Big Events Lead Metro Transit to Record Ridership on Sept. 1

Metro Transit saw its highest single-day ridership in recent memory when fairgoers mixed with commuters and sports fans across the region.

Nearly 370,000 rides were taken systemwide on Thursday, Sept. 1, as the Twins, Vikings, Gophers and Saints each hosted home games and service was provided to the Minnesota State Fair.

“Throughout the 2016 State Fair, Minnesotans made record use of the Park & Ride stations across the Twin Cities,” Lt. Governor Tina Smith said in a statement.

“This strong ridership is another indicator that when Minnesotans have access to a robust transit system, they use it.”

With more than 117,000 rides on the Blue and Green lines, a single-day light rail ridership record was also set on Sept. 1. The Blue Line had its busiest day ever, with nearly 59,000 rides.

The previous single-day light rail ridership record was set on Sept. 3, 2015, when there were nearly 101,000 rides, according to a news release.

Metro Transit also provided a record number of express bus and regular route rides to and from the State Fair, serving 16 percent of the fair’s record 1.9 million visitors, officials say.

Just over 632,500 rides were provided to and from the fairgrounds, surpassing last year’s record ridership by nearly 10 percent. The highest single-day State Fair ridership was Saturday, Sept. 3, when Metro Transit provided 73,667 rides to and from the fairgrounds.

The majority of Metro Transit’s State Fair rides were taken on express buses operating between the fairgrounds and 13 Park & Rides served exclusively by Metro Transit. Round-trip rides cost $5, generating revenue that covers the cost of providing the extra service. The busiest Park and Ride location was just east of the Mall of America in Bloomington; the Northstar Fridley Station saw the biggest ridership increase.
Average weekday ridership on the A Line was just over 6,100 during the State Fair – a 42 percent increase compared to August’s pre-State Fair average.

Service was also provided by regular routes 3, 84 and 61, and the limited-stop Route 960 from downtown Minneapolis.

Image via m01229, Flickr, used under Creative Commons