Getting Around Campus

The Twin Cities offers a wide range of transportation options, including a major airport hub, plus an extensive public transportation system of buses, trains, and lightrail. Innovative bike-sharing and car-sharing services are also available.

Over 250 trains pass through campus every day.

MSP Airport

  • The Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport was named the Best Airport in North America by Travel and Leisure magazine.
  • 25 to 40 million passengers are serviced through the airport each year.
  • The light-rail system easily connects the airport with downtown Minneapolis, St. Paul, the U of M campus, and the Mall of America.

Campus Connector Bus

  • The free maroon and gold U of M Campus Connectors help students, staff/faculty, and visitors to navigate campus.
  • The Campus Connector connects the St. Paul, East Bank, and West Bank campuses.
  • Connectors run every five minutes during the school day, and every 15 to 30 minutes at night and on weekends.

Campus is accessible for bikers and walkers.

Biking

  • Bicycling to the University can be a healthy, cost‐effective way for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to get around campus. 
  • Bicycling magazine named the Twin Cities as America’s Best Bike City for its 184 miles of bicycle paths and 76 miles of on-street dedicated bicycle lanes.
  • Nice Ride is a bike-sharing service that provides stations on campus and around the Twin Cities.

Walking

  • Walking is a popular way to get around campus. Check out the walking time between buildings on each campus. It will give you a good idea of how manageable it is to walk between classes, your residence hall, and a class, in a relatively short amount of time.
  • On rainy or snowy days, take advantage of the Gopher Way, a signed route that connects many buildings on campus by tunnels and skyways.

Campus Circulators on the University campus.

Light Rail

  • Twin Cities' public transportation options, including light rail and busing, account for one of the shortest commutes in the nation, averaging less than 24 minutes.
  • The Green Line lightrail links downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis and runs through the heart of the University campus, with three stops on campus: the Stadium Village Station, the East Bank Station, and the West Bank Station.
  • The Campus Zone Pass allows passengers to ride between the three campus light rail stops on the Green Line (West Bank, East Bank, and Stadium Village) without paying a fare. It is free to registered Twin Cities students, faculty, and staff.
  • The Green Line connects to the Blue Line, which takes riders to the MSP Airport and Mall of America.