15–25 extra minutes buys you a $2 ride up Penn Ave
Route 19 is a regular city bus running between downtown Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center via Olson Memorial Hwy and Penn Ave, and it never enters MSP. To use it for airport access, you ride the METRO Blue Line to downtown from Terminal 1 or 2, then transfer to the 19. The bus leg usually runs 15–25 minutes depending on where you hop off along Penn, and the base local fare runs about $2.00–$2.50 depending on time of day.
Service runs every 10–15 minutes in the daytime and then less often in the evening, so daytime airport workers along Penn Ave treat the 19 as their cheap link home. On weekdays, the bus grinds through North Minneapolis neighborhoods that see heavy boarding at stops like Penn Ave N & Plymouth Ave N, so the schedule looks tight on paper but rarely hits the theoretical end‑to‑end time in rush hour.
Fares match standard Metro Transit local pricing, so a single $2.00–$2.50 fare covers both the Blue Line and Route 19 if you’re inside the 2½‑hour transfer window printed on the Go‑To card validation or paper ticket. That means a full Terminal 1 to Penn Ave N trip can stay under $3 if you tap once at the airport, ride into downtown, and then board the 19 without re‑tapping.
Step-by-step: MSP to Route 19 on the cheap
- 1. From Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, follow signs to the METRO Blue Line platform; trains to downtown usually run every 10 minutes in the daytime.
- 2. Buy a local fare ticket ($2.00 off‑peak, $2.50 rush hour) at the station machine or tap your Go‑To card before boarding.
- 3. Ride the Blue Line about 20–25 minutes from MSP to one of the core downtown stations such as Government Plaza, Nicollet Mall, or Warehouse District/Hennepin Ave.
- 4. Get off at a central, well‑lit stop like Nicollet Mall Station, then walk one or two blocks to a marked Route 19 stop on 7th St or Olson Memorial Hwy, depending on direction.
- 5. Board the 19 using your existing transfer; keep the same ticket or card tap so the system treats it as one fare.
- 6. Ride 15–25 minutes along Penn Ave to your stop; expect slow, stop‑and‑go segments through North Minneapolis during rush hours.
What regulars do and what to watch for
Regulars coming off the Blue Line usually switch to Route 19 at central downtown stops like Nicollet Mall rather than at the edge of downtown, because those corners have more people around and better lighting late in the evening. They also build in an extra 10 minutes during the 4–6 p.m. rush, since Penn Ave congestion often pushes a supposed 15‑minute leg closer to 25.
Watch out for evening frequency drops: after roughly 7–8 p.m., Route 19 can stretch beyond 15‑minute headways, which means missing one bus may add half an hour to the total airport‑to‑Penn trip. If your flight lands at MSP after 10 p.m., check the Metro Transit trip planner before committing, and have a backup like a rideshare from a Blue Line station in case the last frequent buses have already passed.
One practical tip: tap or buy your Metro Transit ticket once at MSP, then keep it handy through both the Blue Line and the 19 so the whole airport‑to‑Penn Ave run stays on a single $2–$2.50 fare within the 2½‑hour window.