Orbit - Free Travel Around Tempe

Orbit is part of Tempe's Tempe in Motion program to help ease congestion and promote alternate modes of transportation (including walking, cycling, bus and light rail use).

Orbit utilizes mini-buses to carry people quickly around north Tempe, seven days a week.

Operating hours are from 6AM to 10PM, arriving every 15 minutes.

There are two kinds of Orbit stops:

Designated Stops which stop at Valley Metro bus stops and are indicated by an Orbit logo. Not all bus stops on a route are Orbit stops so be aware.

and

Flag Stops which allow riders to flag down the driver in residential neighborhoods only and make a stop anywhere that is safe to do so. Note that drivers will not stop between 15 mile-per-hour signs placed during school hours.

Once on board, in a neighborhood, riders can request a stop anywhere by pulling the stop cord near the window.

Orbit buses do not have mobile bike racks like full size Valley Metro buses, so you may not board with your bike.

Remember - Orbit buses are FREE, so you won't need money or a Valley Metro Pass. There are no transfers or schedules to worry about. Just ride and go, and between 6AM and 10PM, there will be another Orbit bus every 15 minutes.

There are 5 Orbit routes, each one named for a planet, with more being planned. These are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter.

Mercury orbits east of the 101 freeway between University and Apache, traveling east on Victory Dr., turning north on Evergreen Rd., before returning to University for its westbound leg.

After crossing the 101, Mercury turns south on River Dr., west on Lemon St., north on Smith Rd., then west on Hayden Ln. to McClintock Dr.

Crossing McClintock, Mercury takes 8th St. west to Dorsey Ln., turns west on Lemon St. to Rural Rd.

Going North on Rural, it crosses into ASU's main campus via Terrace Rd., turns north on McAllister Ave., turns west on University Dr. and circles Downtown Tempe via College Ave., 5th St. and Mill Ave. before returning to University Dr. to reverse the route.

This route is a convenient way for residents living east of ASU to get to campus and downtown Tempe, as well as points in between.

Venus has a looped orbit and so can travel "forward" or "back", as indicated by the panel on the front of the bus. The forward loop is clockwise and the back loop is counterclockwise on the map.

Venus starts its orbit just north of ASU's main campus on College Ave near Sun Devil Stadium. Travelling forward, Venus goes south on College Ave., west on University Dr., south on Mill Ave. to 10th St. and into the old Tempe neighborhoods.

Venus continues south on Farmer Ave. to west on 13th St., South on Roosevelt St. to west on Broadway Rd. Traveling north, Venus follows Beck Ave. back to University Dr., turns west, then north on Lindon Ln. and then follows 5th St. back to College Ave.

On the Back route, the opposite is true, except that Venus does not return to Lindon Ln and instead takes Priest Dr. to return to University Dr. before turning south on Beck Ave.

This orbit is great for students and residents going to campus or downtown Tempe from west of campus and sw of campus as far south as Broadway Rd.

Earth has a looped orbit and so can travel "forward" or "back", as indicated by the panel on the front of the bus. The forward loop runs clockwise and the back loop runs counterclockwise on the map.

Earth begins its orbit in front of the dormitories that face University Dr. at the north side of ASU's main campus. Traveling forward, earth moves west along University Dr., north on College Ave., west on 5th Street through downtown Tempe and north on Mill Ave. across the Tempe Town Lake.

On the other side, Earth turns east on Curry Rd. and meanders through the neighborhoods north of campus making the following turns:

North on Sunset Dr.
NW on Cavalier Dr.
West on McKellips Rd.
North on College Ave.
West on Continental Dr.
South on Scottsdale Rd.
West on McKellips Rd. and South on Bridalwreath St. (this half loop is changed to West on Lilac Dr. and north on Scottsdale Rd. to Continental Dr. on the "Back" route.)
East on Valerie Dr.
South on Miller Rd.
West on Weber Dr.
South on Mary St.
West on Tempe Dr.
South again on Miller Rd.
and West on Curry Rd to McClintock Dr.

Earth orbits south to McClintock Dr. where it turns east into the Tempe Marketplace, a sprawling new outdoor mall complex just south of the 202 freeway and just north of Rio Salado Pkwy.

After making a circuit inside the Tempe Marketplace parking, Earth exits onto McClintock, traveling south, and turns west on University Dr., crosses rural and back to its starting point on the north side of campus.

The Earth orbit is a great way for students and residents as far north as McKellips to get to campus, downtown Tempe and Tempe Marketplace. The route also passes by Tempe Beach Park and Tempe Town Lake making it easy to get to events without parking payment or traffic.

Mars orbits south of Broadway Rd. between Rural Rd to the west, past the 101 freeway to the east.

This is a non-looping route and the first to not touch ASU's main campus or downtown Tempe. This route provides access to the Tempe Community Complex, many city parks and Shalimar Golf Course from several area neighborhoods.

Starting at the Tempe Community Complex which includes the Tempe Public Library, Pyle Adult Center and Tempe Historical Museum, Mars circles the Complex before turning east on Southern Ave., north on McClintock Dr., west on Del Rio Dr., south on Los Feliz Dr. and east on Hermosa Dr. to Rotary Park.

Mars continues north on Country Club Way (past Shalimar Golf Course), east on Concorda Dr., north on River Dr. and east on Broadway past the 101 freeway.

From Broadway Dr., Mars orbits south on Cottonwood Dr. to George Dr. (going the opposite direction, Mars goes from George Dr. to Price Rd. to return to Broadway).

From George Dr., Mars turns east on Geneva Dr., South on Evergreen Rd. to Ehrhardt park and then circles around, going west on Riviera Dr., north on Cottonwood Dr. and east on Pebble Beach Dr. back to Evergreen Rd. where Mars retraces its route back to the Tempe Community Complex.

This non-campus route is convenient to neighborhoods between Broadway and the US 60 freeway, between McClintock and Evergreen Rds. which are traveling to the Tempe Community Complex and for daily shopping at the Southern/Rural and Southern/McClintock corners.

Jupiter has a looped orbit and so can travel "forward" or "back", as indicated by the panel on the front of the bus. The forward loop runs clockwise and the back loop runs counterclockwise on the map.

The Jupiter orbit is one of the largest, circling ASU's main campus and downtown Tempe to the North, to an area from College Ave. to McClintock Drive just north of the US 60 to the south.

Like the Earth route, the Jupiter orbit begins on University in front of the dormitories on the north side of campus. Traveling forwards, Jupiter goes east on University, south on McCallister Ave., east on Terrace Rd., south on Rural Rd, east on Lemon St., east and south on Terrace Rd. again, west on Spence Ave. back to Rural Rd. where it continues south to Vista Del Cerro Dr.

From there, Jupiter turns south down Dorsey Ln., west on Alameda Dr., South on McClintock Dr., west on Southern Ave., south on Butte Ave., west on Laguna Dr., north on Oak St., west on Malibu Dr. before returning to Southern Ave.

From Southern Ave., Jupiter orbits south on Rural Rd., circling the Tempe Community Complex going west on La Jolla Dr. (On the back route, from La Jolla, Jupiter returns to Southern Ave. via McAllister Ave.)

West on La Jolla Dr., yields to north on College Ave. for a two mile run to Apache Blvd., the south end of ASU's campus proper.

Jupiter then jogs west on Apache Blvd., north on Forest Ave., west on 11th St. and north on Mill Ave. through downtown Tempe., before turning east on 5th St., south on College Ave. and west on University Dr. back to its starting location.

Jupiter is a great route which gives access from southern and southeastern neighborhoods to campus and downtown Tempe, and helps connect all of the orbits together.

Orbit System Map - All 5 orbits on one map. Note: The link will open a .pdf in the same window.

As you can see, the 5 orbits link together very well, allowing riders to go from neighborhood to neighborhood across north Tempe, and to access key locations including ASU's main campus, downtown tempe, the Tempe Community Complex, Tempe Marketplace, parks, golf courses and other shopping venues.

There are two convenient locations to pick up multiple Orbit busses.

College Ave. north of ASU and 5th Street between Mill Ave. and College Ave. allow riders to board Mercury, Venus, Earth or Jupiter and makes transfers between these 4 lines easy.

The streets around the Tempe Community Complex on the southwest corner of Southern and Rural Roads allow riders to board Mars or Jupiter, and make transfers to these lines easy. This is also the best location to link Mars to Mercury, Venus and Earth via Jupiter.

Note - The Orbit System Map also shows the path of the new Metro light rail system which runs from the city of Mesa west along Apache Blvd., into Tempe, turning northwest along Terrace Rd. through ASU's main campus before turning west along 5th St. through downtown Tempe.

From downtown Tempe, the Metro crosses Tempe Town Lake going north, then works its way west out of Tempe towards Sky Harbor Airport, west to downtown Phoenix, then north and northwest towards north Phoenix, terminating at Metrocenter Mall.