More than a foot of snow fell across the Twin Cities on Saturday, bringing the region its first blizzard in 13 years and snowfall totals not seen in more than three decades. The rare April weather led the Twins to call off a pair of home games, a temporary closure of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and hundreds of crashes on area roadways.
Metro Transit’s buses and trains stayed on the move, however.
“Our operators, maintenance staff, supervisors, police and many others banded together in the face of extraordinary circumstances,” General Manager Brian Lamb said. “Their efforts were essential to allowing those who had to travel the ability to do so safely.”
Not that there weren’t some challenges along the way.
Around 200 buses were rescued after becoming stuck over the course of the day and on Saturday evening. Light rail trains faced some delays as rail lights and signals were obscured by the fast-falling snow. At the worst point, seven bus routes were on snow detour and 75 percent of buses were significantly delayed.
Even so, customers applauded the effort to maintain service.
"The bus driver saved my entire evening," said Minneapolis resident Kris Millner, who rode the bus home from work Saturday evening. "Once onboard, we passed 10 stuck vehicles, including trucks and semis. While slipping from time to time, this man had everything under control. He never had a severe setback...he was my personal hero tonight."
"Our bus driver was just great and incredibly helpful with our questions!" said another customer who took Route 4 on Saturday evening. "I cant believe how positive and kind he was in the middle of a snow storm."
If you witnessed Metro Transit staff going above-and-beyond, please give us a call or submit a commendation online.
Crews are now out clearing snow as quickly as possible. Here's a refresher on how snow removal is prioritized.
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Photo by Metropolitan Council photographer Jeff Syme.