Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

Roads - Rails - Sidewalks - Bikeways
Suburban Outcast
Landmark Center
Posts: 229
Joined: June 10th, 2012, 8:33 pm

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby Suburban Outcast » October 17th, 2014, 9:16 pm

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.
It's the 87 that goes down Cleveland, I took it for a semester to the U's Saint Paul Campus in 2012 when Rosedale still had a P&R lot. It's not bad, but it can take awhile to get past Fairview/36 due to the mall's beltway and multiple stoplights on B2 and Fairview.

Tom H.
US Bank Plaza
Posts: 605
Joined: September 4th, 2012, 5:23 am

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby Tom H. » October 21st, 2014, 8:33 am

Met Council board not big transit riders, survey finds

Interesting article. It's very telling to me that many of the non-user council members justify their non-use because they need to make mid-day trips -i.e., they think transit is primarily for AM-PM downtown commuting. I think the reasons that they don't ride are the most interesting part of the article, since it really shows where the deficits in the system are, and the subtle misconceptions about what transit should be.

mattaudio
Stone Arch Bridge
Posts: 7752
Joined: June 19th, 2012, 2:04 pm
Location: NORI: NOrth of RIchfield

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby mattaudio » October 21st, 2014, 8:44 am

Do many people think that the primary purpose of transit is shuttling of office workers downtown at peak hours because that's the service we have? Or is that the service we have because that's what many people think the primary purpose of the transit system is?

Viktor Vaughn
Target Field
Posts: 593
Joined: July 10th, 2012, 6:37 pm

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby Viktor Vaughn » October 21st, 2014, 9:55 am

Well it's a mix of both, I'd guess. And I get your point and think we need to offer better all day transit service.

But, downtown commuter service does make a lot of sense. That's when freeway traffic is the worst, parking is the most expensive, downtown streets the most snarled and the most people (traveling alone) are going the same direction at the same time which makes this type of transit service an easy win.

What I don't think we should be doing is replacing suburban commuter coaches with light rail and expect that all day demand will magically materialize due to the train. We should replace all day overcapacity bus lines with rail, instead. But commuter buses are a key piece to the transit system and we should be proud of downtown's 40% transit modeshare.

User avatar
FISHMANPET
IDS Center
Posts: 4241
Joined: June 6th, 2012, 2:19 pm
Location: Corcoran

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby FISHMANPET » October 21st, 2014, 10:21 am

While I disagree with their arrogance about not needing to use transit to manage it, I can't really fault their reasons for not taking it (except for Mayor Hodge's husband, that's bullshit that the Green Line didn't work to take you between Downtown and the U). Most of them aren't going back and forth between the downtown, they're going all around the metro. It's gonna be a long time before transit can hope to compete in that particular space.

However it goes to show how closely land use is mixed in with transit, a point that I think a lot of people have a really hard time understanding. Nobody wants to step back and say "hey, why do I have to drive all over the metro for these meetings?" They just take it as fact as the pump their tank full of "freedom."
(if you don't get my reference, watch this commercial, but maybe have a trash can ready in case you need to vomit http://www.marathonpetroleum.com/FTOF/)

mulad
Moderator
Posts: 2753
Joined: June 4th, 2012, 6:30 pm
Location: Saint Paul
Contact:

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby mulad » October 21st, 2014, 10:31 am

There's a high peak-to-base service ratio for transit in the Twin Cities -- about 2.5 times as many buses are on the road during peak periods than midday (invert that, and you can say there are only about 40% as many buses running during midday as during peak -- and of course there are many routes where service disappears completely). In 2009, the average across our peer metropolitan areas was 1.96, so I think that's definitely something that should be targeted for change. Apparently this has improved a bit over time, though -- back in 1995, it was up at 2.74.

But really, there should be an overall lifting of the level and breadth of service -- We've historically run with a lower operating budget than peer regions, though I'm not really sure how the Green Line and the related bus route changes have affected these numbers. At any rate, we probably should bump up the annual operating budget by at least 15% -- in 2009, Portland was spending 1.6x as much as we were, and Seattle was way out there at 2.2x of our budget -- they had 1.8x and 1.6x our per-capita ridership, respectively, and have been spending more on capital improvements too.

seanrichardryan
IDS Center
Posts: 4092
Joined: June 3rd, 2012, 9:33 pm
Location: Merriam Park, St. Paul

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby seanrichardryan » October 28th, 2014, 8:04 am

Q. What, what? A. In da butt.

HiawathaGuy
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1636
Joined: June 4th, 2012, 12:03 pm

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby HiawathaGuy » October 28th, 2014, 9:25 am

Anyway, good to see that Metro Transit is finally going to be making some signage improvements. That'll be a big help. The article mentions having stops with real-time arrival information, too, so maybe someday our grandkids won't have to always PLEASE CHECK SCHEDULES.
No, there's no issue with Real Time schedules for buses, it's just on the light rail... which probably has the most predictable schedule and probably the most information about exact positioning/communication with drivers than any other mode.

mulad
Moderator
Posts: 2753
Joined: June 4th, 2012, 6:30 pm
Location: Saint Paul
Contact:

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby mulad » November 4th, 2014, 3:27 pm

If anyone who commutes by bus thinks of it, try recording the amount of time it takes to get home this evening during the free-ride period from the election, and compare it to another day (when regular fare payment is in effect). My route 54 bus was fast enough this morning to hold at a timed stop which I don't think I've ever seen it wait at before (except maybe during non-rush periods). A count of the number of times a bus burns time like that on each day would also be interesting.

twincitizen
Moderator
Posts: 6368
Joined: May 31st, 2012, 7:27 pm
Location: Standish-Ericsson

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby twincitizen » November 4th, 2014, 3:31 pm

Even though I voted early last week, I am taking advantage of the free transit today, so I can be a data point! I'll be taking the 18 from 67th to 28th and I'll be sure to time the trip. I can only compare to scheduled time though, as I'm not a daily rider.

EDIT: we are running right on time, which is probably unusual for the 5pm run of the 18. Boarding is obviously smoother with no one paying cash, though it probably took just as long for the driver to explain it to the Somali woman on her phone. It seems most riders are completely unaware of the free ride situation. Kudos to Metro Transit for putting "Vote Today" on the external overhead display.

RailBaronYarr
Capella Tower
Posts: 2625
Joined: September 16th, 2012, 4:31 pm

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby RailBaronYarr » November 4th, 2014, 5:18 pm

The SB 6 I'm on hit uptown transit station 2 mins ahead of schedule. Boarding is noticeably faster thanks to not paying/scanning cards.

xandrex
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1384
Joined: January 30th, 2013, 11:14 am

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby xandrex » November 5th, 2014, 11:07 am

I go the opposite direction on the bus from most people on this board (north to NE/SE area), but I didn't see a noticeable change in times as a daily rider, but my route tends to go fairly smooth (and is typically no more than 10 minutes of actual riding).

I did have to go to the Uptown area during the work day and rode the bus back downtown. No payment definitely sped up the boarding process that way, especially once we hit MCTC where a bunch of people wanted to get on.

acs
Wells Fargo Center
Posts: 1364
Joined: March 26th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby acs » November 11th, 2014, 10:34 am

Overall transit ridership was up 7% in Q3 over last year. As expected LRT ridership jumped 100% while BRT increased 27%. Suburban providers dropped 1.2% and Northstar ridership dropped 6.3%

http://www.metrocouncil.org/METC/files/ ... b981b8.pdf

MNdible
is great.
Posts: 5989
Joined: June 8th, 2012, 8:14 pm
Location: Minneapolis

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby MNdible » November 11th, 2014, 10:52 am

Oh, Northstar. So sad.

Local bus ridership also dropped 6% -- is it possible that the shift of bus riders to from 16/50 to the Green Line can account for all of that?

mattaudio
Stone Arch Bridge
Posts: 7752
Joined: June 19th, 2012, 2:04 pm
Location: NORI: NOrth of RIchfield

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby mattaudio » November 18th, 2014, 9:03 am

"A Quick Fix for Minneapolis Transit"
https://streets.mn/2014/11/18/a-quick-fi ... is-transit

EOst
Capella Tower
Posts: 2424
Joined: March 19th, 2014, 8:05 pm
Location: Saint Paul

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby EOst » November 19th, 2014, 8:36 am

Sue Haigh is leaving the Met Council:
(St. Paul) – Today, Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh announced her intention to conclude her service as Council Chair in order to focus her energies on her full time position as President and CEO of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Haigh notified Governor Dayton of her decision this week and agreed to remain in her current position until Dayton names her successor.
“It has been an honor to serve residents of the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul region as Chair of the Metropolitan Council,” said Haigh. “This job has been the capstone of four decades of service in the public sector and I’m proud of tremendous accomplishments of the Council and our dedicated staff. I want to thank Governor Dayton for giving me this opportunity to serve. I also want to thank the many outstanding local elected officials and citizens who’ve been engaged and supportive of the Council’s work and achievements over the last four years.”
During Haigh’s tenure, the Metropolitan Council constructed and opened both the new METRO Green and Red Lines and advanced the METRO Orange Line as well as the Green and Blue Line Extensions in the federal funding queue. Haigh also hosted President Barack Obama in February of 2014 when he came to St. Paul to advocate for additional transit funding. Prior to Haigh’s departure, the Council is expected to adopt the first regional housing policy plan in 30 years.
Haigh has been a tireless advocate for a transit sales tax during her term as Chair. “The transit sales tax is critical to the ability of this region to compete with other regions throughout the world. I am hopeful that in coming years, the Minnesota Legislature will see fit to pass a funding plan that allows the kind of transit build out large employers and residents have come to expect of major metropolitan areas,” said Haigh.
Under Haigh’s leadership, the Council adopted an innovative new metropolitan development guide, Thrive MSP 2040. For the first time, the Council used the statutorily-required development guide to proactively address equity. Haigh’s 2014 State of the Region speech has been heralded throughout the region as a clear commitment to equitable policies that will enhance opportunities for all of the region’s residents.
“Although I will no longer lead the Council, I look forward to continued collaboration with the Council on affordable housing and equity issues. Our region is the economic engine of this state and the economic success we forecast will bring more people and with them, an ever increasing need for housing choices that are age-appropriate, affordable and sustainable. Working together, this region can meet its housing needs and enhance the lives of all residents by making public policy decisions in an equitable manner,” concluded Haigh.
Haigh was named the 13th Chair of the Metropolitan Council by Governor Dayton in January 2011. Her biography can be found here.

mattaudio
Stone Arch Bridge
Posts: 7752
Joined: June 19th, 2012, 2:04 pm
Location: NORI: NOrth of RIchfield

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby mattaudio » November 19th, 2014, 9:27 am

Any ideas who Dayton would nominate for Chair? One of the district reps? Or a fresh face to the council?

Silophant
Moderator
Posts: 4470
Joined: June 20th, 2012, 4:33 pm
Location: Whimsical NE

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby Silophant » November 19th, 2014, 9:41 am

Maybe he'll send out a questionnaire to his candidates asking if they've ever actually taken a non-express Metro Transit route?
Joey Senkyr
[email protected]

User avatar
Nick
Capella Tower
Posts: 2719
Joined: May 30th, 2012, 9:33 pm
Location: Downtown, Minneapolis

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby Nick » November 19th, 2014, 9:49 pm

omg this was just on TV

Nick Magrino
[email protected]

User avatar
FISHMANPET
IDS Center
Posts: 4241
Joined: June 6th, 2012, 2:19 pm
Location: Corcoran

Re: Public Transit News and Happenings

Postby FISHMANPET » November 19th, 2014, 11:51 pm

I was fast forwarding through something on my dvr and had to stop and rewind to view that masterpiece.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 46 guests