Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Among suburban commuters ... Catching the bus is catching on

[marmar]

Commuters are finding it's a cheaper -- and pleasant -- ride. Meanwhile, ridership has risen so much that transit authorities are having trouble keeping up with demand.

By DAVID PETERSON, Star Tribune

Last update: February 4, 2008 - 11:17 PM

Tony Pistilli never used to take the bus to work. But a new job downtown taught him what it costs to park there. He decided to give it a shot. And he was surprised.

"I really think there's a big misconception out there that buses are stinky and there's all these grimy people on them," said Pistilli, of Brooklyn Park. "And it's just not that way! You meet the same people over and over again, whether it's the 8:02 or the 7:56, and they're just like you."

In fact the only weekdays he ever drives are the days he has to go to a meeting of the Metropolitan Council, which runs the region's main bus system. He's a member of the council.

If Pistilli is the most ironic of suburban transit converts, he is not exactly the only one. On the contrary, the high cost of gas and parking are helping wrench a vast army of suburbanites from behind their steering wheels -- so much so that riders complain they often have to stand, and transit officials are warning that they are bumping up against capacity.

New statistics for 2007 show that ridership on Metro Transit's express services and the major suburban providers has soared by nearly 2 million over the past two years. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.startribune.com/local/15293501.html

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. The problem with the Twin Cities transit system

(aside from having no dedicated funding source) is that its various parts are not well coordinated with one another.

It works fine for getting people to their jobs in either downtown. It's murder for people who are transit-dependent.

The broad outlines of the bus system trace the routes of the old streetcar system. Unfortunately, the streetcar system was laid out when the city was much smaller.

There are some surprising gaps. For example, the longest north-south street has no buses running its entire length, because in the days of the streetcars, the city was only half as big in area as it is now. There are only three buses that cross the Mississippi between Mpls and St. Paul, which was fine when the two cities were like separate worlds, but completely inadequate for our times.

All in all, a map of the system looks like a pile of spaghetti. They tack on a bus line here and a bus line there, with no thought about how they fit into the total system or connect with other lines.

Transfer times between lines don't work at all. I lived without a car in Portland for ten years, but I just can't do it here.