Southwest Light Rail Transit line Comes up Short

Southwest Corriodor has come up short on the money needed to continue.

St. Paul gets $25 million grant for Saints ballpark

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) -

The St. Paul Saints were the big winners of Thursday's capital grants announced by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. The city of St. Paul was awarded $25 million of the $27 million it requested for a new Saints ballpark.

Nearly 100 applications were submitted, but only 11 were awarded a piece of the $47.5 million bonding money pool. Gov. Dayton had the final say in which projects would receive the legislature-approved funding.

MINNESOTA BONDING MONEY BREAKDOWN

• $2 million is better than nothing for the Southwest Light Rail Transit line. The Metropolitan Council applied for $14 million.
• Duluth was awarded $8.5 million for downtown development.
• A wellness center in Wadena received $4.2 million.
• Rochester, St. Cloud and Mankato were all shut out of the grant sweepstakes, but Dayton said projects in those cities will be at the top of his bonding proposal for 2013.
• Major repairs and reconstruction of Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis also failed to receive any funding.

Getting ahead of anticipated criticism, Dayton said there was definitely no deal to set aside grant money for a Saints stadium in exchange for St. Paul lawmakers' votes on a new Vikings stadium.

Planning for Potential Transit Budget Reductions

At the June 27, 2011 meeting of the Metropolitan Council Transportation Committee, John Levin, Metro Transit's Director of Service Development, summarizes Metro Transit's plans to provide information and collect public input regarding potential transit service reductions and fare increases, which may be necessary given anticipated shortfalls in the regional transit operations budget.

While watching the video, you can also view Levin's slide presentation (14 pages, pdf).

2010 Minnesota State Fair

Old Metro Transit Bus # 378 now a Lorenz Bus Service Bus # 1520

SouthWest Transit on YouTube

SouthWest Transit now has a YouTube Channel.

Taking your bike on the bus -- Then and Now

It's easy to Ride SouthWest Transit!

Routes will change on Dec. 12

These routes will change on Dec. 12

Beginning Saturday, Dec. 12, changes will be made to routes operated by Metro Transit and regional transit providers.
This list is an overview of the changes. If your route is listed, please pick up an updated schedule for details. Schedules are available below, on buses and trains and at Metro Transit stores and outlets.
Beginning Dec. 12, if you know your route and just need departure times, call NexTrip at 612-341-4287.
Jump down to:
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
Maple Grove Transit
Plymouth Metrolink
SouthWest Transit
BlueXpress

Marquette and 2nd transit corridor opens in downtown Minneapolis
These routes will travel on the reconstructed Marquette Avenue and 2nd Avenue in downtown Minneapolis:
Metro Transit133, 135, 146, 156, 250, 260, 261, 264, 270, 288, 467, 535, 552, 553, 554, 558, 576, 578, 587, 597, 673, 760, 761, 762, 763, 765, 766, 767, 824, 850, 852, 854, 889
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority460, 464, 465, 470, 472, 476, 477, 478, 479
Maple Grove Transit780, 781, 782, 783, 784
Plymouth Metrolink742, 747, 772, 774, 776, 777, 790, 793, 795
SouthWest Transit680, 684, 685, 690, 691, 697, 698, 699
BlueXpress490
Schedule times for these routes will be adjusted due to faster bus travel speeds through downtown. Routes will stop every other block. Please pick up a new printed schedule or click here to see which stops your route will serve on Marquette and 2nd avenues.

SouthWest Transit Demo of VanHool TD925 Double Deck

Front Right side view

Rear Right Side View

Drivers Compartment

Lower level

Upper Level Facing Front

Upper Level Facing to Rear

Rear Stairwell

SouthWest Transit Demo of VanHool TD925 Double Deck Intercity Coach at SouthWest Station in Eden Prairie, Mn. Doing Routes 698A and 690U

Southwest is Testing Double Decker Bus Again

It's Back!
11/20/2009 1:56 PM
Beginning Friday, November 20 and continuing through next Wednesday, November 25, SouthWest Transit is testing a double decker bus built by Van Hool NV, on some of its regular routes. The double decker bus will be used on two or three morning routes and one afternoon route each day between Friday and Wednesday.
One year ago SouthWest Transit tested a double decker bus from a different manufacturer and used a similar bus as part of its fleet to take people to and from the Minnesota State Fair.

Holiday Service

Reduced service on the day after Thanksgiving
Due to decreased demand, most Metro Transit routes will follow SATURDAY schedules on the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, Nov. 27). Saturday fares will be charged – there will be no rush-hour charges (except for some suburban providers). Weekday fares will be charged on Northstar trains.
The Metropolitan Transit Information Center will be open regular hours (6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.) on Nov. 27. The Minneapolis and St. Paul transit stores will be open from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Customer Relations and Lost & Found will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
All routes will follow SATURDAY schedules unless listed below. Some routes will operate trips in addition the normal Saturday schedule. If your route does not have a schedule for Saturday service and is not listed here, it will not operate on Nov. 27.
Note: Metro Transit buses and light-rail trains will follow Sunday/Holiday schedules on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26). There is no Northstar service on Thanksgiving. Metro Transit stores, Customer Relations, Lost & Found and the Metropolitan Transit Information Center will be closed.
Jump down to:
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
Maple Grove Transit
Plymouth Metrolink

New Look

Southwest Transit has a new look on their website.

Como Transit Station Part 2

Transit Police SUV

New Flyer Articulated buses lines up at Como Transit Station


Buses at gates

Metro Transit Gillig Hybrid Low Floor Bus # 7116 with State Fair wrap doing the Route 960

Metro Transit Gillig Hybrid Low Floor Bus # 7171 doing Dunwoody Park and Ride

Como Transit Station

These pictures and video were taken on my cell phone on Sat. 9-5-09

Southwest and MVTA buses at Como Transit Station

Mn. State Fair

I have more pictures from the Minnesota State Fair at the Como Transit Station.

(Note these were taken on my cell phone.)

Southwest and MVTA buses lines up in staging area.

Buses waiting at the gates

Transit proposal irks local officials

Transit proposal irks local officials
Shannon Fiecke of the Shakopee Valley News reports:
On her drive down Como Avenue one day, St. Paul legislator Alice Hausman noticed a slew of coach buses from Southwest Transit.The DFL state representative called to find out what was going on — and was told the suburban transit provider, which offers express bus service to Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, had decided to park its buses at the State Fair lot during the day to save money.
What Southwest Transit viewed as a tremendous savings (more than $30,000 per month), Hausman saw as a sign of system inefficiency, given that Southwest — like other suburban “opt-out” bus services, such as BlueXpress in Shakopee and Prior Lake — isn’t part of the same system as the larger Metro Transit.
“All those big beautiful coaches sit unused all day because they’re not part of a coordinated transit system,” she said.
Hausman is pushing legislation that would eliminate suburban control of bus services (as well as Metro Transit’s) by folding all transit providers into one statewide entity. Hearings on her proposal are expected this fall, before the Legislature convenes, and the topic has also been selected for study by the state legislative auditor.
Scott County Commissioner John Ulrich of Savage — who has his hand in transportation-related issues — told fellow commissioners recently that Hausman is on a mission to eliminate transit opt-outs like BlueXpress — and they need to be on guard.
“We provide very efficient, excellent service,” he said.
Hausman says she doesn’t want to take bus service away from the suburbs, but make it equitable — so those living in one part of the Twin Cities aren’t paying toward a higher level of service elsewhere.
“Huge inequities” have built up across the metro, she said, pointing out higher subsidy figures for suburban riders, their nice coach buses and Southwest Transit’s “Cadillac” station in Eden Prairie, which is heated and cooled and has a TV. Meanwhile, Metro Transit passengers who stand at Cleveland and Grand avenues don’t even have a bus shelter, she said.
But others view her proposal as a power grab to take away what suburban providers have worked so hard to build.
“The transit system here gets pretty darn high marks,” said Carver County Commissioner Tom Workman, a former Republican legislator. “They [others] want this common denominator stuff.”
Communities in the southwest metro were allowed to “opt-out” of the metro bus system originally, Ulrich and others say, because even though they were paying property taxes into the system, they weren’t being served adequately. (Since then, the major funding mechanism has switched from property taxes to the motor vehicle sales tax, although a special metro taxing district levies for capital projects, including park-and-rides and buses.)
“They robbed the suburban area for years and decades shamelessly,” Workman said, “and now that suburbs are standing up on their hind legs, they want more of our money to help with their ‘abyss.’”
Southwest Transit CEO Len Simich said he implemented a plan that turned Southwest Transit from an agency with negative customer feedback into one of the fastest-growing systems in the country that is recognized nationally. Until recently, its ridership was climbing by double digits every year.
Southwest Transit worked hard for its success, Simich said, and aggressively went after grant funds by showing the federal government exactly how certain steps would increase ridership.
“We didn’t get there with the help of Alice Hausman,” Workman said. “We got there on our own.”
DEFINING SUCCESS
Money for buses and light rail comes from a variety of sources, including the motor vehicle sales tax, fares and state and federal funds distributed by the Metropolitan Council.
According to the state legislative auditor, there are 24 transit systems in the Twin Cities area, including Metro Transit, the largest provider, which is operated by the Met Council. While express bus services like BlueXpress and Southwest Transit — which serves Chanhassen, Chaska and Eden Prairie — get part of their funding through the Met Council, they are independently run.
Suburban providers feel under attack from Hausman, a legislator who is perceived to have considerable clout when it comes to transit. They also believe they are getting the short end of the stick from the Met Council when it comes to funding.
The Met Council will be withholding operating dollars from Southwest Transit and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority to help plug holes in the regional transit system, primarily to cover Metro Transit’s deficit.
Forecasting tough times ahead, Southwest Transit reduced services and its staff size the last couple years to put its operation in a healthy position, Simich said. While he is OK with using a portion of its reserves to help shoulder the economic downturn, Simich believes his agency is being asked to carry too much of the burden and is being penalized for doing the “right thing,” when others weren’t planning ahead.
BlueExpress has had difficulty getting the buses it was supposed to get from the Met Council, and recently rejected two of three used buses it was finally offered because they were too old, Shakopee Community Development Director Michael Leek said.
Local officials have also complained about a push by the Met Council to standardize regional services and make buses look similar.
In one spat — noted by Hausman — Minnesota Valley Transit Authority wanted the Met Council to reupholster seats with the MVTA logo. Metro Transit wouldn’t budge, so MVTA (which serves Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Rosemount and Savage) did it themselves, she said.
“Though you and I pay for it, they get to make the decision and reupholster it anyway,” she said.
To build ridership, Simich said Southwest Transit must tailor its service to “choice riders,” who have other options for getting downtown.

Reduced Service on July 3 and 4

Schedule for July 4 holiday

Reduced service on Friday, July 3
Due to decreased customer demand, most Metro Transit routes will follow SATURDAY schedules on Friday, July 3. Saturday fares will be charged – there will be no rush-hour charges (except for some suburban providers).
The Metropolitan Transit Information Center will be open regular hours (6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.) on Friday, July 3. The Minneapolis and St. Paul transit stores will be open from 7:30 to 11 a.m. (the Mall of America store is temporarily closed). Customer Relations and Lost & Found will be open from 8 a.m. to noon.
All routes will follow SATURDAY schedules unless listed below. Some routes will operate trips in addition to the normal Saturday schedule. If your route does not have a Saturday schedule and is listed below, trips added are selected from the weekday schedule. If your route does not have a schedule for Saturday service and is not listed here, it will not operate on July 3.

CLICK ON THE ABOVE LINK FOR SPECIFIC ROUTE INFORMATION

Holiday service on Saturday, July 4
Metro Transit buses and trains will follow Sunday/Holiday schedules on Saturday, July 4. Metro Transit stores, Customer Relations and Lost & Found will be closed. The Metropolitan Transit Information Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m

APTA Announces 2009 Bus Safety Awards

APTA Announces 2009 Bus Safety Awards -- Recognizes top safety records and commitment to improving bus safety in North America

Bus systems operating 1 million and fewer than 4 million passenger trips
GOLD award – Southwest Metro Transit (Eden Prairie, MN)

Bus systems operating 30 million or more passenger trips
GOLD award – Metro Transit (Minneapolis, MN)

Southwest Transit Service Modifications

Southwest Transit Service Modifications