Rider's Almanac Blog

Fond memories on a final ride

| Jan. 9, 2015

Paul Liddicoat was just out of high school, living at home and looking for work, when his mom, a longtime bus rider, suggested that he apply at what was then known as the Metropolitan Transit Commission. Liddicoat hadn’t considered working as an [...]

Community METRO Green Line Minneapolis Safety St. Paul University of Minnesota

Strong ridership defines first six months of METRO Green Line service

| Dec. 16, 2014

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. [...]

Bus Know Your Operator

Know Your Operator: Mary Barnd

Posted by Drew Kerr | Dec. 5, 2014

When Operator Mary Barnd picked up her first customers, she panicked. As a 17-year semi-truck driver, Barnd had developed an innate sensitivity to others entering her private driving space and was taken aback when she started training and [...]

Bus Transit Information

1 million calls and counting

| Nov. 21, 2014

When Gary Bier began working in the Transit Information Center, his trip planning tools included a large wall map, a tape measure and a robust memory. “If you were taking 20 calls a day you were really cooking,” Bier said recently. “Each of those [...]

Light Rail METRO Blue Line METRO Green Line Safety

Light-rail vehicles ready for all seasons

| Nov. 19, 2014

Metro Transit’s light-rail vehicles are becoming even more weather-hardened. Pantographs that are specially-equipped to cut through ice on overhead wires are being installed on all 27 Bombardier light-rail vehicles and 32 of the newer Siemens [...]