Does anyone else feel like November has flown by? A presidential election, unseasonably warm temperatures and Vikings games in the new stadium are just a few of the highlights. We at Metro Transit are thankful for the opportunity to look back and reflect on this month through the stunning photography featuring public transportation in the Twin Cities that we've admired on Instagram. 

Here we offer a look back at some of our favorite images from this month - which is your favorite? 

And by the way, are you following us on Instagram? It's a great place to connect with us and see the creative side of transit. We might also feature your photo if it catches our eye! (Just be sure to tag us!)

Purple skies over the Vikings stadium, with the Blue Line featured in the foreground

 

SKOL VIKES #livefolk #folkcreative #folkvibe #passionpassport #mobilemag #hypebeast #hbweekends #onlyinMN #hsdailyfeature #gearednomad #fullframed #fragmentmag #capturemn #SKOL #streetshared #igersmood #reflectiongram #global_hotshotz #peoplescreatives #ampt_community #captureminnesota

A photo posted by Zach Butler (@zbutler) on Oct 31, 2016 at 8:18am PDT

Reflections of a Route 6 bus heading over the Hennepin Avenue bridge

 

"The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better." -- Thomas Carlyle

A photo posted by Joe -- St. Paul, MN (@theuptown5) on Nov 16, 2016 at 5:39pm PST

Snow finally falling in downtown Minneapolis

 

First ❄️ . . . #chooseminnesota #cityofminneapolis #wanderfolk #twincitieslove #neverstopexploring #mnproud #onlyinmn #exploreminneapolis #exploreminnesota #CaptureMinnesota #MNphotographers #CaptureMinneapolis #loveminnesota #CityByNature #minnstagramers #teamnorth #artofvisuals #visualquest #agameoftones #moodygrams #CreateCommune #CreateExplore #imaginatones #streets_vision #urbanromantix #urban #sonyalpha #sonya6000 #sonyimages

A photo posted by Ben Norton (@bennorton) on Nov 18, 2016 at 3:44pm PST

Super-speedy Green Line

 

Twilight stuff for class. . . . . . #twilight #captureminneapolis #mnphotographers #captureminnesota #capturestpaul #nikonphotography #theartofvisuals #landscapephotography #longexposure #createcommune #agameoftones #artofvisuals #agameoftones #moodygrams #thevisualcollective #createcommune #fatalframes #urbangathering #thecreatorclass #visualambassadors #nikontop #nikond500 #justgoshoot #peoplescreatives #divinecollective

A photo posted by Spencer St Dennis (@spencerstdennis) on Nov 6, 2016 at 8:55am PST

Moody morning light rail shot in downtown Minneapolis

 

Early mornings are a little darker these days.

A photo posted by Jeremy (@jeremy.delane) on Nov 2, 2016 at 6:43am PDT

Green Line train passing through Government Plaza

 

The green line.

A photo posted by Max Webb (@webbwonder) on Nov 12, 2016 at 8:11pm PST

Car free for the last five years, Michelle Quaranto relies on transit to travel between her home near the Green Line’s Raymond Avenue Station and her job in Eagan.  

So when the A Line opened on Saturday, she was eager to see how her commute would change once she was able to begin using the region’s first rapid bus service.

In the past, Quaranto took Route 84 between the Green Line’s Snelling Avenue Station and the Blue Line’s 46th Street Station. The A Line now offers faster, more frequent service between those two points.

“I really rely on transit to make my life better,” Quaranto said before boarding at Snelling and University avenues shortly after the A Line opened on Saturday, June 11. “Taking light rail to the 84 was usually my quickest option, and now it will be even quicker which is great.”

Several others who ventured out for their inaugural rides on the A Line were similarly excited about its arrival and the impact it would have on their daily travels.           

The first of a dozen planned rapid bus lines, the A Line runs between Rosedale Center and the Blue Line’s 46th Street Station on Snelling Avenue, Ford Parkway and 46th Street. Service runs every ten minutes and trips are up to eight minutes faster than regular route buses.

Trips are sped up through a combination of light-rail like features like off-board fare payments, technology that lets A Line buses request longer green lights at intersections and by locating stations a half-mile apart.

A Line stations also have heat, light, displays with real-time NexTrip transit information and security features more commonly found on light-rail.

“It really is kind of like riding a train,” said North St. Paul resident David Hull as he and his wife Roseanne traveled southbound from Rosedale Center for the first time.

Hull’s family of five shares two vehicles, so he was curious to see if he could relieve some of the demand by taking the A Line and the Blue Line to a new job at the Veteran’s Administration.

Tyler Schow, a downtown Minneapolis resident who frequently rides transit, noticed a difference even before boarding. “My favorite part is that you can see the bus coming from a distance and instead of stopping it just keeps coming,” Schow said.  

Bus operators picking up A Line customers for the first time were also enjoying the ride. “What I like about it is it’s very fluid,” Operator Roosevelt Scott said.           

Others trying out the A Line said it would make them more likely to explore the businesses along the corridor. Rosedale Center, Har Mar Mall, the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, Macalester College, Hamline University, Highland Park and Minnehaha Park are among the destinations served by the A line. The site of a planned major league soccer stadium is also located at University and Snelling avenues. 

“I like to explore different areas and this is a great way to do that,” said Onrai Terrell who ventured to the A Line’s opening from Eagan by taking the METRO Red Line, a Bus Rapid Transit service on Cedar Avenue, and the Blue Line.

Ted Davis, of the Midway Chamber of Commerce, touched on the importance of transit in attracting new businesses, workers and residents as he joined others celebrating the A Line’s opening . “This is how we compete on a global scale, by creating the kinds of places people want to come to,” he said.

Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb said a network of rapid bus lines would extend the benefits across the region. A planned network of 12 rapid bus lines on busy urban corridors could ultimately account for a third of Metro Transit’s average weekday ridership.

Construction on the next rapid bus line, the C Line on Penn Avenue, is scheduled to begin in 2018

“If you can’t figure out how to move people and not just vehicles, we’re not going to achieve what we want to achieve in this region,” Lamb said. 

The latest sign of progress on what will become the region’s first arterial Bus Rapid Transit Line, the A Line, arrived this week near the corner of Snelling and University avenues.

The shelter installed Wednesday on the northbound side of Snelling Avenue is the largest of the BRT shelter types that will be used at 20 station locations along the A Line, which will provide faster, more frequent service between the Rosedale Transit Center and the METRO Blue Line’s 46th Street Station when it opens this year. About 700 people board or get off a bus at this location today. 

Each BRT shelter will include on-demand heat, emergency phones, schedules and route maps. Off-board ticket vending machines and pylons featuring predicted real-time departure information will also be installed at each stop in the coming months. 

Heavy station platform construction is nearly complete at all stops and around 20 shelters have now been installed. Shelters will not be available for use by customers until the A Line opens to ensure the safety of customers and to prevent damage to shelters prior to A Line launch. In most cases, the stations will be served both by the A Line and regular route buses.

BRT buses also began arriving in December. Like the stations, the vehicles are distinct from regular route service, with unique branding and features that will make service more efficient. 

For several years, high school student Spencer Willits has used transit to travel to and from school, work and other activities.

At 16-years-old, he says riding buses and trains has given him greater independence to travel around the Twin Cities and delayed his pursuit of a driver’s licenses.

His ambition now is to help make transit more easily accessible to his peers.

In support of that goal, Willits, Sebastian Alfonzo and Breanna Simon, members of the Saint Paul Youth Commission’s Transit Access Subcommittee, spoke this week to Metropolitan Council members about expanding the Student Pass program to schools across St. Paul.

“Using transit has had a really profound impact on how I get around the Twin Cities, and I think it’s something everyone should have available to them,” said Willits, who will be a junior at Great River School this fall.

For the last three school years, qualified high school students at Minneapolis Public Schools have been provided Student Passes that can be used for unlimited rides while classes are in session. Several other metro-area schools also participate.

Students use regular route buses to get to and from school and enjoy the flexibility of taking an earlier or later trip so they can participate in before and after school programs. Students can also use the passes to get to work or other activities.                                                             

Beginning this fall, more than 1,000 students at St. Paul’s Johnson Senior High School will be provided Student Passes in a pilot project that will help determine if additional high schools in the Saint Paul School District can be included in the program.

The Saint Paul Youth Commission – a group of young leaders focused on community issues –asked the Saint Paul School Board to pursue program expansion last year.

To bolster their case as discussions continue, the Youth Commission provided 14 students at Central and Harding high schools with Go-To Cards that could be used to ride Metro Transit for free from January through June. The students were then surveyed about how they used transit during those six months.

Survey results shared with the Council showed that students used the passes several times a week to get to school and a variety of activities, including work, tutoring and sports.  

Testimonials from those who received the passes were also shared in a short video. In interviews, students said the passes saved them money and boosted their school performance by allowing them greater access to after-school programs. 

Youth Commissioner Alfonzo, a junior at Central High School, said the feedback affirmed his belief that students would greatly benefit from having a Student Pass.

“Students who need this, I feel like they’d jump at the chance,” he said. “It’s something I think would help a lot of people reach opportunities that they otherwise couldn’t.”

Photo: Students from the Saint Paul Youth Commission spoke to the Council's Transportation Committee on Tuesday, June 23. From left are Spencer Willits, advisor Lisle Bertsche, Breanna Simon and Sebastian Alfonzo.

For the last eight months, Aaron Martin has used the METRO Green Line to get to not one but two jobs – one at the Town Hall Brewery in Cedar-Riverside and another at the Oceanaire in downtown Minneapolis.

The ease of his commutes is a near-daily confirmation that he made the right decision moving last fall to an apartment in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood, where he can walk just a few blocks to the Fairview Avenue Station.

“I get frustrated with traffic, so the trains are really a godsend for me,” Martin said as he traveled westbound on his way to work.

Such stories have become commonplace since the Green Line opened a year ago. More than 11.1 million Green Line rides have been taken since light-rail service began on June 14, 2014, and average weekday ridership is nearly 25 percent higher than anticipated.

On Monday, Martin and other customers were invited to celebrate the Green Line's success by wearing Green Line anniversary buttons that can be used to receive discounts at businesses along the corridor (those who didn't receive a button can simply show retailers an image of it). Businesses and local leaders who had high hopes when the Green Line opened also took the day to reflect on how the Green Line has re-shaped the urban landscape. 

Standing alongside business owners and supporters at Central Station, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said he found it hard to believe the Green Line had been in service just a year given how much a part of the city’s character it has become.

He pointed to redevelopment projects in downtown St. Paul and along University Avenue as a testament to the Green Line’s “catalytic” effect and the promise it holds for helping “build on the future of St. Paul.” Around $3 billion in development has occurred or is planned within a half-mile of the Green Line.

General Manager Brian Lamb pointed to the ways the Green Line has expanded cultural and recreational opportunities, such as the new possibility of light-rail themed double-headers featuring the Minnesota Twins and the St. Paul Saints. (Several times this season, the Saints and Twins play home games on the same day, allowing fans to catch action at both transit-friendly ballparks.)

More importantly, though, Lamb said the Green Line has expanded access to opportunities.

A study from the University of Minnesota’s Accessibility Observatory released this week found that workers in St. Paul could, on average, reach over 2,000 more jobs by transit than they could before the Green Line opened. Job accessibility in some areas more than doubled due to the Green Line and improvements in connecting bus routes, the U of M study found.

“The Green Line is about more than rides, it’s about access,” Lamb said.

Though she doesn’t use the Green Line to get to work, St. Paul resident Dana Gehant values her ability to use the Green Line on her daily visits to her mother in Minneapolis. Like Martin, she grew tired of driving and gave up her car in favor of transit. Her hope now is that the Green Line will lead to further light-rail expansion in the region. 

“My only complaint is that it (the Green Line) doesn’t go further,” she said.

    > Mass Transit: Metro Transit has the Twin Cities seeing green

    > Green Line residents are enthusiastic about light rail

    > Connections ground businesses, arts on Green Line corridor

    > Green Line has been magnet for housing development

    > MPR: Green Line success driving transit, business hopes

    > Star Tribune: A year into Green Line, development on University Avenue is still looking to pick up speed

    > Pioneer Press: With Green Line, 2,000 more jobs accessible, study finds

As we prepare to close the books on 2014, I’d like to briefly reflect on all of the incredible progress Metro Transit has made over the last 12 months. It was, in short, an incredible and historic year for our organization, our customers and our region.

With so much great work going on, it is impossible to capture everything that happened this year in a single column. The list that follows contains just a few of the year’s highlights. I hope looking back will inspire you to think about what transit meant to you in 2014 – and what it will continue to mean in the years to come.

METRO Green Line opens to immediate success

It would be impossible to talk about this year without talking first about the METRO Green Line, which opened on time and on budget on June 14. Despite a soggy couple of days, more than 107,000 rides were taken during the Green Line’s opening weekend.

That great introduction was only a hint of what was to come. By year’s end, we expect to provide around 6 million rides on the Green Line, well ahead of where we expected to be just six months into service. Ride the line today and you will see students, seniors, children and every walk of life sharing the ride as they travel to class, work, a Vikings game or to one of the many unique restaurants and shops in our downtown areas and along University Avenue. You’ll also see clear evidence that the Green Line is reshaping the land around it for the better.

The Green Line was decades in the making and there remains significant work to realize the vision that has been set for the Central Corridor. But just six short months since service began, it’s clear this transit project has had a major impact on our community.

Website redesign improves trip planning, mobile experience

A redesigned, mobile-friendly website that provides enhanced trip planning features and an improved interactive map was also introduced in June. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. By the end of the year, we expect to have had nearly 12 million website visits and around 7.5 million online trip plans – both record-setting numbers.

Sustainability efforts continue, win praise

A new Park & Ride in Brooklyn Park came as the latest sign of Metro Transit’s continuing commitment to sustainability. The 1,000-space Park & Ride that opened in August features a geothermal heating & cooling system, electric vehicle charging stations and a solar array that offsets energy use at the site.

Recognizing our ongoing efforts to reduce our environmental impact, the American Public Transportation Association in August placed Metro Transit among a distinguished group of 12 transit agencies to earn Gold Level certification through their Sustainability Commitment program.

Visitors from around the country experience transit network

In July, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game drew thousands of visitors to the Twin Cities, many of whom used Metro Transit to get around. Nearly 45,000 additional light-rail and Northstar rides were generated by events during All-Star Week, including around 6,000 rides on light rail to the All-Star Game at Target Field.

In September, the Rail~Volution conference drew another 1,400 people to the Twin Cities to explore transit and witness the development our system is inspiring. Our story is now being shared as an example in cities across the U.S.

On top of these special events we provided nearly 512,000 rides to and from the Minnesota State Fair and it’s new Transit Hub and doubled ridership to Minnesota Vikings home games at TCF Bank Stadium.

Metro Transit Police Department grows, becomes more diverse

The Metro Transit Police Department grew to more than 200 part- and full-time officers, allowing police to focus on community-based policing along the Green Line and to establish the Northside Community Policing Team, a new beat that is already having an impact North Minneapolis. The growth also led to new diversity, including the department’s first Hmong officer.

Taken together, these efforts and a continued commitment to our Guiding Principles will drive year-end ridership to around 84 million, a 33-year high.

That’s a significant achievement that all transit customers and supporters can be proud to have been a part of. While we celebrate how far we’ve come, we also recognize our work is far from over. In fact, much of the activity that occurred in 2014 was focused on setting the framework for future success.

As we look forward to 2015, I’m excited to see construction begin on our first arterial Bus Rapid Transit line, the A Line, and for service to begin later in the year. I’m also eager to see us expand our commitment to transit equity, enhance the customer experience through improved transit information and bus stop amenities and continue our sustainability efforts. 

Thank you for everything you did to make 2014 one of our best years ever. We look forward to serving you in 2015 and beyond. 

2014: The Year in Review

January

> Metro Transit announces 2013 ridership grows to 81.4 million, one of the highest levels in 30 years.

> Council Chair Sue Haigh delivers her State of the Region address, saying the region must “think regionally and act equitably” in order to grow.

> Transit Information Center representatives handle 118,521 calls, setting a new record for calls handled in a single month.

> Metro Transit’s Twitter account reaches 10,000 followers.

February

> President Obama visits St. Paul and receives the METRO Green Line’s first honorary ticket.

> A combination of rail and enhanced bus is recommended as the best long-term transit improvements for the Midtown Corridor.

> Metro Transit starts sharing photos on Instagram.

March

> Service begins on Route 30, a new bus route serving North and Northeast Minneapolis and connecting with the Green Line in St. Paul.

> The American Public Transportation announced transit ridership is at its highest level in 57 years.

April

> Metro Transit, Xcel Energy and the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce recognize Earth Day at the new Operations & Maintenance Facility in Lowertown.

> The Twins season opens and a Twins Family Pass is introduced as a new cost-effective way of getting to the game.

> Test trains begin full-schedule testing on the Green Line.

May

> Target Field Station opens north of Target Field, providing additional boarding capacity on busy event days and creating a new public space in the North Loop neighborhood.

> Several of Metro Transit’s retired buses are purchased for creative re-uses, including a new mobile learning center.

> Thrive MSP 2040 approved by the Met Council, setting a framework for regional economic development. 

June

> The METRO Green Line opens on time and on budget. “Often history is defined in terms of great moments of transportation and this is no exception,” Mayor Chris Coleman says at the ribbon-cutting.

> Service improvements are made on several connecting bus routes throughout the Central Corridor, following years of outreach and planning.

> 20 new part-time officers sworn in as members of the Metro Transit Police Department.

> Metro Transit’s top operators recognized at the annual Ovations Awards Ceremony, including the organization’s first 30-Year Elite Operator.

> A new parking ramp and pedestrian overpass opens at Northstar’s Anoka Station.

> The METRO Blue Line celebrates its ten-year anniversary.

July

> Metro Transit serves events throughout All-Star Week, providing around 6,000 rides to and from the All-Star game at Target Field.

> Met Council approves plans for A Line (Snelling Avenue BRT), which secures all necessary funding to begin construction and go into service in 2015. 

> 16 new full-time officers sworn in as members of the Metro Transit Police Department, bringing the department’s total number of officers to around 200. Approximately half of the new officers are bilingual, including the department’s first officer fluent in Cambodian.

August

> The Highway 610 and Noble Parkway Park & Ride opens in Brooklyn Park. The 1,000-space Park & Ride includes solar panels and other sustainable features.

> The Gophers and Vikings begin their home seasons at TCF Bank Stadium, served by the Green Line. Ridership to Vikings games nearly doubles from previous seasons.

> A new State Fair Transit Hub opens on the west side of the fairgrounds, providing customers more convenient access. Record State Fair attendance helps boost ridership 15 percent, to nearly 512,000 rides. 

> APTA awards Metro Transit Gold Level status for efforts to conserve energy at facilities and improve fuel efficiency.

> Metro Transit and MVTA partner on a free ride promotion to help customers get to the new Twin Cities Premium Outlets, which opens near the METRO Red Line’s Cedar Grove Station in Eagan. Ridership reaches a new record 1,031 average weekday rides.

> Metro Transit debuts new system map that is simpler and easier to read.

> A record 529 Northstar tickets are sold online in advance of the Paul McCartney concert at Target Field.

> Metro Transit’s re-designed website sees 310,317 unique visitors and the online Trip Planner is used 723,936 times, a new monthly record.

> METRO Green Line Extension (Southwest LRT) receives municipal consent from all five cities along the proposed alignment.

> Route 865 begins providing express service between downtown Minneapolis and Anoka County.

September

> Metro Transit Operator Jerry Olson is named Minnesota Operator of the Year by the Minnesota Public Transportation Association. Deputy General Manger Mark Fuhrmann recognized as Transit Professional of the Year.

> U-Pass sales surpass 17,500, beating total sales from the fall 2013 semester.

> Metro Transit awarded $3.14 million Ladders of Opportunity grant to make bus stop improvements.

> Rail~Volution brings around 1,400 people to the Twin Cities for a week-long conference on transit-oriented development.

> Green Line tops 1 million monthly rides for the first time.

> Metro Transit launches its fall campaign, including a TV commercial highlighting transit's ease of use.

> Residents begin moving into Nic on Fifth, a new 26-story apartment building directly adjacent to Nicollet Mall Station. The development leads to the creation of a new platform for light-rail customers (opening 2015).

October

> Draft Service Improvement Plan outlining 10- to 15-year vision for local, express and suburban bus service improvements released for public comment.

> Metro Transit buses travel an average of 9,971 miles between maintenance road call, a new record.

> Car-sharing service Car2Go secures dedicated parking spaces at three Blue Line stations.

November

> METRO Orange Line receives federal approval to enter project development, advancing the project toward a 2019 opening.

> For the first time, Metro Transit and other fixed-route transit providers provide fre rides on Election Day.

> Northstar trains take country music fans to and from all 11 Garth Brooks concerts at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

> Met Council approves $6.5 million in Livable Communities grants to support transit-oriented development.

December

> Metro Transit decorates buses and light-rail and Northstar trains with holiday lights and encourages customers to take “selfies” while riding.

> Two new Park & Ride’s open on Interstate 35E with express service to downtown St. paul provided by Route 275.

> Northstar Service Guarantee introduced, providing registered Northstar commuters fare refunds for any regularly-scheduled Northstar trip that is 11 or more minutes late in January. 

Strong and growing ridership is the hallmark of the METRO Green Line’s first six-months of operation.

Customers have taken about 6 million rides since service began on June 14, including more than 1 million rides in both September and October. Average weekday ridership in November was 36,240, near the 2030 projection of 41,000 rides. 

“The community response to the Green Line is even better than we imagined,” Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb said. “In less than one year of operation, the Green Line has clearly had a major impact on the way people get around, interact with and enjoy the Twin Cities.”  

Combined ridership on the Green Line and routes 16 and 94, which also serve the Central Corridor, has nearly doubled from last year. The Green Line replaced limited-stop Route 50 that ran on University Avenue and service was enhanced on several routes that connect with Green Line stations.

The most popular stops have been East Bank Station, in the center of the University of Minnesota campus, and Nicollet Mall Station in downtown Minneapolis. Stadium Village Station, near TCF Bank Stadium, has also become a hub of activity on gamedays. Around 25 percent of Minnesota Vikings fans took the Green Line to and from the game this season, double the ridership from previous years.

Combined with other rail and bus service, the Green Line is expected to drive Metro Transit’s total year-end ridership to around 84 million, the highest it has been since 1981.

In addition to strong ridership, the first six months of Green Line service are noteworthy for the focus on public safety, enhanced performance and community development.  

Metro Transit continued to educate pedestrians, motorists and others about light rail safety through presentations and a robust marketing campaign, including a billboard on University Avenue.

Transit Police hired 22 new officers to patrol the Green Line and the neighborhoods it serves. Transit Police say there has been no significant change in crime along the corridor since the Green Line opened.

Light-rail operations have also improved through coordination with local partners. Technology called predictive priority has been successfully implemented at 18 low-volume intersections along the Green Line corridor. Predictive priority gives trains their best chance of getting a green light, reducing the amount of time trains spend waiting at signalized intersections.

Transit-oriented development has also continued along the corridor.

Project for Pride in Living started construction in August on its 108-unit Hamline Station Project, which replaces a vacant auto dealership immediately north of the Hamline Avenue Station. On Dec. 19, Surly Brewing Co. will open its new beer hall just east of the Prospect Park Station.

In November, seniors began moving into The Terrace at Iris Park at Episcopal Homes’ new Midway Village development immediately south of the Fairview Avenue Station. In December, move-ins began at Midway Pointe, the second of three new residences at Midway Village. The third residence, Episcopal Church Home – The Gardens, will be ready for occupancy in January 2015.

Residents of the entire campus began using light-rail as soon as it opened, CEO Marvin Plakut said.

“Interest in our community increased even before the Green Line’s opening and continues to grow now that the service is up and running,” Plakut said. “People are excited by the freedom that waits right outside their door. Episcopal Homes is the only senior community that can offer it.”

    > New York Times: Despite cheaper gas, public transit ridership is up 

    > Explore the Twin Cities using our Green Line A to Z guide

    > Green Line tops 1 million rides, again