Metro Transit could lower fares for most buses, trains

Metro Transit is considering lowering fares for most buses and trains in an effort to simplify its payment system and attract more riders to the Twin Cities' public transit system — the first fare change in seven years.

More-costly fares during peak morning and afternoon rush hour commutes would decrease from $2.50 to $2 on local buses and the Green and Blue light-rail lines under a proposal before the Metropolitan Council, the regional planning body that operates Metro Transit.

In addition, the plan calls for peak fares for youths ages six to 12, seniors 65 and over and Medicare cardholders to go down from $2.50 to $1.

Peak fares for Metro Mobility, a transportation service for people with disabilities and certain health conditions, would decrease from $4.50 to $4, and remain at $3.50 at all other times.

"First and foremost is the goal of improving the overall customer experience," said Jillian Linnell, Metro Transit's chief of staff, at a Met Council meeting earlier this month.

If approved by the Met Council at its Nov. 13 meeting, the new fare structure would be implemented in January. The last time the council altered fares was in 2017 when they increased by 25 cents on local buses and light rail.

Traditional commuting patterns with morning and afternoon rush hours on transit were upended during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent rise of hybrid work.

Metro Transit has found that people tend to use its system more throughout the day and on weekends. While overall ridership has been climbing, it still is about 60% of pre-pandemic levels.

"Some of the proposed changes are really trying to address the post-COVID ridership trends and help encourage riders back on the system," Linnell said.

In addition, eligibility for the Transit Assistance Program (TAP) for low-income passengers would be expanded from one year to two, meaning passengers won't have to sign up every year. Launched in 2017, TAP features $1 rides for the nearly 4,800 people enrolled in the program.

If the proposal is adopted, annual fare revenue would drop $4.1 million, but ridership is projected to increase by about 926,000 rides. In 2023, Metro Transit collected about $54 million in fare revenue, making up about 8.5% of the agency's $558 million budget.

"We anticipate that we'll still increase our revenue but it won't increase quite as fast as anticipated," said Dennis Dworshak, Metro Transit's senior manager of revenue operations.

However, one member of the Met Council asked why fares weren't being increased rather than decreased.

"It seems like we're putting a lot of money into making a nice [transit] system, but it's worth less and less and less to our customers, and that's concerning to me," said Wendy Wulff, who has served on the council since 2009 after being initially appointed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty to represent the southern suburbs. (Members of the Met Council are appointed by the current governor.)

Linnell said Metro Transit is trying to strike a balance between attracting riders and generating revenue to help sustain the system.

"The goal here in the post-COVID era is to put together a fare package that encourages a good experience and can help attract riders back onto our system," she said.

Fares would not change on express buses, Northstar Commuter Rail, Metro Micro or Transit Link service, or in the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtown zones.

Metro Transit officials say similar "fare simplification" efforts have either been contemplated, planned or enacted at more than two dozen transit systems across the United States.

The move is part of a broader effort to modernize Metro Transit's aging fare-collection system, which hasn't been overhauled in 20 years. The council entered into a contract for up to $37.7 million with California-based Cubic Transportation Systems to upgrade the system's technology.

"We're in major need of an upgrade to our system," Dworshak said.