Valley Metro Bus is the public transit bus service in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Valley Metro Bus provides local, regional, express, and rural bus services in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area (as well as the community of Ajo in Pima County), covering a service area of . In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday in .
Valley Metro, officially known as the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority, is responsible for coordinating the bus system. Bus services are operated by private contractors and individual municipalities in the Phoenix area, branded as Valley Metro.
All Valley Metro Bus services are accessible to persons with disabilities, with ramps or lifts installed on all buses. Additionally, all fixed-route buses are equipped with bicycle racks.
Operations There are over 100 bus routes contracted by Valley Metro, including regular routes, limited-stop routes, and community circulators. Bus frequency, hours, and days of operation vary by route. The most heavily used routes have peak 10-minute frequency and run until 1:00 am, while less-used routes run every 30 minutes off-peak, ending at midnight.
Route types and naming conventions
, sixty local bus routes form Valley Metro's super-grid bus system. They are numbered roughly according to the address on the Phoenix area's street grid on which they travel. For example: Route 35 is a north–south route which runs along 35th Avenue, which is the 3500 block, west, on the street grid. Route 0 runs north–south along Central Avenue, which is the dividing street or "zero point" separating east and west Phoenix on the street grid. Route 50 runs east–west along Camelback Road, which is the 5000 block, north, on the street grid Route 72 runs north–south along Scottsdale and Rural Roads, which are the 7200 block, east, on the street grid. Route 104 runs north–south along Alma School Road, which corresponds to the 10400 block, east, on the street grid (but not in the city of Mesa itself, which uses a different street numbering/zero point origin from the city of Phoenix). Routes 7 and 8 each run on 7th Street and 7th Avenue respectively. Given that Phoenix has numbered thoroughfares designated as "Avenues" west of Central and "Streets" east of Central, Route 8 is one digit higher to avoid confusion with Route 7 which are both the 700 blocks. Route 17 runs east–west along McDowell Road, which actually is the 1600 block, north, on the street grid. Route 17 is one digit higher to avoid confusion with Route 16, which runs north–south along 16th Street which is the 1600 block, east, on the street grid. Route 81 runs north–south on Hayden Road and McClintock Drive, which is the 8000 block, east, on the street grid. Route 81 is one digit higher to avoid confusion with Route 80, which runs east–west along Northern Avenue, which is the 8000 block, north, on the street grid.
The community circulator routes are free of charge except for the Avondale Zoom routes, each with a 50 cent fare; formerly the Glendale Urban Shuttle (GUS) routes had a 25 cent fare to ride, but this was dropped on October 23, 2017. They supplement the standard grid service with routes that connect neighborhoods to nearby business districts. The naming convention varies by the communities they serve, such as the Scottsdale Neighborhood Trolley, Tempe Orbit Jupiter, and Phoenix SMART.
The LINK routes were limited-stop, streamlined bus connections to transit centers served by Valley Metro Rail. These routes used upgraded bus shelters with illuminated "Next Bus" boards, and bus rapid transit-styled vehicles with traffic signal priority. They were named after the street they travel on. The two routes were the Main Street LINK and the Arizona Avenue LINK. LINK service was discontinued on October 24, 2016, and was replaced by enhanced local service on Routes 40 and 112.
The six RAPID routes are limited-stop commuter routes in the city of Phoenix that travel from Park and Ride lots in outlying neighborhoods near major freeways to RAPID stops in the downtown business core (including the Arizona State Capitol complex). These routes are mostly named for the freeway on which they travel, such as RAPID I-10 East and South Mountain RAPID routes (two routes connect newly developed neighborhoods along Baseline Road with downtown via 19th Avenue or 24th Street). They are unidirectional, traveling toward downtown in the morning and out of downtown in the afternoons.
The express routes are also limited-stop commuter routes with higher fares than standard routes, but the same routes and similar operation to RAPID, operating from outlying Park and Ride lots and pickup points in suburban areas outside the city of Phoenix. They are numbered in the 500s, with the second digit indicating the area they serve, using the following scheme: 51x – Scottsdale 52x – Tempe 53x – Mesa and Gilbert 54x – Chandler 56x – Southwest Valley (Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, and Tolleson) 57x – Northwest Valley (Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, and Sun Cities)
These routes are also unidirectional, traveling into downtown Phoenix and the State Capitol in the morning (using the major freeways after traveling on other streets for part of the trip) and out of downtown in the afternoons.
Route list
+Color key Color Operator Note Blue Transdev-Phoenix Formerly Veolia-Phoenix. Operates the North and South Phoenix facilities. Peach Transdev-Phoenix (formerly First Transit) Operates the West Phoenix facility. Pear Dunn Transportation Operations only, maintenance performed in-house. Plum Keolis-RPTA (formerly First Transit) Operates the Mesa and Tempe facilities. Purple National Express (formerly Total Transit) Contracted by the RPTA. Operated from the Total Transit facility in southeast Glendale. Turquoise City of Glendale Only non-contracted routes in the system. Also operates Glendale Dial-a-Ride. Brown National Express (formerly Ajo Transportation) Contracted by the RPTA.
Routes marked with an asterisk (*) are a part of the Frequent Bus Network (15 minute-or-better headways on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.): No. Name Type Terminals Annual ridership (FY2025) Note 0* Central Ave LocalSunnyslopeSunnyslope Transit CenterSouth Mountain Heights S Central Av & Dobbins Rd 419,687 %South Mountain HeightsS Central Av & Baseline RdAlternate weekday daytime trips 1 Washington St LocalEast PhoenixPriest Drive/Washington stationCentral CityCentral Station 71,924 % 3*Van Buren StLocalCamelback EastPhoenix ZooAvondaleLa Canada Bl & 4th St (weekdays and Saturdays) 843,211 %No service east of Galvin Parkway when Phoenix Zoo is closed.TollesonVan Buren St & 83rd Av (Alternate Saturday trips and Sundays)Camelback EastVan Buren St & 44th StWest PhoenixVan Buren St & 35th AvAlternate weekday daytime trips 7*7th St LocalDeer ValleyDeer Valley Rd & 19th AvSouth Mountain Heights7th St & Dobbins Rd 763,664 %North Mountain Village7th St & Dunlap RdSouth Mountain Village7th St & Baseline RdAlternate weekday daytime trips 8 7th Ave LocalSunnyslopeSunnyslope Transit CenterSouth Mountain HeightsBaseline Rd & Central Av 330,895 % 10 Roosevelt St LocalEast Phoenix32nd St & Roosevelt StCentral CityCentral Station 94,618 % 12 12th St LocalSunnyslopeSunnyslope Transit CenterCentral CityJefferson St & 12th St 201,254 %13 Buckeye Rd LocalCentral City24th Street SkyTrain stationEstrella VillageBuckeye Rd & 75th Av 257,030 % 15 15th Ave LocalAlhambraMontebello/19th Avenue stationCentral City South15th Av & Pima St 187,869 % 16* 16th St LocalParadise Valley NorthParadise Valley Community CollegeSouth Mountain HeightsDobbins Rd & Central Av 658,454 %Camelback East16th St & Northern AvSouth Mountain Village16th St & Baseline RdAlternate weekday trips 17 McDowell Rd LocalScottsdaleMcDowell Rd & Pima RdGoodyearMcDowell Rd & Pebble Creek Pkwy (weekdays and Saturdays) 1,019,064 %Alternate weekday trips run between 43rd Avenue and 44th Street Alternate weekday midday trips from Pima Road run to/from 83rd AvenueTollesonMcDowell Rd & 99th Av (Alternate Saturday trips and Sundays) 19* 19th Ave LocalNorterraHappy Valley Rd & 23rd AvLaveen Village27th Avenue/Baseline P&R 1,198,056 % 27 27th Ave LocalDeer Valley23rd Av & Rose Garden LnEstrella VillageLower Buckeye Rd & 27th Av 703,678 %Every other rush hour trip & all off-peak trips alternate between 23rd Av-Rose Garden La and 27th Av-Deer Valley Rd Alternate rush hour trips run south of Bell RoadDeer Valley27th Av & Deer Valley Rd 28 Lower Buckeye Rd LocalBradley Ranch22nd Av & Lower Buckeye RdSouth Tolleson Lower Buckeye Rd & 99th Av 103,272 % 29*Thomas RdLocalScottsdalePima ParkMaryvale VillageThomas Rd & 93rd Av 1,222,536 %Camelback East VillageThomas Rd & 44th StMaryvale VillageDesert Sky Transit CenterAlternate weekday daytime trips 30 University Dr LocalMesaUniversity Dr & Power RdSouth Mountain Heights24th Street/Baseline P&R 443,902 %Terminates at SMCC during school hours 32 32nd St/40th St LocalCamelback East28th St & Camelback RdSouth Mountain HeightsBaseline Rd & 40th St 346,437 % 35* 35th Ave LocalNorterraHappy Valley Rd & 23rd AvSouth Mountain Heights27th Avenue/Baseline P&R 950,286 %North Mountain VillageThelda Williams Transit CenterEstrella Village35th Av & Lower Buckeye RdAlternate weekday trips 39 North 40th St LocalParadise Valley NorthParadise Valley Community CollegeParadise Valley VillageDreamy Draw P&R 43,435 % 40*Main StLocalMesaSycamore/Main stationSuperstition SpringsSuperstition Springs Transit Center 289,428 %MesaGilbert/Main stationAlternate weekday daytime trips 41*Indian School RdLocalScottsdaleIndian School Rd & Granite Reef RdVilla de PazIndian School Rd & 107th Av 1,018,855 %Arcadia LiteIndian School Rd & 32nd StMaryvale VillageIndian School Rd & 59th AvAlternate weekday daytime trips 43 43rd Ave LocalDeer ValleyUnion Hills Dr & 43rd AvEstrella VillageLower Buckeye Rd & 43rd Av 398,884 % 44 44th St/Tatum Blvd LocalDesert RidgeDesert Ridge MarriottCentral City44th Street/Washington station 366,442 % 45 Broadway Rd LocalSuperstition SpringsSuperstition Springs Transit CenterSouth Mountain Village19th Av & Broadway Rd 653,041 %Alternate rush hour trips run west of Price Road 48 48th St LocalMesa GrandeMesa RiverviewSouth TempePriest Dr & Baseline Rd at Arizona Mills 119,100 % 50*Camelback RdLocalScottsdaleScottsdale Community CollegeCamelback Ranch107th Av & Camelback Rd 981,655 %Camelback East VillageCamelback Rd & 44th StGlendaleCamelback Rd & 67th AvAlternate weekday daytime trips 51 51st Ave LocalNorth Mountain VillageArizona State University West campusLaveen Village51st Ave & Baseline Rd 451,489 %Trips alternate between each southern termini.KomatkePecos Rd & 51st Ave via Komatke Health Center 52 Roeser Rd LocalPatio Homes East48th St & Roeser RdPark Phoenix19th Av & Roeser Rd 77,776 % 56 Priest Dr LocalCamelback EastDesert Botanical GardenFoothills Park PlaceRay Rd & 48th St 282,834 %Alternate rush hour trips run between Elliot Road and Washington Street