A record number of Minnesota State Fair attendees took transit to and from the fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 1, when the fair also saw its busiest day ever.
More than 83,500 rides were provided on State Fair Express Buses and regular routes that serve the fairgrounds on Sept. 1. That’s the highest daily ridership since 2008, when Metro Transit also operated free fair shuttles.
The Minnesota State Fair set a single-day attendance record on Sept. 1, when more than 270,400 visitors flocked to the fairgrounds. The fair also set a new total attendance record, with more than 2 million visitors.
In all, Metro Transit provided nearly 600,000 rides to and from the fairgrounds over the course of the fair, representing 14 percent of visitors.
The busiest Express Bus Park & Ride was in Bloomington, near the Mall of America. More than 94,000 rides were taken to and from that location.
Ridership at the Maplewood Mall Transit Center increased 65 percent compared to 2017, the largest year-over-year increase among the 19 Park & Ride locations.