Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

[Silophant]

Cool! Every so often, I ride a bus with a driver that actually bothers to announce every stop, and its nice to be able to zone out without worrying about missing my stop. And, of course, it'll be great for new transit users, especially on non-intuitive routes like the 2.

[David Greene]

Sometimes I'm embarrassed by UrbanMSP, but then there's E-Democracy.

#truth

[David Greene]

Automated announcements on all routes by the end of the year.

Good to know we're joining the 1996 crowd.

[ECtransplant]

Now if only they would include in that announcement "please exit from the rear doors"

[twincitizen]

See Metro Transit dance around the question here: http://www.metrotransit.org/good-questi ... t-the-back

It could be as simple as a sticker that says "exit through rear door", but our system is so express-heavy that it wouldn't apply to a ton of the trips.

Since Metro Transit will never do anything, including training their drivers to make the announcement, this sort of thing should be enforced by passengers themselves. I'm constantly surprised how people will slog down the aisle toward the front to exit, and no one says anything. I guess another major issue is that for at least 3-4 months a year, stepping out the rear exit would lead you into a snowbank, and let's not pretend that bus stop maintenance is going to improve overnight.

[NickP]

I am all for rear door exit, but at least in the winter this is sometimes not possible. To help this along we would need to make sure both de-bording areas are cleared of snow. As of now, usually only the front door is clear.

[FISHMANPET]

There was a period of time where every time I got off the 2, the rear door opened directly into a snowbank or a trashcan or a light pole, like there was some conspiracy to keep me from getting off the back door. But I had my boots on and I fought the power and just got off anyway.

[mulad]

Heck, I've had shelters land in front of the rear door in some places, even though the front door lands in what appears to be the designated spot -- and things can be a mess when the driver under/overshoots the stop slightly (I doubt it's really obvious to drivers when a stop needs to be hit precisely versus when they have freedom to stop wherever is most convenient).

[ECtransplant]

http://m.theatlanticcities.com/commute/ ... tion/8311/

Off peak transit use rising faster than peak use

[woofner]

P1260120 by UrbanMSP, on Flickr

The City has reviewed the state of transit shelters within its borders and decided to get out of the shelter business:

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups ... 120351.pdf

Now, I think it's a reasonable move to transfer ownership to Metro Transit, but doesn't the city have an interest in staying involved through the RFP process to decide a vender to (hopefully) replace CBS?

I also like the Maintenance Standards, er, Guidelines document posted as part of this item. They're supposed to replace glass within 1-2 working days? When has that ever happened? They're supposed to replace schedules within one week of service changes? Thanks guys.

[mattaudio]

Downtown fare zone for Metro Mobility?
http://www.startribune.com/local/244650701.html

[Tcmetro]

The problem came up in an FTA Title IV review. ADA paratransit fare can only be twice the regular bus fare.

[Nick]

http://www.startribune.com/local/244657501.html

Twin Cities' new U.S. immigration building lacking bus service

MARK BRUNSWICK, Star Tribune February 9, 2014 - 9:59 PM

What federal officials thought was a bus route for new location was really a commuter line without regular stops.

For more than two decades, thousands of immigrants have stepped off a Metro Transit bus and walked a hundred yards or so to a nondescript building near the Mall of America, where they have been able to apply for a green card, petition to get a relative into the United States or take the test to become an American citizen.

In subzero temperatures, the short walk has often brought new meaning to the phrase “huddled masses.”

But with little local public input and because of a mistake that even it acknowledges, the federal government will move its U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices 11 miles away later this year.

[...]

[twincitizen]

^That whole situation is upsetting. It's great to see the media focus on transit access, but the article never really gets at the core of the problem...the location itself! Why would this facility not be located in Minneapolis or St. Paul? Transit access would not even have to be considered if it were. Even the most outlying neighborhoods of Mpls-StP have at least hourly service 7 days a week.

I wrote a letter to the editor basically saying the above and more. Since this was the top headline on the west metro print edition today, I'm sure I'm not alone. I tried to articulate and not use too many exclamation points, so we'll see if it gets printed.

EDIT: Jackpot http://www.startribune.com/opinion/lett ... 00961.html

[Tcmetro]

March 8th bus changes are posted:

http://www.metrotransit.org/these-route ... ge-march-8

- New Route 30, every half-hour weekdays from 5:30 am - 12:15 am, starting at Golden Valley Road/Xerxes to Raymond/University via Broadway, the Quarry, Northeast Industrial Park, and the student housing at 29th/Como.

- New Route 565, operating from Knox Ave/76th St P&R to Target Northern Campus.

- Route 4: 1 evening round-trip extended to New Brighton, 1 new southbound trip from Silver Lake Village at 12:57am.

- Route 5: Weekday evening service will improve to 10-minute frequencies.

- Route 19: Northbound late PM peak service improves to 10-minute frequencies.

- Route 535: Buses will now exit 35W at 94th St to serve the Hennepin County Service Center and food shelf on Lyndale Ave.

- Routes 14 and 22 will have selected trips eliminated.

- Added trips on Routes 460 and 785.

- Routes 25, 53, 265, 275, 285, 288, 667, 755, 756, 760, 789, 825, 852, and 860 will have minor time changes.

[ndokken]

Here again, Metro Transit ignores many customers' demands regarding route 5. The bus is ALWAYS packed like sardines. If any of you have ridden the bus from North MPLS into downtown or even down Chicago Av or all the way to MOA, you know what I mean. They need extended buses during the week NOT THE WEEKEND, adjusting the frequency by a few minutes isn't going to solve anything IMO. The bus is always late, always full, and always smells like pot. Good riddance I don't have to ride that bus route anymore.

[VAStationDude]

and yet we're throwing $250 million at a streetcar when aBRT on Chicago, Penn and Emerson/Freemont would actually enhance mobility.

[alleycat]

and yet we're throwing $250 million at a streetcar when aBRT on Chicago, Penn and Emerson/Freemont would actually enhance mobility.

These aren't mutually exclusive and are in fact planned. What Minneapolis is trying to do with streetcars on select corridors have different end goals than Metro Transits aBRT.

[mattaudio]

Not that this is a proposal to get buses of Nicollet Mall, but I've always wondered why more buses originating/terminating in Downtown Minneapolis do not use east-west streets even if the service is more north-south in direction. Granted, streets need to balance in capacity. That's why so many MVTA routes (4xx) are paired with 35W/36 routes (2xx) because they complement in facility demand. But it seems so strange that many 5/6/7/8xx routes, approaching downtown from 394 or 94/252, use Marq 2 rather than an east-west street. There are so many more east-west streets that touch the core of downtown, and there's not the Hennepin funnel effect that limits the north/south grid. Seems like we could build another Marq/2 pair as an east/west spine, and move more Hennepin/Nicollet buses to that existing downtown infrastructure.

[seanrichardryan]

Wasn't there a paired Marq2 style transit-way proposed for 8th & 9th Street?