2015 was a year of continual record-breaking for the regional transit system
Transit ridership – across all types of transit and service providers – continues to climb, reaching 98.8 million in 2015. This is a total increase of 1.5% over the year before, as ridership continued to shatter records throughout the year. A growing population, changing travel preferences, and an expanded transit system helped boost ridership to record levels.
The total includes rides on all of the region’s transit providers combined, and counts all types of transit – commuter rail, METRO Blue, Green and Red lines, express and local bus routes, Metro Mobility, Transit Link, and Metro Vanpool.
“The demand for transit is increasing as our transit system grows,” said Metropolitan Council Chair Adam Duininck. “Transit is an investment with a big payoff. It supports our region’s economy, and provides people with reliable options to get where they need to go – to jobs, services, school, health care, and recreation.”
Light rail’s share increasing
Metro Transit’s light rail lines are becoming a major contributor to regional transit ridership. With the first full year of operation for the METRO Green Line, light rail’s share of all regional transit ridership climbed to more than 23% (23 million rides), compared with less than 11% in 2013.
The METRO Blue Line carried more than 10.6 million rides, its highest annual ridership since it opened in mid-2004.
Total Metro Transit ridership up, bus ridership down
Of all transit rides in 2015, 87% were provided by Metro Transit—the region’s largest transit provider, which is a service of the Metropolitan Council. Metro Transit released its ridership numbers last Friday, showing that buses and trains carried passengers on 85.8 million trips,* an increase of 1.4% (nearly 1.2 million).
Metro Transit buses provided more than 62 million rides throughout the Twin Cities area. That figure was less (down 8.6%) than the year before due to several factors. With discontinued limited-stop bus service along the Central Corridor, customers opted for light rail on the Green Line. Also in play were changes in bus routes caused by construction that led to prolonged detours on multiple routes.
Looking at Central Corridor service as a whole, however, including bus routes #16 and #94, the combined transit ridership increased about 30% over 2014 and nearly doubled since 2013, when service was provided by buses alone.
The Northstar Commuter Rail Line accounted for more than 722,000 rides. The METRO Blue Line, connecting Minneapolis to the Minneapolis – Saint Paul International Airport, the Mall of America and points in between, accounted for more than 10.6 million.
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Bus: 62,106,089 rides; 204,986 avg. weekday rides
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Light rail: 23,003,457 rides; 68,873 avg. weekday rides
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Northstar: 722,637 rides; 2,548 avg. weekday rides
Other highlights
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Ridership on the METRO Red Line between Apple Valley and the Mall of America on Cedar Ave./Hwy. 77 remained essentially unchanged, at about 265,000 rides.
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The number of rides served by suburban transit services topped 5.1 million in 2015, down less than 1% from the year before. The suburban providers and their ridership figures:
Minnesota Valley Transit - 2,700,554
SouthWest Transit - 1,079,338
Maple Grove Transit - 837,335
Plymouth Metrolink - 500,918
The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. The Council runs the regional bus and rail system, collects and treats wastewater, coordinates regional water resources, plans regional parks, and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. The Council board is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Governor.
*Metro Transit ridership includes trips on Maple Grove Transit routes, which are operated by Metro Transit.