Valley Metro Bus
| Company type | Public transportation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transit |
| Headquarters | Phoenix , United States |
Area served | Maricopa County, Arizona, United States; extends to Ajo in Pima County |
| Products | Local, regional, express, rural bus routes |
| Owner | Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority |
| Website | www |
Valley Metro Bus serves as the primary public transportation bus network within Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It provides a range of services—including local, regional, express, and rural routes—across the Phoenix Metropolitan Area and extends to the community of Ajo located in Pima County, encompassing a broad service region. In , the system achieved a total ridership of , with an average weekday patronage of as reported in .
The overall coordination of the system is handled by Valley Metro, formally known as the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority. Bus operations are outsourced to private contractors and city governments within the Phoenix metropolitan area, all operating under the Valley Metro branding.
Every bus in the fleet complies with ADA standards, equipped with ramps or lifts to ensure accessibility. Additionally, fixed-route buses feature bicycle racks to facilitate combined cycling and transit commutes.
Operations
Valley Metro oversees more than 100 bus routes that include standard, limited-stop, and community circulator services. Frequency depends on the route: the most heavily trafficked lines run at 10-minute intervals until 1:00 am, whereas less busy routes have 30-minute headways during off-peak hours, typically concluding service by midnight.
Route types and naming conventions
The network consists of 60 local routes arranged in a super-grid pattern aligned with Phoenix’s street numbering system. Examples include:
- Route 35 travels north–south along 35th Avenue (3500 block west).
- Route 0 follows Central Avenue north–south, which serves as the zero baseline.
- Route 50 runs east–west along Camelback Road (5000 block north).
- Route 72 operates north–south on Scottsdale and Rural Roads (7200 block east).
- Route 104 covers Alma School Road (10400 block east), outside Mesa’s grid.
- Routes 7 and 8 serve 7th Street and 7th Avenue respectively, with numbering adjusted to prevent confusion.
- Route 17 moves east–west on McDowell Road (1600 block north), positioned numerically above Route 16 on 16th Street.
- Route 81 runs north–south on Hayden Road and McClintock Drive (8000 block east), numbered higher than Route 80 on Northern Avenue.
Community circulator routes mainly provide fare-free travel, except for Avondale Zoom services which charge a nominal 50-cent fare. These circulators link residential areas with commercial centers using minibuses or mid-sized buses, branded distinctly per community—for instance, Scottsdale Neighborhood Trolley or Tempe Orbit Jupiter.
LINK routes were designed as limited-stop connectors to transit centers served by Valley Metro Rail, featuring enhanced shelters and transit-priority vehicles. Named after their corresponding streets (Main Street LINK and Arizona Avenue LINK), these services were discontinued in October 2016 and replaced by upgraded local Routes 40 and 112.
A set of six RAPID routes offers limited-stop commuter trips from Park and Ride facilities near freeways into downtown Phoenix’s central business district, including stops at the Arizona State Capitol. These routes—named after nearby freeways such as RAPID I-10 East and South Mountain RAPID—operate inbound during morning rush hours and outbound in the afternoon using specially liveried NABI CompoBus suburban buses.
Express routes cater to commuters traveling from suburban Park and Ride locations with fares aligned to RAPID services. These are numbered in the 500 series according to service area:
- 51x – Scottsdale
- 52x – Tempe
- 53x – Mesa and Gilbert
- 54x – Chandler
- 56x – Southwest Valley (Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, Tolleson)
- 57x – Northwest Valley (Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Sun Cities)
These express buses range from transit-style vehicles to full suburban coaches and operate unidirectionally during peak periods along major freeways toward downtown Phoenix and the State Capitol.
Route list
Routes indicated with an asterisk (*) belong to the Frequent Bus Network, offering service intervals of 15 minutes or less on weekdays from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Color legend:
| Color | Operator | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Transdev-Phoenix | Previously known as Veolia-Phoenix. Manages operations at both North and South Phoenix locations. |
| Orange | Transdev-Phoenix (formerly First Transit) | Oversees the West Phoenix facility. |
| Pink | Keolis-RPTA (formerly First Transit) | Handles Mesa and Tempe operations. Took over from Veolia-RPTA (Mesa) and Veolia-Tempe on July 1, 2013. |
| Purple | National Express (formerly Total Transit) | Contracted through RPTA. Runs from Total Transit’s southeast Glendale facility. |
| Turquoise | City of Glendale | Solely operates non-contracted routes. Also responsible for Glendale Dial-a-Ride service. |
| Olive | Dunn Transportation | Provides operational services only; vehicle maintenance is conducted in-house. |
| Brown | National Express (formerly Ajo Transportation) | Functions under contract with RPTA. |
Transit centers
Valley Metro Bus operates through several primary transit hubs, including:
- 19th Ave and Montebello Transit Center in Phoenix
- Arrowhead Transit Center located in Glendale
- Central Station in Phoenix, at Van Buren/1st Avenue and Van Buren/Central Avenue stations
- Chandler Fashion Center Transit Center in Chandler
- Desert Sky Transit Center in Phoenix
- Ed Pastor Transit Center, Phoenix
- Gilbert Rd/Main St Transit Center in Mesa
- Main St and Sycamore Transit Center in Mesa
- Mustang Transit Center in Scottsdale
- Paradise Valley Mall Transit Center in Phoenix
- Sunnyslope Transit Center, Phoenix
- Superstition Springs Transit Center
- Tempe Transportation Center in Tempe
- Thelda Williams Transit Center (Metro Parkway station), Phoenix
Customer service
The Transit Book, previously known as the Bus Book, is published twice yearly and contains schedules and route maps.
NextRide is an automated system providing real-time bus and light rail arrival updates accessible via text message and online tracking.
Passenger information systems
Except for the non-Phoenix circulator routes, all buses are equipped with the Route Scout system, which includes illuminated route signs and audio-visual stop notifications.
Valley Metro Rail cars announce station stops audibly. RAPID bus stops, along with former LINK stops, feature real-time arrival displays. Train platforms also broadcast estimated train arrival times.
Valley Metro service providers
| No. | Route Name | Service Type | Operator | Facility Base | Start Terminal | End Terminal | Route Length | FY2024 Annual Ridership | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0*
|
Central Ave | Local Service | Transdev-Phoenix | Phoenix South, Phoenix North Facilities | Sunnyslope Sunnyslope Transit Center |
South Mountain Heights S Central Av & Dobbins Rd |
374,804 % | |||
| South Mountain Heights S Central Av & Baseline Rd |
| |||||||||
1
|
Washington/Jefferson St | Local Service | Transdev-Phoenix | Phoenix South Facility | East Phoenix Priest Drive/Washington station |
Central City Central Station |
74,678 % | |||
3*
|
Van Buren St | Local Service | Transdev-Phoenix | Phoenix West Facility | Camelback East Phoenix Zoo |
Avondale La Canada Bl & 4th St (Weekdays and Saturdays) |
732,944 % |
|
||
|
Tolleson: Van Buren St & 83rd Av (Alternate Saturday trips and Sundays) | |
||||||||||
|
Camelback East: Van Buren St & 44th St West Phoenix: Van Buren St & 35th Av | |
| |||||||||
7*
|
7th St Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix South, Phoenix North Facilities
|
Deer Valley |
South Mountain Heights: 7th St & Dobbins Rd | |
735,136 ridership, reflecting growth over previous year | | ||||||
|
North Mountain Village: 7th St & Dunlap Rd South Mountain Village: 7th St & Baseline Rd | |
| |||||||||
8
|
7th Ave Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix South, Phoenix North Facilities | Sunnyslope Transit Center |
South Mountain Heights Baseline Rd & Central Av | |
340,878 ridership with a slight upward trend | | ||||||
10*
|
Roosevelt St Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix South Facility | East Phoenix32nd St & Roosevelt St |
Central City Central Station | |
97,377 ridership decline noted | | ||||||
12
|
12th St Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix South, Phoenix North Facilities | Sunnyslope Transit Center |
Central City Jefferson St & 12th St stations | |
193,280 ridership decrease recorded | | ||||||
13
|
Buckeye Rd Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix West Facility | Central City 24th Street SkyTrain station |
Estrella Village Buckeye Rd & 75th Av | |
243,809 ridership increase observed | | ||||||
15
|
15th Ave Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix South, Phoenix North Facilities | Alhambra Montebello/19th Avenue station |
Central City South 15th Av & Pima St | |
188,881 ridership growth reported | | ||||||
16*
|
16th St Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix South, Phoenix North Facilities | Paradise Valley North Paradise Valley Community College |
South Mountain Heights Dobbins Rd & Central Av | |
632,279 ridership increase noted | | ||||||
|
Camelback East Village - Camelback East South Mountain Village - Baseline Rd |
| ||||||||||
17
|
McDowell Rd Local | Transdev-Phoenix |
Phoenix West Facility | Scottsdale McDowell Rd & Pima Rd Goodyear McDowell Rd & Pebble Creek Pkwy (Weekdays and Saturdays) ' ' Tolleson McDowell Rd & 99th Av (Alternate Saturday trips and Sundays) ' ' | / ' ' 917,787 ridership increase ' '
|
| Provider | Contracted By | Local Routes | Express Routes | RAPID Routes | Local Shuttles | Paratransit | Former Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transdev (previously Veolia Transport) | City of Phoenix | 0, 1, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 19, 27, 28, 32, 35, 39, 44, 50, 52, 60, 70, 80, 90, 106, 122, 138, 154, 170, 186, Light Rail (ATC) | SR-51, I-10 East/West, I-17, Central Ave/South Mountain East/West | ALEX (Ahwatukee Local Explorer), DASH (Downtown Area Shuttle), SMART (Sunnyslope Multi-Access Residential Transit) | Red Line (weekday service ended 2008), Blue Line (ended 2008), Route 581 (ended 2012) | ||
| MV Transportation | City of Phoenix | Phoenix Dial-a-Ride | ALEX (transferred to Transdev-Phoenix July 2016) | ||||
| Transdev (formerly First Transit/Laidlaw) | City of Phoenix | 3, 13, 17, 29, 41, 43, 51, 59, 67, 75, 83 | MARY (Maryvale Area Ride) | Green (renamed Route 29 in 2008), discontinued routes such as I-10 West RAPID (transferred to Veolia/Transdev-Phoenix in 2012), plus others phased out by 2016 | |||
| Keolis (previously First Transit) | RPTA and City of Tempe | 30,40,45,48,56,61–62,66,72,77,81,96,104–108–112–120–128–136–140–156–184 | 514–522 series | BUZZ (Downtown Mesa), FLASH Forward/Back (Free Shuttle), ORBIT | Numerous routes discontinued from budget cuts or low ridership between 2008 and 2025; some services replaced or transferred to improved routes | ||
| Total Transit (formerly Valu Trans) | RPTA | 562–575 series including GL | Several former routes merged or discontinued as of October 2023 | ||||
| RTW Management (operations only) | City of Scottsdale | OLDT (Old Town Trolley), MLHD (Miller Hayden Trolley), MSTG (Mustang Trolley) | Multiple trolley routes realigned since 2019; seasonal Hospitality Trolley service discontinued after winter season due to insufficient ridership | ||||
| National Express | RPTA | 685 | Route 660 discontinued in October 2011 due to low demand | ||||
| City of Glendale | City of Glendale | GUS shuttles | Glendale Dial-a-Ride |
Consolidation of Tempe Transit Services with the RPTA
In 2012, the City of Tempe put forward a plan to merge its transit operations with the Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) to achieve cost savings and enhance operational efficiency by leveraging Tempe’s more centrally situated transit facility. On November 24, 2012, Tempe approved moving forward with this consolidation. Although the contract was initially set to be awarded to First Transit in December 2012, Veolia Transport filed a protest concerning undisclosed cost-saving details. The protest was ultimately rejected, and the contract was officially granted to First Transit on January 24, 2013.
Bus fleet
Valley Metro along with its member municipalities manages a bus fleet exceeding 800 vehicles dedicated to public routes, complemented by nearly 200 vehicles allocated for paratransit services.