Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

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Bakken2016
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Bakken2016 » June 18th, 2021, 11:19 am

Seems very minimal, won't get people out of their cars.

DanPatchToget
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby DanPatchToget » June 18th, 2021, 11:36 am

I think several of these proposed routes and extensions of existing routes will have extremely low ridership and extremely high subsidy to run them and they wouldn't last long. The ones that connect with the Green Line might have a fighting chance, but besides that I don't have much hope of these routes being able to survive long term.

Tcmetro
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Tcmetro » June 18th, 2021, 12:29 pm

This service plan is much needed. MVTA started in 1990 taking over a few express routes from MTC and a few local connectors that went to the Airport and were started as trial routes in the 80s. With the opening of the MOA, the local network grew around shuttling people to and from the mall and has been added on to over time, growing to what it is today.

This new plan starts to make the system more gridlike and move connections from places like MOA to the Red, Orange, and Green lines. I like how they are planning to cut back some of the express service. The local tails usually run empty, and there's a few routes that have pretty bad performance for the service levels they get. There's a few inclusions that I don't really think need to be there (474 MOA to MN Zoo Express), but overall it is ambitious.

It is a shame that it doesn't seem like there's going to be a big expansion of span of service. As a former #444 rider (the busiest MVTA local route) the last bus was usually pretty full.

I can't really speak to the Southwest Transit side of things, but I hope that the connector routes are successful - especially because the Green line is really going to drive transit usage in Eden Prairie and the surrounding areas.

Bakken2016
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Bakken2016 » June 21st, 2021, 2:14 pm

Starting June 26th, 2021:

Metro Transit is adding service to the 323 between 11pm - 1am due to customer requests. So all 63s should have a connection now to connect with the 323.

thespeedmccool
Union Depot
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby thespeedmccool » June 23rd, 2021, 4:48 pm

Maybe I just don't know, but this seems like a very quick turnaround for adding extra service. This route started on 6/12.

Is this a sign that it's successful already? Honestly, I didn't expect local bus to Woodbury to be a success.

Bakken2016
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Bakken2016 » June 23rd, 2021, 4:52 pm

Maybe I just don't know, but this seems like a very quick turnaround for adding extra service. This route started on 6/12.

Is this a sign that it's successful already? Honestly, I didn't expect local bus to Woodbury to be a success.
It’s more the issue of those who live along McKnight and London Ln, they lost their one seat ride and span of service, this helps fix one of those!


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Hero
Landmark Center
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Hero » June 23rd, 2021, 11:18 pm

How many requests does it take to add service? I think it would be nice to have route 23 service Uptown Transit Center up to 1 AM. And extend route 21 and 5 to 2AM stops at Uptown and Downtown.

Trademark
US Bank Plaza
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Trademark » June 24th, 2021, 8:24 pm

Does anyone know what the current metro transit owl routes are?

Hero
Landmark Center
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Hero » June 25th, 2021, 12:44 am

If route 5 isn't running much past 1am I doubt any off them are.

Tcmetro
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Tcmetro » June 25th, 2021, 3:29 am

The 5, 10, 18, 19, and Green Line bus (992) were remaining owl routes but service was removed during the pandemic.

There used to be a few more owl routes. It's a bit of a stretch for my memory, but I believe the others were the 6, 7 (pre-Blue Line), 16 (pre-Green Line), 21, and 64. Owl service started up around 2000 and was cut back to the 5, 16, and 19 a few years later. The 10 and 18 owl service was restored a few years ago (2017 maybe?) as part of the service improvement plan recommendations.

Trademark
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Trademark » June 25th, 2021, 5:59 am

The 5, 10, 18, 19, and Green Line bus (992) were remaining owl routes but service was removed during the pandemic.

There used to be a few more owl routes. It's a bit of a stretch for my memory, but I believe the others were the 6, 7 (pre-Blue Line), 16 (pre-Green Line), 21, and 64. Owl service started up around 2000 and was cut back to the 5, 16, and 19 a few years later. The 10 and 18 owl service was restored a few years ago (2017 maybe?) as part of the service improvement plan recommendations.
If a bus is high frequency they should make it an owl network bus too. There are a lot of jobs that run late/start early and a lack of bus service effectively gatekeeps them.

Tcmetro
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Tcmetro » June 25th, 2021, 7:19 am

It's always going to be the first thing to go when budget cuts happen. There's not a lot going on at night and the limited coverage and frequency are a big deterrent.

During the pandemic, Transit Link (dial-a-ride) expanded to provide overnight service to the airport, which has a lot of jobs that start around 3 am. I think expanding Transit Link to serve workers that start/end between midnight and 5 am would be the most efficient way to help those people get to work and sidestep the coverage and frequency issue.

Silophant
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Silophant » June 29th, 2021, 8:20 am

Looks like MT got a $4.2M federal grant to help buy eight Proterra ZX5 electric buses. Notably, these are standard 40' buses, and have >300mi range, so they'll be able to complete a shift without on-route charging. Hopefully these work out better than the C Line buses have.
Joey Senkyr
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Silophant
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Silophant » July 6th, 2021, 10:02 am

There's a preview up for the August 23 service change, though it doesn't include finalized schedules yet.

Notable changes:
- Some commuter service restored.
- Both LRTs will go back to 10-minute service during the morning rush hour.
- Route 30 will gain one new morning trip and restore seven additional evening trips.
- The Route 4 G branch northeast of Silver Lake Village will be replaced by a new Route 804. Presumably those trips will all turn into Route 4Bs.
- The Route 3 Better Bus improvements go into effect, including:
- Stop consolidation on Como, Front, and Rice
- Removing the 3K branch serving Elm and Kasota and replacing it with a new Route 33 circulator
- Rerouting through downtown to stay on Washington rather than shifting over to 3rd/4th
- Staying on Washington all the way to 10th Ave N rather than ending at the B Ramp.
Joey Senkyr
[email protected]

alexschief
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby alexschief » July 6th, 2021, 1:06 pm

- The Route 3 Better Bus improvements go into effect, including:
- Staying on Washington all the way to 10th Ave N rather than ending at the B Ramp.
RonPaul_ItsHappening.gif

DanPatchToget
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby DanPatchToget » July 9th, 2021, 9:51 am

Duluth Transit Authority is studying improvements to their bus system with a simplified network of routes and higher frequency service. On their Facebook page they mentioned two routes would have a frequency of 10-15 minutes during the day and it would be the first step towards possibly implementing BRT.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/81 ... rZv9N9owZM

grant1simons2
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby grant1simons2 » July 21st, 2021, 7:44 am

Any word on when the 113 and 114 will be running? Are they typically only in service during the active semesters at the U?

Tcmetro
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Tcmetro » July 21st, 2021, 7:52 am

Any word on when the 113 and 114 will be running? Are they typically only in service during the active semesters at the U?
113 and 114 are currently suspended and will begin running again with the start of classes at the U. Before the pandemic there was a reduced schedule that operated during breaks and intersession.

The 115 (evening 113-114 combo route) will not be restored as part of the August changes.

Trademark
US Bank Plaza
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby Trademark » August 2nd, 2021, 12:18 pm

This isn't news but a personal gripe. They need to extend the 721 to Starlite from where it ends at Hennepin tech. Just realized that to get from my school and North Hennepin to my job the fastest way is to go all the way to Brooklyn Center to catch the 721 to a spot that's 2 miles away from All because there's no transfer at Starlite. It's only another mile.

50 minutes on the bus to go 2 miles. It's almost faster to walk the 40 minutes. I know suburban transit will always be not the greatest due to the very nature of the land use. But when it's so easy to connect to a transit center we need to do it to increase connectivity.

COLSLAW5
Nicollet Mall
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Re: Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Postby COLSLAW5 » August 6th, 2021, 2:13 pm

Metro Transit is making all fares $1 for September and October and cutting the price of school and employer passes in half from September to the end of the year. It is supposed to encourage rider ship and also help provide information for a fare review in 2022 with the possibility of removing rush hour fare increases.


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