Phoenix Valley Metro Route 521: Central Tempe Express

Bus schedule and route map · Monday to Friday

Phoenix Valley Metro Route 521 (Central Tempe Express) is a bus route in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale and Chandler, serving Rural Rd & Tempe Library PNR, Van Buren St & Central Av, Adams St & 17th Av, Jefferson St & 1700 West and Central Av & Van Buren St. Monday to Friday the first bus is at 6:18 am and the last at 5:08 pm. Updated October 4, 2026.

Schedule summary

Monday to Friday

First: 6:18 am
Last: 5:08 pm
Buses: 8

Saturday, Sunday

No service

Schedule change: Phoenix Valley Metro’s schedule changes on October 7, 2026. The times below are for the current schedule.

Route 521 to Adams St & 17th Av

Destination sign “State Capitol” · from Rural Rd & Tempe Library PNR · 11 stops

Monday to Friday

Times at the main stops. Bold is pm. A dot means that trip does not stop there.

Rural Rd & Tempe Library PNR	Van Buren St & Central Av	Adams St & 17th Av
6:18	6:39	6:49
6:37	7:00	7:10
6:57	7:20	7:30
7:17	7:40	7:50

All 11 stops in this direction

Route 521 to Rural Rd & Tempe Library PNR

Destination sign “Tempe Library PNR” · from Jefferson St & 1700 West · 12 stops

Monday to Friday

Times at the main stops. Bold is pm. A dot means that trip does not stop there.

Jefferson St & 1700 West	Central Av & Van Buren St	Rural Rd & Tempe Library PNR
4:08	4:20	4:49
4:28	4:40	5:09
4:48	5:00	5:29
5:08	5:20	5:49

All 12 stops in this direction

Route 521 route map

Questions about Phoenix Valley Metro Route 521

What time is the first Route 521 bus?

Monday to Friday: 6:18 am.

What time is the last Route 521 bus?

Monday to Friday: 5:08 pm. A time after midnight belongs to the evening before.

Does Route 521 run at weekends?

Saturday: no service. Sunday: no service.

Where does Route 521 go?

Route 521 serves Rural Rd & Tempe Library PNR, Van Buren St & Central Av, Adams St & 17th Av, Jefferson St & 1700 West and Central Av & Van Buren St. The full list of stops for each direction is below the schedules.

Are these live bus times?

No. They are the published schedule from Valley Metro’s open data, refreshed October 4, 2026. A bus can run early or late, and disruptions are not shown.

Source: Valley Metro open data (GTFS schedule for Phoenix Valley Metro), used under the ODC Attribution License. Refreshed October 4, 2026; the current timetable runs to January 24, 2027. These are scheduled times; disruptions and service alerts are published by the operator. Changes made: times reformatted into timetables and departure lists.

Other Phoenix Valley Metro routes

All 112 Phoenix Valley Metro routes