Rider's Almanac Blog

Wherever you ride, whenever you ride, masks are a must

Posted by Drew Kerr | Jan. 6, 2021

Operator Terry Brown lives with and cares for his 72-year-old mom, whose lungs collapsed a few years ago and is especially susceptible to COVID-19. So when it comes time to work, he doesn’t think twice about covering his face. His plea to [...]

METRO Blue Line

Signal improvements improving light rail reliability

Posted by Drew Kerr | Jan. 6, 2021

Travel times on the METRO Blue Line are becoming increasingly reliable. The most recent reliability improvements are the result of work done on the south end of the 12-mile light rail line, between the Minneapolis-St. Paul International [...]

On Off The Clock Transit Police

On the Clock/Off the Clock: Capt. Rick Grates

Posted by Laura Baenen | Dec. 30, 2020

Lives: West Metro Years of service: 16 years Family: A wife, two daughters and two Labradors. My daughters are in college, one is about to earn a degree in social work and the other is studying elementary education. How did you come to [...]

Transit Police

K-9 Merle sniffed and snuggled his way into MTPD fame

Posted by Drew Kerr | Dec. 28, 2020

Metro Transit Police Department K-9s are trained to protect the community by sniffing out shell casings and explosives. But Merle, a black Labrador who was among the department's first K-9s, also served as a four-footed goodwill ambassador, [...]

Transit Information

Better signs, better information arrive on Marq2 corridor

Posted by Drew Kerr | Dec. 24, 2020

New real-time displays that promise to be more reliable were recently installed at some of the busiest bus stops in downtown Minneapolis. In all, 36 new LED displays were placed along the Marq2 Corridor, where customers board dozens of [...]