Interurban Transit Partnership

Formed by the City of Grand Rapids in 1963 as the Grand Rapids Transit Authority, the system became a regional authority in July 1978 and was renamed the Grand Rapids Area Transit Authority (GRATA).

In January 2000, GRATA reorganized as the Interurban Transit Partnership, an organization formed by the City of Grand Rapids and five suburban communities; the agency soon adopted "The Rapid" as its branding.[3][4][5][6]

The Rapid Central Station, the system's main transit center in downtown Grand Rapids, opened in June 2004. The station, whose main platform incorporates a Teflon fabric roof, was the first LEED-certified transit facility in the United States.[6][7][8] That year, the system received the "Outstanding Public Transportation System" award from the American Public Transportation Association.[9] It would go on to win the award again in 2013.[10]

The Rapid ended the sale of paper tickets and passes online, at Rapid Central Station, and on buses in November 2019.[11]

In August 2022, Byron Township ended its service agreement with The Rapid.[12] Following the contract's termination, all stops in Byron Township were discontinued, with route 10 running nonstop through Byron Township to its destination in Gaines Township.[12][13] The following October, Transdev began to operate The Rapid's paratransit services under contract.[14]

In May 2009, voters in The Rapid's member communities rejected a millage increase, which included early plans for a bus rapid transit line on Division Avenue, to be called the Silver Line.[15][16] A similar increase was approved, by a narrow margin of 136 votes, in May 2011.[17][18] The BRT project, Michigan's first, had a $40 million budget, of which $32 million was covered by federal grants; the rest was to be funded by MDOT.[19] Work commenced in April 2013, and was completed in mid-2014, $3 million under budget.[20][21] The completed Silver Line opened for service on August 25, 2014.[22]

While the Silver Line was under construction, The Rapid commissioned a study in 2013 to explore the feasibility of a second BRT line, connecting the downtown Grand Rapids campus of Grand Valley State University with its main campus in Allendale.[23][24] This BRT line was a long-term goal of The Rapid management; the study was prompted, however, by overcrowding on route 50, an existing route serving GVSU.[25] Route 50 later changed its routing in August 2015 to follow the path of the proposed BRT corridor. $57 million in federal grant funding was approved for the line in 2016, with MDOT covering the remaining $14 million.[26] Construction began in 2019, and the Laker Line began passenger service on August 24, 2020.[27][28]

The Rapid operates Michigan's only two bus rapid transit (BRT) lines: the Silver Line and Laker Line.

View of southbound Mercy Health Silver Line station across Jefferson Avenue, with Cathedral of St Andrew in the background.

The Silver Line is a 9.1-mile (14.6 km) BRT line along Division Avenue, connecting downtown Grand Rapids with Wyoming and Kentwood. The line, which runs every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends, is operated with a fleet of ten diesel-electric hybrid Gillig BRT buses.[29] It previously had ticket machines and farecard readers on station platforms, before off-board fare collection was discontinued on the line in 2022.[30]

Laker Line at Grand Valley State University

The Laker Line is a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) BRT line connecting downtown Grand Rapids with the main campus of Grand Valley State University in Allendale. The line, which primarily runs along Lake Michigan Drive, has 12 stops in Grand Rapids and Walker and two at GVSU; no stops are made between GVSU's campus and the Kent-Ottawa county line. The route serves GVSU's Pew campus in downtown Grand Rapids, the Medical Mile, and the John Ball Zoological Garden. Inbound buses stop at Pew Campus before proceeding into downtown, then double back to terminate at Pew.

With 10-minute headways on weekdays during the fall and spring semesters (during the summer, it runs every 15 minutes), the Laker Line is the most frequent route in The Rapid's network; it is also the only route operated using articulated buses, with a fleet of sixteen CNG-powered New Flyer XN60 units.[29] Ticket machines and farecard readers are located on each station's platform.

The Rapid operates 23 fixed bus routes, and special services for Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids Community College and Ferris State University (see below).

Routes 1 through 15, along with the Silver Line BRT, begin at Rapid Central Station.

Most buses operate seven days a week. Routes 3, 5, 12, 13, 14, and 24 do not operate on Sundays. Routes 27 and 33 only run on weekdays, Weekday service is from around 4.30-6am until after 11pm or midnight. Saturday service is between around 6 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sundays are between around 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.

To aid scheduling, some routes "interline". This means that a specific vehicle will serve multiple routes as part of its scheduled run by that driver. For example, on weekdays, route 7 arrives at Central Station and continues as the 15.

During the school year, additional routes are used to serve students in the Grand Rapids Public School (GRPS) district.

Under contract with the City of Grand Rapids, The Rapid operates the Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) circulator shuttle in downtown Grand Rapids. The routes are free to all passengers, operating every fifteen minutes, Monday through Saturday.[32]

DASH routes were revamped in 2016 and again in 2018. From September 1 the North DASH straightened its route along Monroe, rather than along Ottawa Avenue. The South route was effectively merged into the West DASH, covering the west side DASH lots, Pearl Street, via Division and Fulton to Ionia covering the Arena South lots, and then south to the Downtown Market and Wealthy Street Silver Line station. Service to the Cook-DeVos Center previously provided by the Hill DASH has long since been replaced by the rerouting route 50 along the planned Laker Line route. Service frequency was also reduced from 8 minutes to 15 minutes, and service on Sunday was eliminated.

DASH was reconfigured again in May 2023. The two previous 'north' and 'west' routes were replaced with a single loop encircling downtown, routed to serve the previous routes' destinations, plus Central Station and the Grand Rapids Public Library. Service is now run in both directions, with route 51 following the loop clockwise, and 52 running counterclockwise. Monday and Tuesday service was eliminated, though Sunday service was brought back.[33] A temporary route, DASH WORK, was introduced to service commuter lots, running during weekday peak hours only.[34]

Grand Rapids Community College provides route number 60, a shuttle bus connecting the school's main campus with the nearby DeVos campus. Stops are located in front of Sneden Hall at the DeVos campus, and at Fountain and Bostwick at the main campus. The bus is free for GRCC students and employees, and runs Monday through Thursday during the Fall and Winter semesters.

Ferris State University contracts with The Rapid to provide shuttle bus service from Grand Rapids to the University's main campus in Big Rapids. Originating at Central Station, the route includes stops near Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, and the Cedar Springs Meijer. Standard Rapid tickets are not valid on this route; special fares apply.