Twin Cities' Metro Transit Named System of the Year

Metro Transit is celebrating a top national award that recognizes its record ridership and success in a range of areas, including safety, operations, maintenance and community relations.

The agency has received the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) 2016 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award.

Those accomplishments include growing ridership, expanding access, advances in sustainability and overall success in system safety. Metro Transit was selected among agencies from across North America that provide more than 20 million annual passenger trips.

"Minnesota's economy depends upon a robust, modern transportation network, including transit. This need will only intensify in coming years as the Twin Cities adds an estimated 800,000 residents and 490,000 jobs by 2040,” said Lt. Governor Tina Smith.

After opening the METRO Green Line in 2014, Metro Transit saw its highest ridership in 30 years. More than 85.8 million rides were taken in 2015. In addition to record ridership, Metro Transit was recognized for successes in system safety, reliability, community relations, workforce development, sustainability and financial management, among other areas.

"Winning the 2016 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award means that Metro Transit has been recognized as the top large public transit system in North America," said Paul Skoutelas, APTA Awards Chair and National Transit Director.

"This is a huge honor that reflects all of the hard work done by the 3,200 Metro Transit employees. Metro Transit is a model for other public transit systems."

Image via Metro Transit