Roper: Let's celebrate improvements to the local bus

ABOARD THE NO. 18 BUS — I was commuting home on a recent rainy evening, jotting down transit observations for this column, when a young man across the aisle turned to me. He was wearing ripped jeans and holding a lollipop.

"I don't mean to bother you, but is it going to rain tomorrow?" he asked. I told him it was, which led to a short conversation about the weather and the upcoming weekend. Then he said goodbye and got off.

It was a tiny (and rare) interaction. But it illustrated a point I was hoping to make here, which is that the bus is one of these unique spaces where people converge across race, class and culture.

And that's why I'd like to celebrate the vast improvements that have been made to the local bus system over the last decade — with even more promising changes on the horizon. I would pop some champagne, but that is strictly against the rules of the bus.

Just over 10 years ago, I was writing about the comically simplistic "Bus Stop" signs (they didn't say what bus stopped there!) and how plenty of popular stops around town lacked shelters. Metro Transit fixed the signs and created an ongoing program to install and upgrade shelters.

Nowadays, even bigger transit transformations are afoot.

Many of the busiest routes in the region are becoming rapid bus "lines," featuring robust stops and much faster service. You'll find these lines on Chicago, Snelling, Penn and Fremont avenues. New lines open this year on Lake Street and Hennepin Ave.

But what has some urbanists giddy is Metro Transit's "Network Now" plan — which sounds like something that comes with unlimited texting and free weekend minutes. Local streetcar historian Aaron Isaacs wrote that, if fully implemented, "it will be the biggest one-time transit makeover in history."

New funding for transit

Helping fuel this plan is a 0.75% regional sales tax for transit, which the Legislature passed in 2023. It amounts to more than $400 million annually for the Metropolitan Council (this will be slightly offset by expected trims of state transit funding in the next budget).

To be clear: Network Now is very much a post-pandemic vision for transit, and the biggest beneficiaries are urban core riders.

It will make permanent a lot of the pandemic-era cuts to lower-ridership express routes that carried riders from suburbs to the downtowns. Metro Transit is instead directing those riders to higher-ridership express routes, and buses that reach light rail and rapid bus lines.

So rather than running the Route 288 bus multiple times a day from Forest Lake to downtown Minneapolis, those people are now directed to a Blaine park-and-ride where they will have frequent, all-day service to downtown.

I'm a little worried what this means for the future of downtown as a transit commuting destination; I know one colleague who now drives as a result of their bus being cut. The plan does include more suburb-to-suburb service.

Meanwhile, the frequency of urban routes will increase almost across the board — including more service on nights and weekends. My bus, the 18, will soon arrive every 10 minutes during my commute — instead of every 15. This means more seamless transfers, as well.

And Metro Transit is planning several new rapid bus lines, forming a serious "rapid transit network" that will crisscross the urban core.

Other upgrades are technological. Metro Transit intends to update the ticketing system next year, for example, so that riders can pay with a phone or a credit card. They have this in New York and it is very slick.

Ridership is down

Despite the improvements, local bus ridership is down by roughly a third since before the pandemic. People have a lot of reasons why transit doesn't make sense for them, but let's talk about safety.

Unusual and unpleasant things do happen on the bus, like on most American transit systems. I generally feel safe as a rider, as long as I stay vigilant and keep to myself. The driver is there if something gets out of control. That said, I understand that many others experience this differently.

One thing I can't tolerate is indoor smoking, which I almost never see on the bus (I hear anecdotally that this is improving on the light rail). You can't hide from smoke. Having to breathe air laced with mysterious substances is a highly invasive experience.

The other day, I was traveling from an Edina speaking engagement to downtown by taking the No. 46 to the Orange Line. The transfer is at a two-story shelter built into Interstate 35W. On the freeway level, I walked through an enclosed waiting area past a man carefully lighting a small piece of foil containing ... who knows?

It was very frustrating. My colleague who often rides at that station says it's a problem. We need more staffing at enclosed stations to help prevent this, which Metro Transit is working on. Agency spokesman Drew Kerr also encourages riders to report incidents like this (or broken glass, graffiti, etc.) to the safety line at 612-900-0411 — which helps them track problem areas.

Mostly, though, riding the bus brings me a bit closer to people I may not otherwise meet. I have overheard eye-opening conversations, shared laughter with fellow riders, and observed people struggling to stay afloat. I welcome hearing your anecdotes from the bus at eric.roper@startribune.com.

The bus also gives me a valuable pause in my day, when I can stare out the window and just zone out (without having to worry about parking).

I will probably never see the man with the lollipop again. He plans to spend this weekend outside enjoying the nice weather. I intend to do the same.

Go ride the bus if you can. Ope, this is my stop!

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