We hear and learn from our actual customers as they answer our "10 Questions with Metro Transit!" Today we meet Bailey & Lewis!
How long have you been riding the bus or train?
20 years! When I moved to Minneapolis for college I didn't (and still don't) have a car so I took the train and bus to get places. I remember the days of carrying a stack of paper bus schedules in my backpack! My almost 5-year-old son has been riding MetroTransit since he was just four months old!
How often do you ride?
We're mainly cold weather riders, but we ride almost daily from November into March or April, and we’ll be riding more this summer since my bike was stolen.
Favorite route(s)?
We currently frequent the new B Line and the Blue Line LRT, but I've been a frequent rider of the 7, 9, 2, D Line, 6, and 11 too. The 7 might be my favorite.
Why do you ride transit?
Our family doesn't own a car, so public transit is essential. It's reliable, fairly predictable, and so easy (even when we had an infant in a stroller)! My workplace also highly subsidizes Metropasses, so it’s very affordable.
What do you wish “first-timers” knew?
I recently started using the Transit app—the maps with real time tracking are so great. Before using the app, I always texted my stop number to 50934 for NexTrip before leaving the house every morning. No matter how I do it, I always know if my bus is on time or delayed.
Favorite destination?
The downtown St. Paul Farmer's Market on the new B Line!
What does Metro Transit get right?
Metro Transit hires a kind and diverse workforce—we love our drivers and the TRIP agents we regularly interact with. The Lost & Found process is also fantastic.
What can we improve?
I wish it would have been possible to have an eastbound bus-only lane on Lake Street. The B Line is currently horrendously slow between 35th Avenue and the Lake Street bridge at rush hour.
Favorite onboard memory?
When you use public transit for daily commutes you run into the same folks over and over. We've connected with a lot of people over the years, each with a different background and story—special shout outs to Yvette, Rose, Flo, Charlie, Jenny, Dale, and bus driver Tony. Your smiles and conversations have brightened our day.
Favorite movie about "transit?
We don’t watch a lot of movies, but we love the picture book Choo Choo by Virginia Lee Burton, a story about a runaway engine, published in 1937.