Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

[grant1simons2]

I'm in one of those new SW transit buses that you've seen on the road lately and what can I say... it feels like a first class flight to Paris with a little bit of turbulence. They have blue strip lighting above our heads, it's not too cold nor warm, the seats are cushy leather and the floor is fake wood.

[FranklinAveFixation]

I'm in one of those new SW transit buses that you've seen on the road lately and what can I say... it feels like a first class flight to Paris with a little bit of turbulence. They have blue strip lighting above our heads, it's not too cold nor warm, the seats are cushy leather and the floor is fake wood.

I just got off the 21, it was standing room only, 2 women had strollers blocking the front door, 3 guys got on and didn't pay the fare(bus driver argued with them for about 5 seconds before he gave up), a guy in a wheel chair got on and we were delayed 5 minutes while he was strapped in, the lady sitting in front of me took a huge drag off her cigg *right* before she got on and then had her toddler hold onto the butt to re-light when she gets off... and we stopped at every single stop between Hiawatha and Blaisdell.

[HiawathaGuy]

I just got off the 21, it was standing room only, 2 women had strollers blocking the front door, 3 guys got on and didn't pay the fare(bus driver argued with them for about 5 seconds before he gave up), a guy in a wheel chair got on and we were delayed 5 minutes while he was strapped in, the lady sitting in front of me took a huge drag off her cigg *right* before she got on and then had her toddler hold onto the butt to re-light when she gets off... and we stopped at every single stop between Hiawatha and Blaisdell.

Haha. I see what you did there. Very nice! I love the 21 - so much diversity.
That's a very, very common 21 bus experience. I'm also sure others have similar stories that could be told from many other routes in the city. It's why the vast majority of suburban people will never ride 'regular' buses - and why rail routes to/from the suburbs are the only way we'll increase ridership as a metro. That's not unique to our metro - at all. Sadly.

[David Greene]

Mine:

http://www.bustales.com/route/21/youre- ... g-with-me/

[FISHMANPET]

Just got an email from the U, looks like Buses will be detoured off Washington Ave this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

The westbound lanes of Washington Avenue between Church Street SE and Pleasant Street SE will be closed to bus and emergency vehicle traffic from 7:00 a.m. on Friday, October 3 until 7:00 a.m. on Monday, October 6. The closure is necessary as Metro Transit crews remove and replace three panels of concrete roadway. Eastbound lanes, and Green Line trains in both directions, will not be affected by the closure.

The closure will impact morning and afternoon bus traffic on Friday, October 3. Buses will be rerouted during the closure and westbound bus stops at Coffman and Oak & Washington will be moved. Riders who typically use those stops should instead go to the Jones/Eddy stop, or the Ridder Arena stop.

Work is scheduled for this weekend, as it is one of the few where neither the Gophers nor the Vikings will play a home game at TCF Bank Stadium. Weather permitting; all lanes of traffic are scheduled to reopen by 7:00 a.m. on Monday, October 6.

[Nick]

[mattaudio]

Wow, that yellow fire shield cornice is a nice effect. Anything is an improvement for this turd.

[Tcmetro]

SW Transit is bringing back local Eden Prairie service next Monday. A quick glance at the schedule shows some pretty poor midday connections between the local routes and the express routes to Minneapolis, U of M, and Normandale, with waits varying from 5 to 45 minutes. Considering how simple the system it really shouldn't be difficult to coordinate all the routes.

http://swtransit.org/eden-prairie-circulator/

Metro Transit will be opening two new park and rides in the NE Metro on Dec. 15th. Both lots have 300 spaces, one at 35E and CR 14 and the other at 35E and CR E. Routes 275 (St. Paul - Centerville/Lino Lakes Express) and 285 (St. Paul - Columbus/Forest Lake Express) will be combined and improved.

http://www.metrotransit.org/routes-275- ... ned-dec-15

[grant1simons2]

I'd really like to see those numbers from Forest Lake. I used to live there and they have to be some of the most anti-transit people I've ever met.

[Tcmetro]

The 2013 Park and Ride System Report shows 110 users of the Columbus lot and 94 at the Forest Lake lot.

http://www.metrocouncil.org/Transportat ... eport.aspx

[MNdible]

The 2013 Park and Ride System Report shows 110 users of the Schmalumbus lot and 94 at the Forest Lake lot.

OK, I think we all got the joke. We can get rid of this now, right?

[MNdible]

Coming out of the conversation about the future of the route 16, I was wondering:

How much has Metro Transit experimented with smaller buses? If there are routes where it makes sense to maintain a higher frequency, but ridership may not require a standard bus, should we be running these with smaller vehicles that are more efficient, easier to drive, and will cause less wear and tear on our infrastructure? New Flyer's MiDi in the 30' size seems like it would be a good candidate.

No doubt, having multiple vehicle sizes will cause some complications with scheduling, but I would think that a big system like Metro Transit could sort that out.

[talindsay]

I doubt it would make sense for Metro Transit. Consider that the biggest cost of a bus is the driver, and the next is almost certainly maintenance. A smaller bus saves nothing on the driver, and increases overall maintenance costs (since maintenance then has to deal with a non-standard part). The fuel savings are likely quite small - standard transit buses are surprisingly efficient for their size, and an empty 30' bus probably isn't much different from an empty 40' bus. Both require professional drivers and don't drive like passenger vehicles so I doubt ease of driving would matter much. The wear on infrastructure argument is interesting and likely accurate, but I bet it doesn't work out as a savings for them.

Now, for a smaller regional provider that only has coach buses and a few non-coach buses, the 30' buses are almost certainly a win. But for Metro Transit I bet not.

[twincitizen]

Metro Transit itself does not operate anything less than 40' buses. However, many contract routes (run by FirstTransit and others) do use 30' buses and even mini buses (similar to Metro Mobility's rolling stock.) I've ridden on a minibus on the Route 540 and Route 27.

I wouldn't expect that setup to change (i.e. Metro Transit running smaller vehicles itself), but the mixture of self-operated vs. contracted routes is always in flux. Met Council contracts out much of the suburban local service, as well as certain express routes and circulators like the 27.

EDIT: Also, what Tom said.

EDIT: Also, what Metro Transit said http://www.metrotransit.org/good-questi ... r-contract

[mamundsen]

I always see a "mini bus" around Rosedale. I think it is an 87. Makes me laugh every time. It looks half the size of a regular bus.

[HiawathaGuy]

Thankfully the contracted 540, 539 & 538 BeeLine routes are all now using the 30' Metro Transit-branded buses. Even the 542 now uses those smaller buses (did that switch from a MT operated route to a FirstTransit?). I'm just happy that the 540 route has upgraded to nicer buses!

[mattaudio]

"Maple Grove Transit works to address overcrowding [having to stand] on Route 785"
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/279559342.html

[grant1simons2]

Higher frequency. Boom. Done. Next

[HuskyGrad]

"Maple Grove Transit works to address overcrowding [having to stand] on Route 785"
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/279559342.html

It states the riders are coming from 28 NW cities. Is this due to the recent unreliable nature of NorthStar?


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[Rich]

It states the riders are coming from 28 NW cities. Is this due to the recent unreliable nature of NorthStar?

According to the article "the route has been extremely popular since a new ramp was opened at the Parkway Station off I-94 and Maple Grove Pkwy." Apparently the popularity of this bus route is due to a parking ramp.