Rider's Almanac Blog

Know Your Operator: Tanya Young, Blue Line

| Aug. 13, 2021

Tanya Young tells people she was raised to be a train operator on the METRO Blue Line. As a child, she lived just east of Hiawatha Avenue, at the time a one-lane highway with apple trees. Her mom ran a business in downtown Minneapolis, and [...]

COVID-19 From the GM

Commitment to continual improvement will not be short-lived

Posted by Drew Kerr | Aug. 12, 2021

A message from General Manager Wes Kooistra In a few short weeks, service on several express routes serving downtown Minneapolis, downtown St. Paul, and the University of Minnesota will be restored or expanded. We’ll also begin running light [...]

State Fair

Scaling back State Fair service is a hard, but correct choice

Posted by Drew Kerr | Aug. 11, 2021

From General Manager Wes Kooistra Due to a shortage of bus operators, we will be providing significantly less State Fair express bus service this year compared to prior years. Scaling back our traditional service level was an incredibly [...]

On Off The Clock

On the Clock/Off the Clock: Vamilar Ngungkpan, Heywood Operator

Posted by John Komarek | Aug. 6, 2021

How did you come to work at Metro Transit? In 2012, my wife and I had two kids back to back so I needed a second income to support my family. I had a technician degree and a job as a medical device technician at a big research hospital, but [...]

Fares Transit Oriented Development

New transit pass program for apartment, condo dwellers rolling out this summer

| Aug. 6, 2021

Fitness room, check. Community room, check. Transit passes, check? Yes, some apartment and condominium owners will soon add passes that allow residents to ride transit for free to their list of amenities. After a successful 2019 pilot, Metro [...]