Valley Metro Bus

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, covering a service area of 525 sq mi (1,360 km²). In 2024, the system had a ridership of 25,892,000, or about 89,400 per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Parent	Valley Metro
Founded	1993
Headquarters	U.S. Bank Center Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.[1]
Service area	Maricopa County
Service type	Local, express, shuttle, paratransit
Routes	104[2]
Hubs	17[3]
Fleet	1,061 buses[4]
Daily ridership	89,400 (weekdays, Q4 2024)[5]
Annual ridership	25,892,000 (2024)[6]
Fuel type	Diesel, Diesel-electric Hybrid, CNG, LNG
Operator	See below
Website	valleymetro.org

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 service frequency of every 10 minutes and run as late as 1:00 am,^[7] while less used routes run every 30 minutes off-peak, with service ending at midnight.

Route types and naming conventions

There are currently 60 local bus routes that 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 mostly a free service, the exceptions being the Avondale Zoom routes with a 50 cent fare each; formerly the Glendale Urban Shuttle (GUS) routes had a 25 cent fare each to ride; this fare was eliminated on October 23, 2017. They supplement the standard grid service with routes that connect neighborhoods to nearby business districts. Circulator vehicles are typically minibusses, with the Avondale Zoom routes, Scottsdale Trolley routes, and select Tempe Orbit routes using mid-size buses and the DASH circulator serving Downtown Phoenix using 40-foot buses. 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 that have LED "Next Bus" signs 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. These routes use NABI 45C-LFW suburban buses with a special paint scheme.

The express routes are also limited-stop commuter routes. They operate similarly to the RAPID routes, from outlying Park and Ride lots and pick-up points in suburban areas outside the city of Phoenix, with higher fares than standard routes, but the same as RAPID routes. 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 use a mix of bus types, ranging from transit-style buses with hard seats to "semi-suburban" buses (with highback, non-reclining seats) to full suburban buses (with a single door, luggage racks, and personal reading lights). These routes are also unidirectional, traveling into downtown Phoenix and the State Capitol in the morning (using the major freeways after traveling on surface streets for part of the trip) and out of downtown in the afternoons.

Route list

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.)

Color key:

Color	Operator	Note
Blue	Transdev-Phoenix	Formerly Veolia-Phoenix. Operates the North and South Phoenix facilities.
Orange	Transdev-Phoenix (Formerly First Transit)	Operates the West Phoenix facility.
Pink	Keolis-RPTA (Formerly First Transit)	Operates the Mesa and Tempe facilities. Replaced Veolia-RPTA (Mesa) and Veolia-Tempe on July 1, 2013.
Purple	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.
Olive	RTW Management	Operations only, maintenance performed in-house.
Brown	National Express (Formerly Ajo Transportation)	Contracted by the RPTA.

No.	Name	Type	Operator	Facilities	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	Length	Annual Ridership (FY2024)[8]	Note
0	Central Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Central City Central Station	Sunnyslope Sunnyslope Transit Center	8.2 miles (13.2 km)	374,804 -13.5%
0A*	South Central Ave					South Mountain Heights S Central Av & Dobbins Rd	9 miles (14 km)
						South Mountain Heights S Central Av & Baseline Rd	5.3 miles (8.5 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
1	Washington/Jefferson St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South		East Phoenix Priest Drive/Washington station	7.1 miles (11.4 km)	74,678 -5.2%
3*	Van Buren St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Camelback East Phoenix Zoo	Avondale La Canada Bl & 4th St (Weekdays and Saturdays)	24.8 miles (39.9 km)	732,944 7.3%	No service east of Galvin Parkway when Phoenix Zoo is closed.
						Tolleson Van Buren St & 83rd Av (Alternate Saturday trips and Sundays)	16.9 miles (27.2 km)
					Camelback East Van Buren St & 44th St	West Phoenix Van Buren St & 35th Av	8.5 miles (13.7 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
7*	7th St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Deer Valley Deer Valley Rd & 19th Av	South Mountain Heights 7th St & Dobbins Rd	25.3 miles (40.7 km)	735,136 0.7%
					North Mountain Village 7th St & Dunlap Rd	South Mountain Village 7th St & Baseline Rd	14.5 miles (23.3 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
8	7th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Sunnyslope Sunnyslope Transit Center	South Mountain Heights Baseline Rd & Central Av	15.3 miles (24.6 km)	340,878 0.7%
10*	Roosevelt St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	East Phoenix 32nd St & Roosevelt St	Central City Central Station	4.1 miles (6.6 km)	97,377 -4.7%
12	12th St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Sunnyslope Sunnyslope Transit Center	Central City Jefferson St & 12th St	11 miles (18 km)	193,280 -3.7%
13	Buckeye Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Central City 24th Street SkyTrain station	Estrella Village Buckeye Rd & 75th Av	11.4 miles (18.3 km)	243,809 7.8%
15	15th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Alhambra Montebello/19th Avenue station	Central City South 15th Av & Pima St	6.5 miles (10.5 km)	188,881 1.2%
16*	16th St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Paradise Valley North Paradise Valley Community College	South Mountain Heights Dobbins Rd & Central Av	22.6 miles (36.4 km)	632,279 5%
					Camelback East 16th St & Northern Av	South Mountain Village 16th St & Baseline Rd	12.2 miles (19.6 km)		Alternate weekday trips
17	McDowell Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Scottsdale McDowell Rd & Pima Rd	Goodyear McDowell Rd & Pebble Creek Pkwy (Weekdays and Saturdays)	28.9 miles (46.5 km)	917,787 13.3%	Alternate weekday trips run between 43rd Avenue and 44th Street Alternate weekday midday trips from Pima Road run to/from 83rd Avenue
						Tolleson McDowell Rd & 99th Av (Alternate Saturday trips and Sundays)	22 miles (35 km)
19*	19th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Norterra Happy Valley Rd & 23rd Av	Laveen Village 27th Avenue/Baseline P&R	25.8 miles (41.5 km)	1,205,096 1.2%
27	27th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Deer Valley 23rd Av & Rose Garden Ln	Estrella Village Lower Buckeye Rd & 27th Av	23.8 miles (38.3 km)	654,699 3.3%	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 Road
					Deer Valley 27th Av & Deer Valley Rd
28	Lower Buckeye Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	Bradley Ranch 22nd Av & Lower Buckeye Rd	South Tolleson Lower Buckeye Rd & 99th Av	9.8 miles (15.8 km)	107,612 78.3%
29*	Thomas Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Scottsdale Pima Park	Maryvale Village Thomas Rd & 93rd Av	21 miles (34 km)	1,062,817 8%
					Camelback East Village Thomas Rd & 44th St	Maryvale Village Desert Sky Transit Center	14.3 miles (23.0 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
30	University Dr	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Mesa University Dr & Power Rd	South Mountain Heights 24th Street/Baseline P&R	25.2 miles (40.6 km)	384,936 7%	Terminates at SMCC during school hours
32	32nd St/40th St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	Camelback East 28th St & Camelback Rd	South Mountain Heights Baseline Rd & 40th St	11.9 miles (19.2 km)	321,366 6.8%
35*	35th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Norterra Happy Valley Rd & 23rd Av	South Mountain Heights 27th Avenue/Baseline P&R	27.8 miles (44.7 km)	919,129 0.5%
					North Mountain Village Thelda Williams Transit Center	Estrella Village 35th Av & Lower Buckeye Rd	11.7 miles (18.8 km)		Alternate weekday trips
39	North 40th St	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Paradise Valley North Paradise Valley Community College	Paradise Valley Village Dreamy Draw P&R	4.6 miles (7.4 km)	41,808 19.3%
40*	Main St	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Mesa Sycamore/Main station	Superstition Springs Superstition Springs Transit Center	13 miles (21 km)	306,757 0.7%
					Mesa Gilbert/Main station		8.3 miles (13.4 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
41*	Indian School Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Scottsdale Indian School Rd & Granite Reef Rd	Villa de Paz Indian School Rd & 107th Av	22.7 miles (36.5 km)	919,778 9.1%
					Arcadia Lite Indian School Rd & 32nd St	Maryvale Village Indian School Rd & 59th Av	10.1 miles (16.3 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
43	43rd Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Deer Valley Union Hills Dr & 43rd Av	Estrella Village Lower Buckeye Rd & 43rd Av	16 miles (26 km)	343,664 8.8%
44	44th St/Tatum Blvd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Desert Ridge Desert Ridge Marriott	Central City 44th Street/Washington station	18.5 miles (29.8 km)	377,809 0.8%
45	Broadway Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Superstition Springs Superstition Springs Transit Center	South Mountain Village 19th Av & Broadway Rd	26.3 miles (42.3 km)	524,719 13%	Alternate rush hour trips run west of Price Road
48	48th St	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Mesa Grande Mesa Riverview	South Tempe Priest Dr & Baseline Rd at Arizona Mills	12.8 miles (20.6 km)	96,278 4.4%
50*	Camelback Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South, Phoenix North	Scottsdale Scottsdale Community College	Camelback Ranch 107th Av & Camelback Rd	24.8 miles (39.9 km)	990,966 -3%
					Camelback East Village Camelback Rd & 44th St	Glendale Camelback Rd & 67th Av	12.5 miles (20.1 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
51	51st Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	North Mountain Village Arizona State University West campus	Laveen Village 51st Ave & Baseline Rd	16.8 miles (27.0 km)	393,548 4.7%	Trips alternate between each southern termini.
						Komatke Pecos Rd & 51st Ave via Komatke Health Center	26.5 miles (42.6 km)
52	Roeser Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	Patio Homes East 48th St & Roeser Rd	Park Phoenix 19th Av & Roeser Rd	7.1 miles (11.4 km)	83,893 -4.1%
56	Priest Dr	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Camelback East Desert Botanical Garden	Foothills Park Place Ray Rd & 48th St	12.6 miles (20.3 km)	221,966 13.6%	Alternate rush hour trips run between Elliot Road and Washington Street No service north of Washington Street when Desert Botanical Garden is closed
59	59th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Glendale 59th Av & Beardsley Rd	Freeport Center 59th Av & Buckeye Rd	16.7 miles (26.9 km)	279,893 3.1%
60	Bethany Home Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	Biltmore Camelback Rd & 24th St	Glendale 83rd Av & Bethany Home Rd	12.9 miles (20.8 km)	327,383 -10.4%
61	Southern Ave	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Superstition Springs Superstition Springs Transit Center	Laveen Village 51st Av & Southern Av	28.8 miles (46.3 km)	784,288 11.7%
62	Hardy Dr	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Tempe Tempe Marketplace	South Tempe Ruby Dr & IKEA	12 miles (19 km)	188,770 10.4%
66	Mill Ave/Kyrene Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Tempe Tempe Transit Center	Gila River Indian Community Lone Butte Casino	10.2 miles (16.4 km)	186,655 -5.9%	Alternate rush hour trips run north of Elliot Road
67	67th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Arrowhead Ranch Union Hills Dr & 67th Av	Sierra Vista Sierra Linda High School	15.9 miles (25.6 km)	242,313 10%
70*	24th St/Glendale Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	Glendale Luke Air Force Base	South Mountain Heights 24th Street/Baseline P&R	30.7 miles (49.4 km)	1,009,005 5.3%	Select weekday trips run east of Glendale P&R
					Alhambra/Glendale Glendale Av & 43rd Av		18.3 miles (29.5 km)		Alternate trips
72	Scottsdale Rd/Rural Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Grayhawk HonorHealth Scottsdale Thompson Peak Medical Center	Chandler Chandler Fashion Center	28.6 miles (46.0 km)	626,541 2.1%
75	75th Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Maryvale Village Camelback Rd & 75th Av	Tuscano Lower Buckeye Rd & 75th Av	5.9 miles (9.5 km)	116,738 5.7%
77	Baseline Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Mesa West Mesa P&R	Laveen Ranch Gila River Indian Community Service Center	25.9 miles (41.7 km)	421,272 4.2%	Serves SMCC during school hours
80	Northern Ave/Shea Blvd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Scottsdale Mustang Transit Center	Glendale 59th Av & Northern Av	18.7 miles (30.1 km)	340,745 5.5%
81	Hayden Rd/McClintock Dr	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe		Chandler Chandler Fashion Center (Weekdays and Saturdays)	25.9 miles (41.7 km)	362,911 8.1%	Alternate rush hour trips run between Tempe Marketplace and ASU Research Park No Sunday service south of Warner Road (all trips run to/from ASU Research Park)
						Tempe ASU Research Park	20.2 miles (32.5 km)
83	83rd Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Glendale Arrowhead Towne Center	Tolleson 83rd Av & Van Buren St	16.2 miles (26.1 km)	166,481 11%
90	Dunlap Ave/Cave Creek Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Paradise Valley Village Rose Garden Ln & Cave Creek Rd	Glendale 67th Av & Olive Av	17.3 miles (27.8 km)	442,343 -2.8%
96	Dobson Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Mesa Grande Mesa Riverview	Silverton Ranch Dobson Rd & Pecos Rd (Weekdays and Saturdays)	10.9 miles (17.5 km)	236,047 -2.3%	Rush hour trips alternate between and Snedigar Sports Complex and Baseline Road No Sunday service south of Baseline Road
						Dobson Ranch Dobson Rd & Baseline Rd	4.3 miles (6.9 km)
						South Chandler Snedigar Sports Complex	16.8 miles (27.0 km)
104	Alma School Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe		Chandler Morelos St & Hamilton St (weekdays)	12.5 miles (20.1 km)	145,909 3.4%
						Fiesta District Alma School Rd & Southern Av (weekends)	3.7 miles (6.0 km)
106	Peoria Ave	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Sunnyslope Sunnyslope Transit Center	Sun City Santa Fe Dr & 105th Ave (weekdays)	19.2 miles (30.9 km)	337,406 1%
						Sun City/Peoria Peoria Av & 99th Av (weekends)	14.7 miles (23.7 km)
108	Elliot Rd/48th St	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Superstition Springs Superstition Springs Transit Center	Ahwatukee Foothills Village Chandler Blvd & 48th St	23.7 miles (38.1 km)	164,613 8.8%
112*	Country Club Dr/Arizona Ave	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa	North Center Neighborhood Center St & McKellips Rd	Chandler Chandler P&R	14.9 miles (24.0 km)	527,511 5.8%
					Mesa Center/Main station		10.9 miles (17.5 km)		Alternate weekday daytime trips
120	Mesa Dr	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa	Escobodo Neighborhood District Fitch Park	Mesa Lewis Ct & Coury Av	3.9 miles (6.3 km)	92,531 3.6%
122	Cactus Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	North Mountain Village 19th Avenue/Dunlap station	Glendale ASU Western Campus	7.7 miles (12.4 km)	117,432 -3.4%
128	Stapley Dr	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa	North Mesa McKellips Rd & Stapley Dr	Mesa Inverness Av & Stapley Dr	5.7 miles (9.2 km)	89,778 6.9%
136	Gilbert Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa	Lehi Community Improvement Gilbert-McDowell P&R	Chandler Gilbert Rd & Ryan Rd (Weekdays and Saturdays)	13.8 miles (22.2 km)	185,155 0.6%
						Mesa/Gilbert Gilbert Rd & Baseline Rd (Sundays)	6.2 miles (10.0 km)
138	Thunderbird Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Paradise Valley Village Thunderbird Rd & 32nd St	Sun City Santa Fe Dr & 105th Ave	19.2 miles (30.9 km)	275,191 -2%
140	Ray Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Gilbert Ray Rd & Gilbert Rd	Foothills Park Place Ray Rd & 48th St	11.2 miles (18.0 km)	60,127 -11.9%	No Sunday service
154	Greenway Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Paradise Valley Village Scottsdale P&R	Sunburst Farms 51st Av & Greenway Rd	16.8 miles (27.0 km)	257,443 12.4%
156	Chandler Blvd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Mesa Arizona State University Polytechnic campus	Ahwatukee Foothills Village Chandler Blvd & 48th St	21.4 miles (34.4 km)	211,677 2.5%	Alternate rush hour trips run west of McQueen Road
170	Bell Rd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Northsight Raintree Dr & Northsight Blvd	Glendale Arrowhead Towne Center	21.3 miles (34.3 km)	540,298 10.2%
184	Power Rd	Local	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe	Mesa Power Road P&R	Mesa ASU Polytechnic Campus via Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport	14.3 miles (23.0 km)	86,931 -19.9%
186	Union Hills Dr/Mayo Blvd	Local	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Windsong Mayo Blvd & Scottsdale Rd	Glendale Arrowhead Towne Center	20.8 miles (33.5 km)	187,236 11.6%
						Glendale Union Hills Dr & 51st Av	16.3 miles (26.2 km)		Alternate trips
514	Scottsdale	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa	Central City 17th Ave & State Capitol (last drop-off) Jefferson St & 18th Ave (first pick-up)	Scottsdale Mustang Transit Center	23.2 miles (37.3 km)	2,704
515	Fountain Hills-Mesa	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Lehi Community Improvement Gilbert-McDowell P&R	Fountain Hills Fountain Hills Library	12.7 miles (20.4 km)	315
521	Central Tempe	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Central City 17th Ave & State Capitol (last drop-off) Jefferson St & 18th Ave (first pick-up)	South Tempe Tempe Library P&R	15.7 miles (25.3 km)	8,113
522	South Tempe	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe		South Tempe Tempe Sports Complex	17.6 miles (28.3 km)	7,714
531	Mesa/Gilbert	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe		Gilbert Gilbert P&R	25.9 miles (41.7 km)	15,445
533	Mesa	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa		Superstition Springs Superstition Springs TC	29.7 miles (47.8 km)	21,808
535	Northeast Mesa	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa		Mesa Power Rd P&R	28.4 miles (45.7 km)	19,876
542	Chandler	Express	Keolis-RPTA	Mesa, Tempe		Chandler Chandler P&R	28.2 miles (45.4 km)	34,589
562	Goodyear	Express	Total Transit	Southeast Glendale		Goodyear Goodyear P&R	18.2 miles (29.3 km)	9,857
563	Avondale/Buckeye	Express	Total Transit	Southeast Glendale		Buckeye Buckeye P&R	27.1 miles (43.6 km)	14,098
571	Surprise	Express	Total Transit	Southeast Glendale	Central City Adams St & 17th Ave (last drop-off) Jefferson St & 18th Ave (first pick-up)	Surprise Surprise P&R	30.4 miles (48.9 km)	10,218
573	West Glendale	Express	Total Transit	Southeast Glendale	Central City 17th Ave & State Capitol (last drop-off) Jefferson St & 18th Ave (first pick-up)	Glendale Glendale P&R	19.1 miles (30.7 km)	6,066
575	North Glendale	Express	Total Transit	Southeast Glendale	Central City Central Station (last drop-off) Van Buren St & 1st St (first pick-up)	Glendale Arrowhead Towne Center	28.3 miles (45.5 km)	8,893
685	Gila Bend Regional Connector	Rural Route	National Express	Ajo	Maryvale Village Desert Sky Transit Center	Ajo 2nd Ave & 5th St (Ajo Transportation Center)	109.6 miles (176.4 km)	7,967	No Sunday service
GL	Grand Avenue Limited	Express	Total Transit	Southeast Glendale	Central City Central Station	Peoria Peoria P&R @ Old Town	15.3 miles (24.6 km)	5,169	Provides express service, but with a local fare.
GUS 1	Glendale Urban Shuttle 1	Circulator	City of Glendale	Northwest Glendale				64,859
GUS 2	Glendale Urban Shuttle 2	Circulator	City of Glendale	Northwest Glendale
GUS 3	Glendale Urban Shuttle 3	Circulator	City of Glendale	Northwest Glendale
DBUZ	Mesa Downtown BUZZ	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Mesa Grande Mesa Riverview	Mesa 1st St & Centennial Way		123,478	No Sunday service
FBUZ	Mesa Fiesta BUZZ	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe		Fiesta District Southern Ave & Alma School Rd		156,918	Also serves Sycamore/Main Street station No Sunday service
ALEX	Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator – ALEX (Ahwatukee)	Circulator	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	Ahwatukee 51st St & Elliot Rd	Foothills Desert Foothills Pkwy & Liberty Ln	16.8 miles (27.0 km)	36,743	Select trips serve 40th St/Pecos Rd PNR
DASH	Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator – DASH (Gov. Loop)	Circulator	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South	Governmental Mall 19th Ave and Jefferson St	Center City 4th Ave and Washington St	2.84 miles (4.57 km)	114,141	Originally served Central Station, but was rerouted due to construction in the area No weekend service
MARY	Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator – MARY (Maryvale)	Circulator	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix West	Maryvale Village Desert Sky Transit Center		25 miles (40 km)	47,913	Bidirectional loop route that serves Maryvale Village neighborhoods
SMART	Phoenix Neighborhood Circulator – SMART (Sunnyslope)	Circulator	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Sunnyslope 19th Ave & Cholla St	Sunnyslope 15th St & Cinnabar Ave	24.5 miles (39.4 km)	98,681	Serves Sunnyslope Transit Center
68CM	Scottsdale 68th Street/Camelback Trolley	Circulator	RTW Management	Scottsdale	Scottsdale Hayden Rd & Indian School Rd	Scottsdale Granite Reef Senior Center	7.6 miles (12.2 km)	133,512	No weekend service
MLHD	Scottsdale Miller/Hayden Trolley	Circulator	RTW Management	Scottsdale	Scottsdale Mustang Transit Center		10.18 miles (16.38 km)	102,428
OLDT	Scottsdale Old Town Trolley	Circulator	RTW Management	Scottsdale					Service suspended indefinitely during COVID-19 pandemic
MSTG	Scottsdale Mustang Trolley	Circulator	RTW Management	Scottsdale	Northsight Raintree Dr & Northsight Blvd	Scottsdale Ranch Via Linda Senior Center	7.84 miles (12.62 km)	47,978	Serves Mustang Transit Center No weekend service
FLSH	FLASH Forward (Arizona State University)	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe				53,287	Both routes part of bi-directional services around Downtown Tempe and Arizona State University Tempe Campus No weekend service
FLSH	FLASH Back (Arizona State University)	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe
EART	Tempe – Orbit Earth	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Tempe Tempe Transit Center	Tempe Tempe Marketplace	8.80 miles (14.16 km)	256,121
JUPI	Tempe – Orbit Jupiter	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe		Tempe McClintock High School	6.48 miles (10.43 km)	362,952	Originally one bi-directional route split into two
MARS	Tempe – Orbit Mars	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe		Tempe Southern Ave & Evergreen Rd	6.98 miles (11.23 km)	550,531
MERC	Tempe – Orbit Mercury	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe		Tempe Escalante Community Center	5.88 miles (9.46 km)	423,563
VENU	Tempe – Orbit Venus	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe			5.49 miles (8.84 km)	341,025	Bidirectional route serving West Tempe neighborhoods
STRN	Tempe – Orbit Saturn	Circulator	Keolis-RPTA	Tempe	Tempe Tempe Public Library	South Tempe Priest Dr & Elliot Rd	5.82 miles (9.37 km)	106,098
SR-51	SR-51 Rapid	Rapid	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North	Central City 17th Ave & State Capitol (last drop-off) Jefferson St & 18th Ave (first pick-up)	Desert Ridge Deer Valley Rd & Marriott Dr	24.5 miles (39.4 km)	33,253	Short trips serve Dreamy Draw P&R and SR-51/Bell Rd P&R
I-10E	I-10 East Rapid	Rapid	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South		Ahwatukee 40th St/Pecos Rd P&R	20.7 miles (33.3 km)	33,001
I-10W	I-10 West Rapid	Rapid	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South		Maryvale Village Desert Sky Transit Center	12.6 miles (20.3 km)	26,990	Short trips start and end at I-10/79th Ave P&R
I-17	I-17 Rapid	Rapid	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix North		Deer Valley Deer Valley P&R (I-17 & Happy Valley Rd)	18.8 miles (30.3 km)	78,229	Short trips go to Metrocenter TC and I-17/Bell Rd P&R
SME	South Mountain East Rapid	Rapid	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South		South Mountain Heights 24th Street/Baseline P&R	9.1 miles (14.6 km)	1,775
SMW	South Mountain West Rapid	Rapid	Transdev-Phoenix	Phoenix South		South Mountain Heights 27th Avenue/Baseline P&R	5.8 miles (9.3 km)	4,063

Note that the listed facility assignments for Transdev-Phoenix operated routes are normal assignments, however, routes normally operated from the South facility may occasionally be substituted with buses from the North facility and vice versa.

Transit centers

Valley Metro Bus serves the following transit centers:^[9]

• 19th Ave and Montebello Transit Center, Phoenix
• Arrowhead Transit Center, Glendale
• Central Station, Phoenix
• Chandler Fashion Center Transit Center, Chandler
• Desert Sky Transit Center, Phoenix
• Ed Pastor Transit Center, Phoenix
• Gilbert Rd/Main St Transit Center, Mesa
• Main St and Sycamore Transit Center, Mesa
• Metrocenter Transit Center, Phoenix
• Mustang Transit Center, Scottsdale
• Paradise Valley Mall Transit Center, Phoenix
• Sunnyslope Transit Center, Phoenix
• Superstition Springs Transit Center
• Tempe Transportation Center, Tempe

Customer service

The Transit Book (known until December 2008 as the Bus Book, and mentioned above) is a schedule and map book that is updated twice yearly.

An automated next scheduled arrival service, NextRide, provides future arrival times for routes that serve a bus stop or light rail station. It includes a text messaging service as well as an online tracker.^[10]

Passenger information systems

Like most major cities, all buses (except for the non-Phoenix circulator vehicles) include the Route Scout on-board passenger information system, which includes a lighted marquee displaying the correct date and time, and an audio and visual Stop Requested announcement.

Valley Metro Rail vehicles announce approaching stations and give other travel-related announcements. The RAPID bus stops as well as the former LINK bus stops include a display with real-time predictions for the next arrival at that stop. Additionally, all Valley Metro Rail platforms feature announcements for the approximate arrival of the next train.

Valley Metro service providers

Name of Provider	Service Contracted By	Local Routes	Express Routes	RAPID Routes	Local Area Shuttles	Paratransit	Routes Previously Operated
Transdev (formerly 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, I-10 West, I-17, Central Ave/South Mountain East, Central Ave/South Mountain West	ALEX (Ahwatukee Local Explorer), DASH (Downtown Area Shuttle), SMART (Sunnyslope Multi-Access Residential Transit)		Red Line (Weekday operations, route discontinued December 29, 2008), Blue Line (Route discontinued December 29, 2008), 581 (Route discontinued in 2012)
MV Transportation	City of Phoenix					Phoenix Dial-a-Ride	ALEX (Service transferred to Transdev-Phoenix on July 1, 2016)
First Transit (formerly Laidlaw Transit Services)	City of Phoenix	3, 13, 17, 29, 41, 43, 51, 59, 67, 75, 83			MARY (Maryvale Area Ride for You)		Green (Renamed Route 29 on December 29, 2008), 560 (Route discontinued in 2012), I-10 West RAPID (Service transferred to Veolia/Transdev-Phoenix in July 2012), 19C (Route discontinued in October 2015), GL (Service transferred to Valu Trans/RPTA in April 2016)[11]
First Transit	RPTA, 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, 520, 521, 522, 531, 535, 542		BUZZ (Downtown Mesa BUZZ), FLASH Forward/Back (Free Local Area Shuttle), ORBIT		Red Line (Weekend operations as Veolia-Tempe, route discontinued December 29, 2008), 76 (as Veolia-Tempe, Service transferred to Ollie the Trolley and now known as Miller Road Trolley), 84, 92, 114, 277, 510 (as Veolia-Tempe, Route discontinued July 2012 and replaced by Route 514 due to budget crisis), 511 (Route discontinued October 2014 due to low ridership), 512 (as Veolia-Tempe, Route discontinued July 2012 and replaced by Route 514 due to budget crisis), 532 (as Veolia-RPTA, Route discontinued in July 2012 due to budget crisis), 534 (as Veolia-RPTA, Route discontinued in 2008 due to low ridership), 540 (as Veolia-RPTA, Route discontinued July 2012 due to budget crisis), FLASH McAllister (route discontinued on December 14, 2015, due to low ridership), Main Street LINK (Route discontinued on October 24, 2016, replaced by enhanced service on Route 40), Arizona Avenue LINK (Route discontinued on October 24, 2016, replaced by enhanced service on Route 112), 541 (discontinued on October 23, 2022)
Total Transit (formerly Valu Trans)	RPTA		562, 563, 571, 573, 575, GL				70X, 572, 251 (Merged with Route 51 in April 2018), Avondale Zoom (discontinued on October 23, 2023)
RTW Management (operations only)	City of Scottsdale				OLDT (Old Town Trolley), MLHD (Miller Hayden Trolley), 68CM (68th Camelback Trolley), MSTG (Mustang Trolley)		Downtown Trolley, Miller Road Trolley, Neighborhood Trolley, Talking Stick Trolley, Resort Trolley (all the above routes were realigned in 2019) Hospitality Trolley (Seasonal route discontinued after 2014–2015 winter season due to low ridership)
National Express	RPTA		685				660 (Route discontinued October 2011 due to low ridership)
City of Glendale	City of Glendale				GUS 1, GUS 2, GUS 3	Glendale Dial-a-Ride

Unification of Tempe bus operations with the RPTA

In 2012, the City of Tempe introduced a proposal that would unify its transit operations with the RPTA.^[12] Under the new agreement, all Tempe bus operations would be handed over to the RPTA, where the Tempe transit facility would be utilized by the RPTA to reduce costs and improve efficiencies for certain routes by reducing deadheads due to its more central location than the existing RPTA facility in Mesa.

On November 24, 2012, the City of Tempe agreed to move forward with unifying its transit operations with the RPTA.^[13] The contract for both agencies was initially planned to be awarded to First Transit on December 13, 2012, however, Veolia Transport protested the award because First Transit wasn't releasing information of where their cost savings would come from. The protest was denied and the contract was officially awarded to First Transit on January 24, 2013.^[14]

Bus fleet

Valley Metro and member cities maintain a growing fleet of over 800 vehicles for public bus routes and nearly 200 for paratransit.