Gold Line BRT - Woodbury to St. Paul and Minneapolis (2027)

[StandishGuy]

Let's hope this thing gets decent ridership since it cost more than $500 million... However, I predict 800 riders average per day. I hope the result will be an end to constructing these highway BRT lines to unwalkable, car-oriented places that demonstrate over and over that their land uses are hostile to making transit work.

[Bakken2016]

https://www.metrotransit.org/Data/Sites ... ldline.pdf

Gold Line Pocket Schedule with timetables' now available.

[angrysuburbanite]

https://www.metrotransit.org/GoldLine
Gold Line countdown and opening events now up on the website.

Free rides on opening day!

[Nick]

https://www.startribune.com/will-the-ne ... /601232770

Reading this article feels like taking a time machine back to 2015, which now that I think about it, I would like to do, so good for them.

[wingedmolotov]

https://www.metrotransit.org/GoldLine
Gold Line countdown and opening events now up on the website.

Free rides on opening day!

Any idea when the first eastbound bus is?

[angrysuburbanite]

https://www.metrotransit.org/GoldLine
Gold Line countdown and opening events now up on the website.

Free rides on opening day!

Any idea when the first eastbound bus is?

6:10 AM from the Smith Ramp according to the schedule

[wingedmolotov]

On opening day?

[angrysuburbanite]

That’s what it says over on Pantograph.

[Bakken2016]

https://www.metrotransit.org/GoldLine
Gold Line countdown and opening events now up on the website.

Free rides on opening day!

Any idea when the first eastbound bus is?

6:10 AM from the Smith Ramp according to the schedule

This is incorrect.

According to the schedule on metrotransit.org

First from Woodlane is at 4:54am, first from Smith & 5th is 5:11am.

[angrysuburbanite]

According to the schedule on metrotransit.org

First from Woodlane is at 4:54am, first from Smith & 5th is 5:11am.

Appreciate the correction, I swear it said 6:10 on Pantograph when I checked it but it matches what you said now. Sorry for any confusion!

[seanrichardryan]

Bigger buses and a new route: Metro Transit drivers are getting ready for Gold Line’s debut
The new line running from downtown St. Paul to Woodbury is “tricky” but it will be great, said one driver.

https://www.startribune.com/bigger-buse ... ource=gift

[angrysuburbanite]

At Woodlane right now, super busy. So exciting!

[angrysuburbanite]

Pictures!

[angrysuburbanite]

So, first day impressions, at least for me, were very positive. The infrastructure was really smooth running and pretty quick (the 35 minute runtime goes fast). Those flyovers were really impressive to ride over. I especially liked the stations. Nice, roomy shelters with good visibility to prevent too much loitering, lots of benches, and good lighting and trail connections. I much prefer these stations over the ones from the Orange Line, which feel more utilitarian. The Woodlane park & ride was pretty nice, though I think some better signage to the elevators is needed. The TSP was pretty spotty earlier in the day, but my return trip in the early afternoon was pretty smooth sailing. We only got caught at one light, and not for very long. There was some confusion at the Sun Ray station since the island platform requires the bus to crossover to the opposite side. Quite a few people got on the opposite direction they were intending.

The stations are actually better than many of us have given them credit for, location-wise. Most are near pockets of suburban density, commercial nodes, and of course the 3M campus. With Network Now the bus connections will be very strong, and Helmo Station will eventually be a decent urban node. The sound barriers along I-94 make the waiting environments quite quiet too, unlike the Orange Line. I expect most riders to be getting on at Woodlane and Sun Ray though.

But the biggest thing that impressed me was the ridership. Every bus I got on (and saw) was packed. And not just transit enthusiasts. Lots of regular people came out today to try it! I already saw some using it for game day transportation, and plenty of others realizing that maybe taking the bus is a feasible option for them now. Most of the ridership seemed to be coming from the Woodbury area, so this is a pretty big deal for them. A lot of drivers definitely noticed the buses, and looked pretty surprised to see packed articulated buses out in the suburbs.

As a conclusion, I would say that I underestimated the Gold Line. I think it’s going to be pretty well used. The opening events really left positive impressions on people. With all of the intense hate and disdain for others in our current political environment, I really liked seeing so many people coming together to enjoy some sweet new infrastructure. It gave me some hope.

[daveybabymsp]

So, first day impressions, at least for me, were very positive. The infrastructure was really smooth running and pretty quick (the 35 minute runtime goes fast). Those flyovers were really impressive to ride over. I especially liked the stations. Nice, roomy shelters with good visibility to prevent too much loitering, lots of benches, and good lighting and trail connections. I much prefer these stations over the ones from the Orange Line, which feel more utilitarian. The Woodlane park & ride was pretty nice, though I think some better signage to the elevators is needed. The TSP was pretty spotty earlier in the day, but my return trip in the early afternoon was pretty smooth sailing. We only got caught at one light, and not for very long. There was some confusion at the Sun Ray station since the island platform requires the bus to crossover to the opposite side. Quite a few people got on the opposite direction they were intending.

The stations are actually better than many of us have given them credit for, location-wise. Most are near pockets of suburban density, commercial nodes, and of course the 3M campus. With Network Now the bus connections will be very strong, and Helmo Station will eventually be a decent urban node. The sound barriers along I-94 make the waiting environments quite quiet too, unlike the Orange Line. I expect most riders to be getting on at Woodlane and Sun Ray though.

But the biggest thing that impressed me was the ridership. Every bus I got on (and saw) was packed. And not just transit enthusiasts. Lots of regular people came out today to try it! I already saw some using it for game day transportation, and plenty of others realizing that maybe taking the bus is a feasible option for them now. Most of the ridership seemed to be coming from the Woodbury area, so this is a pretty big deal for them. A lot of drivers definitely noticed the buses, and looked pretty surprised to see packed articulated buses out in the suburbs.

As a conclusion, I would say that I underestimated the Gold Line. I think it’s going to be pretty well used. The opening events really left positive impressions on people. With all of the intense hate and disdain for others in our current political environment, I really liked seeing so many people coming together to enjoy some sweet new infrastructure. It gave me some hope.

That is great to hear. I hope it ends up succeeding more than expected. I’m still a skeptic but I really want it to do well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bakken2016]

Even on Sunday after the opening festivities, there were a good number of folks out trying out the line for the first time. I was working at Rice Park Station helping folks, and lots of enthusiastic people!

[seanrichardryan]

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EBoDHw4d5/

[thespeedmccool]

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EBoDHw4d5/

Oh Watchdog, never change.

It must be exhausting being one of these people who insists the government can never do anything positive.

[angrysuburbanite]

It's hidden in the CSV file on the Metro Transit performance page, but the Gold Line's daily march ridership is available, and it is about what you'd expect. Weekdays it averaged 1,195 daily rides, Saturdays 1,696, and Sundays 836. I'd imagine the Saturday ridership is inflated by the opening day which was quite busy. Not bad overall, but I hope it gets higher.

[thespeedmccool]

It's hidden in the CSV file on the Metro Transit performance page, but the Gold Line's daily march ridership is available, and it is about what you'd expect. Weekdays it averaged 1,195 daily rides, Saturdays 1,696, and Sundays 836. I'd imagine the Saturday ridership is inflated by the opening day which was quite busy. Not bad overall, but I hope it gets higher.

Solid numbers for the first few weeks! I think that puts it in the range of a weaker core urban route but a strong express service. Orange Line-esque performance (or maybe a little better) is where this may end up long-term.

Anecdotally, my first trip on the Gold Line left downtown St. Paul with 8 riders midday on a Saturday, five of whom transferred at Sun Ray. It moved pretty fast going east (mostly because no one got on the bus after Earl Street) so it was a pretty slick experience.

The extension to Minneapolis will be great for it; I hear from people in Woodbury that they could make use of it if it went there.

I think Gold Line will succeed or fail on whether redevelopment comes. Helmo Station will be decently dense, and Sun Ray has redevelopment master planning sitting on a shelf somewhere. Etna, Maplewood, and Mounds are all primed for development too.

For the next building boom, St. Paul should really push the 94 East corridor to make the most out of the Gold Line. Luckily, if the early numbers hold, we're at absolutely no risk of a Northstar situation, but developing into a true success will require more investment.