| Parent | Richfield Bus Company |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 1825 North Broadway |
| Locale | Rochester, Minnesota |
| Service area | Southeastern Minnesota |
| Service type | bus service |
| Routes | 18 city, 12 commuter |
| Web site | http://www.rochestercitylines.com/index.php |
Richfield Bus Company is a bus operator in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield in 1959.[1] Through Heartland Tours and Travel, they operate tour buses to many destinations around North America. Richfield Bus runs a commuter coach to the southeastern city of Rochester where their affiliated company Rochester City Lines operates a network of commuter and public transit buses. It is one of the few remaining private companies to run a city bus network in the United States. RCL and Richfield Bus also run local charter bus services in southeastern Minnesota and nearby Iowa and Wisconsin.
The company started when George and Marilyn Holter began running a school bus route in Richfield. Rochester City Lines began in 1966. RCL runs about 17 routes within the city (plus several variants) on weekdays, with 7 routes running on weekends.[2] Commuter bus routes fan out in several directions from Rochester, reaching three dozen cities including Owatonna, Austin, Winona, and Lake City.[3] The Richfield Bus Company runs a route from the Hiawatha Line's 28th Avenue station in Bloomington through Inver Grove Heights to Rochester.
Commuter bus fares use a lettered zone structure, ranging from the lowest cost "C" zone ($9) for a nearby city like Byron up to "G" ($23) for Twin Cities stops.[4] City buses cost $2 for adult fare and $1 for youth and seniors.[5]
Drivers of RCL's city buses within Rochester unionized in 2007 under the Amalgamated Transit Union, though that action did not include drivers for the commuter lines or charter buses.[6]
The Holter family still runs the company today, and they celebrated a 50th anniversary in 2009. The owners have an affinity for vintage buses, and have a handful of them in their own collection that have been fully restored. At least one of the company's old buses is also operated by the Minnesota Transportation Museum. Stan Holter runs the MTM's classic bus division while also working as general manager for Richfield Bus.[7]
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