A new express bus route between the Mall of America and Shakopee aims to shuttle a growing workforce into the south metro suburb, including a drop-off near Amazon.com's newest facility.

The one-year pilot project begins Aug. 20 for Route 495, which will run between the Mall of America in Bloomington and the Burnsville and Marschall Road transit stations, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) said. The route is funded by $1.7 million left over from the Legislature's suburb-to-suburb transit funding after Route 494, which served the west and southwest metro, failed earlier this year.

This suburban route's success will depend on ridership, better connections to employers in Shakopee and available funding, organizers say.

"These employers, like Amazon, and so forth, really need a lot of employees that are going to come from all over the region," said Scott County Commissioner Jon Ulrich, also chairman of the MVTA board. The Mall of America's connection to the Blue Line light rail will help accomplish that, Ulrich said.

Buses will make 20 trips a day — 10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon and early evening — between the Mall of America and the Marschall Road Transit Station, including limited stops to Shenandoah Drive and Hwy. 101, about 2.5 miles from Amazon's fulfillment center. The fare will be $2.25 each way.

The Amazon center, expected to open this summer, is one player in Shakopee's expanding industrial base, which is growing faster than its housing developments and demanding workers from outside the city. Besides Amazon, other employers including Mystic Lake Casino, Imagine Print Solutions and Shutterfly have been asked to provide "last-mile solutions," or direct transportation service from the Marschall Road station, Ulrich said.

The bus service will run seven days a week. Its schedule is still tentative, but outbound trips at the Mall of America will likely range from 4 a.m. to about 8 p.m. A final schedule will be available next month.

An extension of the project is the goal but that depends on its success, said MVTA Executive Director Luther Wynder. Past projects like Route 494, which was suspended a few months after its January launch, drew low ridership, Wynder said, so connections to employers are especially key. If successful, potential funding sources for the 495 route would include the Metropolitan Council, the Legislature or MVTA's operating budget.

"The need is not going to abate over time," Wynder said. "As we continue to add large employers in the Shakopee area, there needs to be continued, permanent transportation to the area."

Natalie Daher • 612-673-1775