Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

[Bakken2016]

Metro Transit will be experimenting with only running 2-car trains on the light rail system to make it easier for police and Community Service officers to patrol and reduce cleaning costs.

https://www.metrotransit.org/test-will- ... OiRmF-Uytk

The article also mentions average weekday ridership on the light rail system in May was 35,100, which is an increase of 4,900 from the average weekday ridership in the first quarter of this year.

I think having fewer cars could make it feel safer crime wise since there would be more people on each car. But less safe Covid wise since you would be in close proximity with more people. I suppose at this point in the pandemic, most people don’t care as much about Covid as they used to


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I hope they are still planning on running 3 car trains during twins games as those trains can get pretty packed.

"Special considerations may also be made at times when higher ridership is expected."

I assume this is a catch all for sporting events.

[StandishGuy]

I think the 2-car trains are a good idea. I ride the Blue Line about twice a week, and nearly always have an experience with somebody smoking, drinking or having a mental health crisis on the train. Generally, I don't feel unsafe, but do feel uncomfortable and irritated- particularly with the smoking of cigarettes and pot.

[StandishGuy]

We took the Green Line yesterday from Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul to see a Saints game. Once again, we experienced folks drinking, smoking, screaming, and swearing going both directions Some of them stated they were 12- 16 years old. No one of authority was in sight. This compiled with the fact that trains were running every 30 minutes at 10:15PM when the game let out and the connection to a bus in Minneapolis was terrible means we likely will use Lyft in the future for such trips. I support the use of transit, but the reality of it is so unpleasant at this point. This is coming from someone who REALLY wants to get more people to use the bus and train. Yet, its embarrassing when it is your idea and your family is so turned off.

[DanPatchToget]

That's fair. I rarely take the light rail these days, partly because I'm not making trips where I could use it, and the Orange Line is closer to me, but also the possibility of having to deal with people who don't know how to behave in public.

In all of my many experiences using public transit in Western European cities it was never as bad as what I've seen in the Twin Cities.

[Bakken2016]

August 20th 2022 Service Changes:

METRO Blue and Green: Service reduction from 12 mins to 15 mins
METRO A Line: Service reduction from 12 mins to 15 mins
METRO C Line: Service will change to approximately every 12 minutes in the morning. Service will remain every 10 minutes between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Local Routes:
2: 12 mins to 15 mins
3: Saturday service before 7am improved to 30 mins, more eastbound trips extended to Union Depot.
4: Permanent routing on Lyndale Ave S
7: 3 & Nicollet is new stop over Marquette.
9: Afternoon rush hour frequency reduced to 30 min from 20 min.
10: Weekday service during morning and afternoon rush hours will be reduced to every 15 minutes between downtown and the 53rd Ave Target and every 30 minutes to Northtown.
18: Weekday service will be reduced to every 15 minutes between downtown and 66th St.
22: Better Bus Route, stop consolidation, D and G branch removal
32: School day only branches via Lyndale Ave. (32D) and Plymouth Ave./W. Broadway Ave. (32E) will be eliminated.
46: New routing on Lyndale Ave S, adjusted schedule for improved connection with Orange Line.
61: New school trip to serve Washington Technology Magnet School
612: Peak hour service reduced to 30 mins instead of 20 mins.
805: New downtown Anoka terminal at 1st Ave and Monroe

Express Routes:
264: Later morning trips eliminated
467: Service restored with 6 trips during peak hours.
763: reroute due to 22D branch being eliminated. No service to 66th Ave Park and Ride
784: New express service from Maple Grove to Downtown East.

https://www.metrotransit.org/quarterly- ... gin-aug-20

[thespeedmccool]

Jesus.

I have no idea what should be done to overcome this driver shortage, but this is ridiculous.

[VacantLuxuries]

One thing the Met Council needs to consider is overhauling their decrepit application system.

A career bureaucrat might be willing to go through page after page of poorly designed forms that require them to repeatedly re-enter information from their resume. Someone applying for a blue collar position like a bus driver is far more likely to say "screw this" by the second or third time they're expected to retype their experience.

That, and they need to get over their government agency tendency to throw out applications that make minor mistakes or don't match the experience 100% to the letter. If you've acknowledged you have a shortage of bus drivers, you can't reasonably expect experienced bus drivers to come through your application system. You need the appropriate driver's license and bodies willing to fill drivers seats.

[Bakken2016]

One thing the Met Council needs to consider is overhauling their decrepit application system.

A career bureaucrat might be willing to go through page after page of poorly designed forms that require them to repeatedly re-enter information from their resume. Someone applying for a blue collar position like a bus driver is far more likely to say "screw this" by the second or third time they're expected to retype their experience.

That, and they need to get over their government agency tendency to throw out applications that make minor mistakes or don't match the experience 100% to the letter. If you've acknowledged you have a shortage of bus drivers, you can't reasonably expect experienced bus drivers to come through your application system. You need the appropriate driver's license and bodies willing to fill drivers seats.

I think they have started doing that by having the in person bus operator hiring events to do away with all the red tape.

[VacantLuxuries]

Which is a good start, but still far behind the curve when you think about how most job seekers turn to the internet versus committing to go to a hiring event.

[Trademark]

Raises for bus drivers are a must if we want these positions to be filled. $20 an hour is not far above many entry level warehouses or call center jobs some of those even exceed that with much less perceived danger then a city bus driver.

I think at least bumping it up to $22 would make a lot more people consider the job.

[Bakken2016]

Raises for bus drivers are a must if we want these positions to be filled. $20 an hour is not far above many entry level warehouses or call center jobs some of those even exceed that with much less perceived danger then a city bus driver.

I think at least bumping it up to $22 would make a lot more people consider the job.

Metro Transit leadership proposed raising everyone in ATU by 3%, letting new drivers start at a higher step in the pay scale, and allow LRT operators be hired directly instead of being hired as bus operators first. The union board turned it down, I'm assuming since they have contract negotiations next year.

[DanPatchToget]

That's a shame. I bet if the pay were good enough a decent number of railroad engineers would switch to being light rail operators. Yeah there's more interaction with the public that includes unfriendly people, but the route is simple and I assume it's a more predictable schedule than what they get working for railroad companies like BNSF.

[Trademark]

This is a copy of the latest ATU 1005 newsletter. Pages 1 and 5/6 has some relevant reads.

https://issuu.com/seconvp/docs/1005_line_may_june_2022

It seems as if their main issues are increased pay with a cost of living adjustment, safety, management needs to have a plan to bring back pre-covid ridership, reduced/eliminate fares, better shift times (less split shifts), stop shipping away maintenence work to Louisiana.

A plan to bring back pre covid ridership all depends on how many new hires they get. A cost of living adjustment is a necessary step and I hope that Metro Transit can accommodate. Reducing/eliminating fares is a tough sell as the fiscal cliff for Metro Transit is coming (especially with the uncertainty in st paul after this election). Less split shifts should be a result of reduced express trips and more regular all day service.

I don't know if anyone has any explanation on the Lousisiana Blue Line work outsourcing but that seems like a bad move to me.

[J. Mc]

I don't know if anyone has any explanation on the Lousisiana Blue Line work outsourcing but that seems like a bad move to me.

Metro Transit's explanation FWIW: (I'm assuming we're referring to the Type I LRV rust mitigation program here)
https://metrocouncil.org/Council-Meetin ... ation.aspx

[Mdcastle]

A few years ago I recall a Strib article where they were saying they had a lot of candidates that passed the background, driving, and navigation tests, but failed the "customer service" test.

If that's still the case, now that sitting near someone that's smoking weed, cursing, and smelling like a pig sty is now expected, maybe we can look at hiring these drivers that can drive a bus without crashing it or getting lost, but apparently can't say "Thank You" with the proper enthusiasm and vocal infection.

As far as the Blue Line outsourcing, my reaction is to shrug. It's still hard-working Americans doing the work, it's not like we're outsourcing it to Mexico or India.

[DanPatchToget]

A few years ago I recall a Strib article where they were saying they had a lot of candidates that passed the background, driving, and navigation tests, but failed the "customer service" test.

If that's still the case, now that sitting near someone that's smoking weed, cursing, and smelling like a pig sty is now expected, maybe we can look at hiring these drivers that can drive a bus without crashing it or getting lost, but apparently can't say "Thank You" with the proper enthusiasm and vocal infection.

I don't mind drivers not saying hello and looking enthusiastic. This isn't a family restaurant where the host has to smile the whole shift (speaking from experience). As long as the driver is helpful to people when they need it* then that's all that matters to me.

*There are times when riders expect too much from bus drivers, like asking where a specific destination is as if the driver is a GPS. Also several times I've seen riders ask the driver to tell them when their stop is coming up (I think that's been reduced with the automated stop announcements, but it still happens). On the flip side, I remember one time at South Bloomington/98th Street Station a rider walked up to a bus and asked if it's going to Normandale College. The driver replied "read the sign", which I found to be a snarky reply when he could've simply responded yes or no. Sometimes it's difficult to know which direction a bus is going when they pull into that transit center.

[Korh]

I had something happen similarly recently too. I was taking the orange line and it was 15-20 minuets behind schedule for whatever reason and halfway through someone starts berating the driver for being late and wanted them to call the driver for another route to do something because they would miss the transfer and will have to wait longer.

[HiawathaGuy]

As far as the Blue Line outsourcing, my reaction is to shrug. It's still hard-working Americans doing the work, it's not like we're outsourcing it to Mexico or India.

I think the issue is outsourcing work to a Right To Work state and to non-union people. It might not be Mexico or India, but certainly might as well be. I think it's a pretty big stick in the eye to the union employees who do daily repairs on the trains here.

[StandishGuy]

Another issue with hiring more bus drivers is seniority. Apparently, newer bus drivers get the worst schedules and split shifts making the job pretty unappealing. Recently, I overheard a bus driver tell a passenger that he worked for Metro Transit for 10 years now, but continues to get awful, late-nite and split schedules.

Also, 15-minute LRT service is dreadful considering that 35,000 people ride the two lines a day- way more than any other route. I'm beginning to think North Star and the Red Line need to be cut loose and their drivers reassigned. Do they even generate 2,000 riders a day?

I'm afraid the transit system is heading into the "death spiral" with schedule cutbacks like this- even though gas is almost $5 a gallon.

[Trademark]

Another issue with hiring more bus drivers is seniority. Apparently, newer bus drivers get the worst schedules and split shifts making the job pretty unappealing. Recently, I overheard a bus driver tell a passenger that he worked for Metro Transit for 10 years now, but continues to get awful, late-nite and split schedules.

Also, 15-minute LRT service is dreadful considering that 35,000 people ride the two lines a day- way more than any other route. I'm beginning to think North Star and the Red Line need to be cut loose and their drivers reassigned. Do they even generate 2,000 riders a day?

I'm afraid the transit system is heading into the "death spiral" with schedule cutbacks like this- even though gas is almost $5 a gallon.

Reorganizing around all day frequency instead of peak hour frequency should greatly reduce the amount of split shifts.