$2 on MetroBus 34 gets you from STL to Earth City
From Terminal 1 at St. Louis Lambert (STL), MetroBus Route 34 Earth City runs out toward the warehouses, offices, and hotels in the Earth City industrial area northwest of I-70. This is a workhorse line for employees and budget riders, not a tourist shuttle. Standard MetroBus local fare runs about $1–3, and you board at the airport’s MetroBus area near the MetroLink station by Terminal 1.
Route 34 connects STL with Earth City business parks along Earth City Expressway and nearby cross streets, but some stops sit a 10–20 minute walk from certain hotels or offices. The line mainly feeds weekday shift times, so mid-day and late evening trips thin out fast. If your job starts at 7:00 a.m. near Rider Trail or Moog Drive, check the timetable the night before and build in a backup option.
Service can drop off hard after roughly 7–8 p.m., and riders on r/stlouis complain about long gaps and minimal weekend runs. One regular said if they miss a 34 from the airport, they can be stuck 45–60 minutes. That’s fine if you’re headed to a 3:00 p.m. shift, rough if your plane lands at 10:30 p.m. at Terminal 2 and you still have to walk over to the Terminal 1 transit area.
Common gripe: if you’re hauling a rolling suitcase or 40 lb duffel, the scattered stop locations in Earth City make MetroBus 34 a bad match compared with a 15-minute Uber from STL that drops you at your exact hotel door. Figure the bus saves maybe $20–30 versus a rideshare, but you pay with time and walking, especially along Earth City Expressway where sidewalks can be spotty.
Regulars often pair 34 with MetroLink Red Line trains that run every 12–20 minutes from STL into the city. Some workers hop a train to North Hanley or Grand, then grab a more frequent bus rather than wait 40 minutes for 34 outside Terminal 1. They watch the Transit app or Metro’s realtime tracker to line up transfers down to the minute.
Practical tip: before you bet your shift on this line, pull the current Route 34 weekday and weekend schedule, then set an alarm for the exact bus you need from STL plus the one after it; if you miss both, call an Uber immediately rather than hoping for a surprise extra trip.