metro transit (Minneapolis, St. Paul: apartment, transfer, living in)

[Dr.drew]

What is people's opinion on the Twin Cities public transit system? I live in Northern Minnesota, but I lived in Saint Paul for a while a few years ago, and have ridden the bus a few times. I know it's easy to get between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The bus drivers seem a little crazy though, I almost got hit by a bus one time in downtown Minneapolis.

I'm just looking for opinions about it. Is it generally on time? How late do the busses run in Minneapolis and Saint paul? How is the service in the suburbs?

[gearedtowardssalad]

For a metro area of this size and economic importance, our public transportation options are very underdeveloped and primitive. Although, they are trying to improve it. No question about that. The bus system is definitely useable, but has its flaws.

[xandrex]

I'd say it's definitely usable and fairly reliable, though definitely underdeveloped! If you live in one of the few high-density areas of the city, you'll have pretty decent service for most of the day, but for many trips, I still use my car. I like to mix it up depending on distance, but for me to go completely car-free by choice, there'd have to be a significant beefing up of routes.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by xandrex

I'd say it's definitely usable and fairly reliable, though definitely underdeveloped! If you live in one of the few high-density areas of the city, you'll have pretty decent service for most of the day, but for many trips, I still use my car. I like to mix it up depending on distance, but for me to go completely car-free by choice, there'd have to be a significant beefing up of routes.

I'd agree with this.

You can get around on it, and its pretty useful for some trips, but there are other trips that I look at taking the bus and think "really? An hour and 2 transfers to travel that distance?"

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Dr.drew

What is people's opinion on the Twin Cities public transit system? I live in Northern Minnesota, but I lived in Saint Paul for a while a few years ago, and have ridden the bus a few times. I know it's easy to get between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The bus drivers seem a little crazy though, I almost got hit by a bus one time in downtown Minneapolis.

I'm just looking for opinions about it. Is it generally on time? How late do the busses run in Minneapolis and Saint paul? How is the service in the suburbs?

don't you have a car? I would think you would need one living in Northern Minnesota. don't you have a driver's license?

not only would you have to avoid the busses but the light rail trains frequently run down pedestrians and you would have to avoid those too now.

Pedestrian struck and killed by light rail in Minneapolis | Minnesota Public Radio News

Man Hit, Killed on Light Rail Track in S. Mpls (http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/Man-Hit,-Killed-on-Light-Rail-Track-in-S.-Mpls-feb-21-2011 - broken link)

[OhAcid]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

don't you have a car? I would think you would need one living in Northern Minnesota. don't you have a driver's license?

not only would you have to avoid the busses but the light rail trains frequently run down pedestrians and you would have to avoid those too now.

Pedestrian struck and killed by light rail in Minneapolis | Minnesota Public Radio News

Man Hit, Killed on Light Rail Track in S. Mpls (http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/Man-Hit,-Killed-on-Light-Rail-Track-in-S.-Mpls-feb-21-2011 - broken link)

Far more people get hit by automobiles. Not only that, but since the poster is asking about public transit - playing 20 questions over whether or not he owns or is qualified to operate an automobile is irrelevant. The easiest way to not be struck by a LRT system is to not be on the tracks; something very easy to do unless you're riding the train.

[Dr.drew]

I haven't driven for almost 5 years. I'm not too worried about getting wiped out by a train. They're pretty hard to miss. I've almost been nailed by vehicles a couple times, and I came within about a foot of being creamed by a bus in downtown Minneapolis a few years ago.

I can't get hit by the bus or train if I'm on it.

[1stpontiac]

Originally Posted by Dr.drew

I haven't driven for almost 5 years. I'm not too worried about getting wiped out by a train. They're pretty hard to miss. I've almost been nailed by vehicles a couple times, and I came within about a foot of being creamed by a bus in downtown Minneapolis a few years ago.

I can't get hit by the bus or train if I'm on it.

I do think the bus drivers have a pool where they get extra points the closer they come to pedestrians. Its fun if you are on the bus. Less fun if you are on the street.

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by 1stpontiac

I'd agree with this.

You can get around on it, and its pretty useful for some trips, but there are other trips that I look at taking the bus and think "really? An hour and 2 transfers to travel that distance?"

This.

I really only use the bus to get to the U from my apartment, to downtown, or Uptown. Occasionally I'll use them if I am carless, like this past week when I needed to get to the Northeast Target, but my car battery was dead.

Metro Transit is great for a few areas of town and if I get a job after graduation that is downtown, I'll definitely continue to get a pass, but living conveniently car-free is still pretty difficult right now if you don't want to stick to a pretty small area.

[twin_citizen]

I've been car free for almost 6 months now. I'm in the Lyn-Lake area and the bus options are plentiful. I will admit that not every area of the city (and very little of St. Paul or suburbs) would be conducive to living completely car free. On the Southside though, pretty much anything between Lake Street and downtown is pretty well served by transit, especially west of 35W. The quadrant bounded by 35W on the east, Lake St on the south, Hennepin on the west, up to and including downtown on the north is extremely well served by high-frequency transit routes. The most important thing, besides getting to work easily, is living near a grocery store, Target, etc.

These new HourCar and ZipCar car-share options sound pretty enticing too, if I ever did need a vehicle for a few hours.

www.hourcar.org/ www.zipcar.com/


High Frequency Network Map - Metro Transit

These are the guaranteed high-frequency routes, and there are plenty more that run almost as frequently, just didn't make the cut to be included on this map.