Public Transportation
You don’t need to rely on your own vehicle to get around Grand Rapids. We have a variety of public transportation options that will get you where you want to go – quickly, conveniently and affordably.
The Rapid is our award-winning bus transit system. With 224 vehicles covering 155 square miles, it’s an easy way to travel between downtown and surrounding areas – including East Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kentwood, Wyoming and Walker, as well as the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and Grand Valley State University-Allendale.
Best for weekday airport travel. Rapid Route 27 (Airport Industrial) operates Monday-Friday from early morning (around 6:12 am) to late evening (9:45 pm). Take the Route 27 bus from the airport to Kentwood Station-Woodland (next to Woodland Mall), where you can transfer to other routes, including Route 6 to Downtown Grand Rapids. The trip typically takes about an hour. (Driving a car from the airport to downtown takes 16 minutes, not including time spent at the airport rental counter.)
Check out this quick guide on how to ride and where to go, and visit ridetherapid.org for schedules, maps and other resources. Check their site for real-time schedule tracking, or download the free myStop or Transit app from Google Play or the App Store.
The adult fare for The Rapid bus system is $1.75 per ride, with a daily fare cap of $5.25. You can pay with cash, contactless payment or a Wave card. Riders using cash should pay the exact fare, as change cannot be provided. Transfers are not provided when paying cash fare. With Wave cards and contactless payment, you just tap your card or smartphone at the bus reader every time you board, and you have 105 minutes to make all the transfers you like. You will be charged an additional fare beyond that initial 105 minutes.
Most transfers are made at Rapid Central Station, which is just steps from Founders Brewing Company in downtown Grand Rapids. You can buy and reload Wave cards here, get bus schedules and talk to a representative for help in planning your trip.
All Rapid buses – including the DASH Bus below – are accessible for mobility aids such as wheelchairs, electric scooters, walkers and crutches. Bus operators are trained to assist customers with disabilities boarding or exiting the vehicle. Service animals are welcome. Rapid buses are also equipped with bike racks – here’s how to use them.
The DASH is a free route that navigates downtown, making it an easy option explore various spots in the city center.
Photo by Nick Irwin for Experience GR
The Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) is a free service of Mobile GR and the City of Grand Rapids. It runs a continuous clockwise loop to quickly transport you where you want to go. No ticket or pass is required, just board the bright pink bus at any of the 16 stops marked with street signs and sidewalk markers.
Best for getting around downtown. The DASH makes it easy to access 300+ restaurants, shops, breweries, bars, attractions and entertainment venues – from south (including the Canopy by Hilton Hotel and Celebration Cinema movie theater) to north (the Bridge Street Entertainment District) and east (Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, JW Marriott Hotel and DeVos Place Convention Center) to west (Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Bridge Street entertainment district). Just make sure you’re on the right side of the street for transport to your destination.
The DASH passes each stop every 8 minutes from 6:30 am-12:00 am Monday-Friday, 11:00 am-1:00 am Saturday and 11:00am - 5:00pm Sunday. The DASH route extends to include a stop at the Acrisure Amphitheater whenever that 12,000-seat outdoor venue is hosting a concert or event. Get real-time schedules and service hours for the DASH by downloading the Transit App (iOS & Android).
If you are traveling to the downtown area with your own vehicle, consider parking in one of the DASH lots (Area 7: 301 Mt Vernon Ave NW, Area 8: 325 Winter Ave NW and Area 9: 250 Seward Ave NW) for just $3-4 a day and using the DASH to get around downtown. This is an especially smart option for events that bring thousands of visitors to downtown, such as ArtPrize, World of Winter and other cultural festivals, as well as events at Acrisure Amphitheater, DeVos Performance Hall, DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena.
Walking is the easiest and healthiest form of public transportation, and Grand Rapids gives you plenty of opportunities for built-in exercise.
Downtown Grand Rapids is a “walker’s paradise” (walkscore.com) and most attractions are within a 10-minute stroll of hotels and each other. Once you arrive in downtown by bus or car, you can comfortably explore the entire city center on foot – there’s lots to see and do along every sidewalk. Sidewalks are wide and equipped with curb ramps to ease travel for wheelchair users and parents with strollers.
Traveling from downtown to city suburbs and outlying areas – including walkable downtown Ada, downtown Rockford, Creston, East Grand Rapids and Uptown GR – is best accomplished via the Rapid bus, rideshare or your own vehicle.
Grand Rapids also offers a wide variety of taxi, rideshare, limousine, wheelchair transport, vehicle rental and other transportation services. Scroll to the bottom of our Transportation & Maps page for a list of providers.
The City of Grand Rapids provides additional safe, reliable and affordable ways to move throughout the city, including shared electric cars and shared e-scooters, e-bikes and trikes.
