I've been a bit amazed at how unreliable the trains are at being on time. At least the every-10-minute schedule makes it so that when you miss a train, you're not waiting long for the next. But why can I know exactly when an express bus is arriving but have to wait until the next train shows up, seemingly at random. The longest I've waited for a train, and yes I've timed because I'm faux-OCD like that
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
And why have arrival times posted at stations at all when they never match the actual? Silly me actually based my morning around getting to the train stop at a certain time before realizing it was useless.
And the drivers, well, don't seem great at letting the passengers knowing what's going on, either. Three times I've been on trains where the digital signs/announcements are for the wrong stations. I mean, if I were new to the city and taking the train in from the airport, I'm probably going to be disappointed to realize the stop that said "Nicollet Mall" on the train is actually Downtown East. I tried to alert a driver to this as I was getting off and the train was stopped, but I was just chastised for disturbing the driver... while she was reading at the stoplight.
I've also boarded a train that was clearly in service, but during my whole downtown zone ride was constantly replaying "This train is not in service. Please exit the train. Take your belongings with you."
And don't even get me started on boarding after a Twins game... How can someone explain why there are signs that actually point in the opposite direction of where I'm supposed to be walking to board? Seemed like an improvised, unorganized mess.
Now, this is all from the perspective of someone that's new to the city and honestly hasn't used public transit a lot. I'm here to embrace it, and I want to embrace it. While I can see past a lot of the mess, I really can't imagine how bad some first impressions may be for visitors of the city. Or am I just too picky? Is there some information I don't know about that