Rider's Almanac Blog

How We Roll: Jamison Swift, Senior Manager, Business Technology

Posted by Drew Kerr | March 8, 2024

How do you get to work? Living in Fridley, I have a couple different ways to get to work. My preference is to use my bike and/or the Northstar train. I live under two miles away from the Fridley Station and so depending on weather, timing, or [...]

Labor agreement increases wages for transit workers

Posted by Drew Kerr | March 1, 2024

The Metropolitan Council this week approved a labor agreement with the ATU Local 1005 that increases wages for frontline transit workers. The ATU Local 1005 represents more than 2,000 bus and train operators, technicians, public facility [...]

Rooftop solar panels keeping the light on at bus shelters

Posted by Drew Kerr | Feb. 29, 2024

Have you noticed solar panels on the top of some of our shelters? Since 2022, these roof-mounted solar panels have been used to keep the lights on at 19 shelter locations in Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis, and Saint [...]

Community Shelters St. Paul

Leukemia diagnosis, love of transit lead mother-daughter to Adopt-A-Stop program

Posted by Drew Kerr | Feb. 29, 2024

People have a lot of reasons for adopting bus stops and light rail stations through the Adopt-A-Stop program. For Keshawn Williams and her daughter Josephine, the inspiration came from an unlikely place – a leukemia diagnosis that [...]

Fares

New fare technology will bring many benefits, including contactless payments

Posted by Drew Kerr | Feb. 28, 2024

Angst over lost fare cards and long lines to buy tickets after big events will be things of the past after a planned upgrade to fare validators found at stations and on vehicles. The upgrade – the first in 20 years – will allow riders to buy [...]