West Bank are a short walk apart (across one bridge — more on that below). St. Paul is too far to walk between classes, so that's what the free buses are for.

Bottom line: Two banks you can walk between, one campus you'll bus to. Plan a 10–15 minute buffer for any cross-river or cross-campus hop.

The Washington Avenue Bridge (your winter best friend)

The Washington Avenue Bridge connects East Bank and West Bank — and it's a double-decker. Cars and the light rail run on the lower deck; the upper deck is for people walking and biking, and the middle section is enclosed. That enclosed walkway is a genuine quality-of-life upgrade from roughly November through March, when crossing an open bridge over the Mississippi means a face full of brutal wind.

Pro move: when it's miserable out, take the enclosed center lane, not the open sides. The bridge is also where student groups paint panels each fall — fun to walk through. Crossing on foot takes about 5–7 minutes bank to bank.

Bottom line: Free, weatherproof, and the fastest way between banks. Use it.

The free Campus buses (Campus Connector & friends)

The U runs its own free intercampus shuttle system — no fare, no tap, just hop on. The flagship is the Campus Connector (Route 121), which links West Bank, East Bank, and St. Paul campus.

Other circulators include the 122 (University Avenue Circulator), 123 (Fourth Street Circulator), 124 (St. Paul Circulator), 125 (Dinkytown Connector), and 126 (Campus Express). Loops and which run this year can shift — confirm current routes at pts.umn.edu. → Official source
During the school year the Connector runs frequently — roughly every 5–7 minutes on weekdays — with reduced night and weekend service. Spans change by season, so check the current schedule before relying on a late ride. → Official source

Use the Transit app or pts.umn.edu for live arrivals — the campus buses show up there in real time, which beats standing in the cold guessing.

Bottom line: Free buses connect all three campus areas. The 121 to St. Paul is the one you'll use most.

The U-Pass / Universal Transit Pass (your real superpower)

This is the big one. As a U of M Twin Cities student, your transit access on the regional system is bundled into a student fee, and it's a massive discount versus paying per ride.

The program is now the Universal Transit Pass (UTP) — it loads onto your U Card, and tapping your student ID at a light-rail or rapid-bus station gets you unlimited rides on the regional system. (Older guides still say "U-Pass"; UTP is the current program.) → Official source
It covers unlimited rides on Metro Transit buses and light rail, plus several suburban providers: Maple Grove Transit, Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA), Plymouth Metrolink, SouthWest Transit, and Anoka County Transit (it also applies a partial credit toward Northstar Commuter Rail). → Official source
Cost: it's included in the Transportation Fee, which is $71 per semester. The fee is charged automatically (opt-out) to eligible students — pay it and you're enrolled. → Official source

If you pay the fee (most full-time students do), you basically have an all-you-can-ride transit pass in your pocket. Students who don't pay it can usually opt in each semester.

Bottom line: Tap your U Card, ride anything, pay almost nothing. Set this up before classes start.

The METRO Green Line (light rail to everywhere)

The METRO Green Line light rail runs right through campus along Washington/University Ave and connects you to downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul without ever touching a steering wheel.

On-campus and adjacent stops, in order: West Bank, East Bank, and Stadium Village, with Prospect Park just east. → Official source From East Bank you can be in downtown Minneapolis in about 10–15 minutes, or ride the full line to downtown St. Paul.

This is your move for: Target Field events, Nicollet Mall, the Guthrie, St. Paul, and grocery/errand runs you can't do on foot. Tap your U Card / UTP to ride.

Bottom line: The Green Line is the spine of your off-campus life. Learn it week one.

Regular Metro Transit buses

Beyond the campus shuttles, Metro Transit runs the city buses — and the U is served by two dozen-plus routes, so wherever you're headed (Uptown, the Mall of America, a friend's place), there's usually a bus. Your UTP covers these too. For guests or non-pass riders, the regular local bus and light-rail fare is $2 at all times, with $1 reduced fares for youth, seniors, and Medicare/disability riders; express routes cost more ($2.50 non-rush, $3.25 rush hour). → Official source

Biking & e-scooters

Campus is genuinely bike-friendly — protected lanes, bike racks everywhere, and flat-ish terrain.

Bike share / scooters: The old Nice Ride docked system wound down; the Twin Cities now run on dockless shared e-bikes and e-scooters, currently operated by Lime, Spin, and Veo. Fleets and which vehicles are out (scooters vs. e-bikes) shift by season, so check the City of Minneapolis micromobility page and the operator app. → Official source You unlock and pay per-ride in the app; this is not covered by your UTP.
Winter biking is real here — plenty of students do it with studded tires and good gloves, but it's a commitment. If you bring a bike, register it and use a U-lock; bike theft is the #1 campus property crime.

Bottom line: Great for spring/fall and short hops. Scooters are convenient but add up fast.

The parking reality (why freshmen skip the car)

Short version: don't bring a car your first year. Parking is expensive and limited, contract/permit lots have waitlists, street parking near campus is competitive and tightly enforced, and snow-emergency rules will tow you if you don't track them. Between the UTP, the free shuttles, and the Green Line, a car is mostly a money pit that sits in a ramp.

Bottom line: Your fee already bought you a city's worth of transit. Skip the car, skip the headache.

Getting to MSP airport by light rail

You can get to the airport on the train, but it's a two-line trip:

Take the Green Line from campus toward downtown Minneapolis.
Transfer to the Blue Line at one of the shared downtown stations (the lines share several stops from Target Field to U.S. Bank Stadium — just wait on the platform for the Blue Line).
Ride the Blue Line south to MSP — it stops at Terminal 1 (Lindbergh) and Terminal 2 (Humphrey).

Budget roughly 45–60 min door-to-terminal from campus and leave a comfortable cushion; check the current trip time and best transfer station on the Metro Transit trip planner before you go. → Official source Cheap, reliable, and covered by your UTP — no surge pricing, no parking fees.

Bottom line: Green Line → transfer downtown → Blue Line → airport. Give yourself extra time and you'll never pay for an airport ride again.

Your first-week movement cheat sheet

Activate your U Card / UTP and confirm your transit access works (tap it once and ride).
Download the Transit app for live campus-shuttle and Metro Transit arrivals.
Walk the Washington Avenue Bridge once so you know the East–West Bank connection (and find the enclosed lane for winter).
Ride the Campus Connector (121) end to end so St. Paul campus isn't a mystery.
Ride the Green Line to downtown Minneapolis once, just to see how easy it is.
Don't bring a car. Seriously.

GopherGuts is an independent, student-run resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Minnesota or Metro Transit. Schedules, fares, routes, and fees change — always confirm current details at pts.umn.edu, metrotransit.org, and ucard.umn.edu. See site footer for full disclaimer.