Maple Grove Transit was recognized this week as a leader among Minnesota transit agencies.

The Minnesota Public Transit Association announced Maple Grove Transit as its “System of the Year” during its annual conference on Monday.

The award follows decades of continued growth for Maple Grove Transit, which is led by a group of commissioners and customers.

Twenty years ago, there were just seven buses in Maple Grove’s fleet, with service between a few suburban churches and downtown Minneapolis. Today, there are about 40 Maple Grove Transit buses based out of the Martin J. Ruter Garage.

Metro Transit has been a contracted provider for Maple Grove Transit’s express bus services for the past 30 years. Staff from Metro Transit’s fare collections, street operations and customer relations departments also support Maple Grove Transit.

In 2017, customers took 836,000 rides on Maple Grove’s express bus routes.

“Our growth has been tremendous,” Transit Administrator Mike Opatz said. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without the help of the community members in our transit commission, the city council, front-line employees and Metro Transit. We thank them all for their continued partnership.”

Among several recent innovations is a service that allows Maple Grove Transit customers who leave their vehicles at a park and ride to have it picked up for service during the day.

A leader in Metro Transit’s efforts to expand light rail in the Twin Cities has been recognized as one of the transit industry’s top young professionals.

Joan Hollick, who is serving as the interim director of Metro Transit’s New Starts program, is included on Mass Transit magazine’s annual Top 40 Under 40 list. The magazine published its tenth annual list of top professionals this week.

Hollick joined Metro Transit in 2015 as a deputy project director for the Green Line Extension. In this role, she was responsible for the budget, grants, environmental agreements and data management, among other areas.

She was named interim director of Metro Transit’s New Starts program following the retirement of Deputy General Manager Mark Fuhrmann. As interim director, Hollick is overseeing both the Green Line Extension and Blue Line Extension projects.

The Green Line Extension will bring light rail from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie. Construction on what will be the largest public works project in state history is set to begin later this year. Service is scheduled to begin in 2023.

The Blue Line Extension will bring light rail from Minneapolis to Brooklyn Park.

Hollick grew up in south Minneapolis, in a neighborhood that would later be served by the METRO Blue Line. She earned her undergraduate degree at Loyola University and a master’s in public policy and administration at Northwestern University.

After three years with the Chicago Transit Authority, she returned to Minnesota to work on the Green Line Extension.

“When I came home to visit, I could see how dramatically the neighborhood had changed for the better since the Blue Line opened in 2004,” she said. “Joining the Green Line Extension project was an incredible opportunity to leverage my experience in transit and make a positive impact on my community.”

While there have been challenges, Hollick has remained optimistic about bringing additional light rail service to the Twin Cities.

“We have overcome so many obstacles to advance projects that are vital to our region’s growth and sustainability,” she said. “We have achieved many milestones against the odds, and I’m proud to be part of this team.”

Several Metro Transit employees have been included on Mass Transit’s Top 40 Under 40 list over the years. The most recent recipients include Katie Roth, Manager of Bus Rapid Transit Projects, and Assistant Transportation Manager Chang Yang.

   > Read Mass Transit's profile of Joan Hollick

    > Awards and recognition 

Efforts to safely transport thousands of Super Bowl fans were recognized last week by the American Public Transportation Association.

APTA presented Metro Transit with a Gold Award for Rail Security on Sunday during an awards ceremony in Denver, Colo. The awards were part of APTA’s International Rail Rodeo activities.

The award reflects the extraordinary efforts Metro Transit put forward on gameday and during more than a week of pre-game festivities.

To maintain a secure perimeter while still allowing fans to take light rail to U.S. Bank Stadium, ticket holders who took light rail on gameday were pre-screened at light rail stations – a first for the event.

Metro Transit also played a key role in event preparations, hosting table top drills and exercises and coordinating with more than 75 law enforcement agencies.  

The preparations helped Metro Transit overcome multiple last-minute challenges, including snow, system and light rail vehicle failures and a civil disruption on the Green Line.

More than 210,000 additional rides were taken over more than a week's worth of Super Bowl events, leading the Green and Blue lines and the Northstar Commuter Rail Line to their highest-ever January ridership totals.

The award comes just weeks after APTA presented Metro Transit with a Certificate of Merit at its Bus Safety & Security Awards. The award recognized efforts to improve safety through repeated and enhanced operator training.

Metro Transit’s efforts to improve safety through repeated and enhanced operator training have earned national accolades.

The American Public Transportation Association awarded Metro Transit with a Certificate of Merit at its Bus Safety & Security Awards this week. The awards recognize programs or projects that lead to documented success.

The Certificate of Merit acknowledges a range of training efforts led by the Safety Department, including:

• > The use of on-board video footage to provoke conversation about avoidable safety incidents among new operators and operators going from part- to full-time. 
• > Safety conferences with operators for all responsible and non-responsible collisions.
• > Regularly-scheduled Safety Keys courses, coupled with customized training focused on winter driving, pedestrian and bicycle safety and distracted driving.

“The innovation is not that there is training, but rather that the training takes many forms, and is repeated, data driven, measured and season-specific,” Director of Safety Mike Conlon said.

There were 2.88 collisions for every 100,000 bus passenger miles in 2017, a historic low. The rate is especially notable since nearly half of bus operators have been at Metro Transit less than five years.  

In 2017, Metro Transit earned a Gold Award in APTA’s Rail Safety & Security Awards for outreach efforts related to light rail safety. 

Learn more about other recognition for Metro Transit and its employees

When Thrivent Financial began considering building a new corporate center in downtown Minneapolis, the company had to find ways of helping employees who relied on parking lots that would be lost during construction.

Part of their answer: Promote transit.

Over the past year, the company has invited employees to six commuter education events, including bus and light rail demonstrations. Thrivent also further offset the cost of using transit by increasing its Metropass subsidy, leading to a 40 percent increase in program participation.

The efforts were undertaken in partnership with the Minneapolis-based Transportation Management Organization Move Minneapolis and with financial support from Hennepin County’s Green Partners program.

“The Thrivent workforce lives throughout the Twin Cities area, and around 50 percent of them use some sort of transit or alternative commuting method,” said John Bachhuber, vice president of HR Services at Thrivent. “We’re pleased we’ve been able to help even more of our employees learn about ways they can get to work safely, cost-effectively and efficiently using available transit resources.”

For their efforts, Thrivent was recognized as the Employer of the Year at the annual Commuter Choice Awards on Thursday, April 26. The awards recognize companies, building owners, individuals and organizations that support sustainable transportation in the Twin Cities.

Metro Transit works with area Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs) to organize and host the awards. Other Commuter Choice Award winners include:

Building Owner/Management Company: Opus Group

Opus Group’s Nic on Fifth is the definition of transit-oriented development: its lobby level is fully-integrated into the Nicollet Mall Station, one of the busiest boarding locations in the Twin Cities. In addition to the Green and Blue lines, the building is served by nearly 100 bus routes. The high-rise apartment building, which opened in 2014, also offers secure tenant bicycle parking and a tenant ride-sharing program. 

Commuter Benefits Coordinators: Tim Bruzek and Ericka Palmer, Sleep Number

Tim Bruzek and Ericka Palmer helped nearly 1,000 Sleep Number employees understand their commute options when the company relocated from a corporate campus in Plymouth to downtown Minneapolis. During its move, Sleep Number joined the Metropass program and began offering carpool parking to employees.

Government Entity: City of Saint Paul

City staff worked with Saint Paul Smart Trips-Transit for Livable Communities to make transit and biking more prominent features of the city’s transportation webpages. The city’s website also now provides real-time parking information during large events, allowing people to make more-informed, real-time decisions about their travel choices.

Commuter Champion: Sean Hayford Oleary

Sean Hayford Oleary has led the charge for better bicycle facilities in Richfield for several years. He was the founding member of Richfield Bike Advocates and has served as a commissioner on the city’s transportation commission. As commissioner, he helped advance plans for 2.5 miles of protected bike lanes on 66th Street – the longest stretch of such bike lanes in Hennepin County. 

Honorable mention: Anne Schultz, Richfield Chamber of Commerce President

Organization: Native American Community Clinic

The Native American Community Clinic has been an active promoter of the Transit Assistance Program, which provides qualifying low-income residents reduced-cost fares. More than 70 members of the Native American community have enrolled in the program with help from clinic staff. 

Honorable mention: Ravoux Hi-Rise Resident Council, University of Saint Thomas Sustainable Communities Partnership

Learn how Metro Transit and area TMOs can help promote transit and other alternatives to driving alone