EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, UNITED STATES, October 15, 2024 – SouthWest Transit (SWT) is proud to announce it has been honored as the 2024 Transit System of the Year by the Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA), recognizing the organization’s leadership in community impact and commitment to innovation.

MPTA describes the Transit System of the Year Award as “presented annually to an organization that has demonstrated significant achievements in efficiency and effectiveness, including reports on ridership, cost, safety, maintenance proficiency, agency policy, and administration of the organization’s achievement of its goals and objectives.”

As he stood to accept the award, CEO Erik Hansen called up all members of the SWT team in attendance, saying, “Come up, all of you, this is awarded to all of us, it’s a team effort.” On behalf of the full team, he went on to say, “We’re proud and humbled to receive this award among a room full of our fellow partners in transit. We look forward to continuing to provide the same premium experience our customers have grown to rely on from SouthWest Transit.”

In the last year, SouthWest Transit expanded their shuttle service to include a wider variety of events, diversifying its service offerings to further serve the needs of the community. Next month, SouthWest Transit is launching a fleet of autonomous vehicles into their SouthWest Prime on-demand rideshare service (the first in the Twin Cities Metro), and in early 2025, service will begin along the 494 corridor.

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About SouthWest Transit

SouthWest Transit is an award-winning Transit agency serving the SouthWest Twin Cities area through fixed route transportation, microtransit, and shuttle services. The agency is committed to serving the needs of their customers through diverse and innovative transit solutions that build the community and connect customers from where they are to where they want to go. Visit www.swtransit.org for more information and follow along on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Erica Schulte King 
SouthWest Transit 
eking@swtransit.org