Public Transit Facts

  • Transit is a critical component of the transportation system. The state can't rely on a "roads only" approach to meeting transportation needs. Transit serves all Minnesotans from those who can't drive to those looking for alternatives to daily congestion to people who don't use transit but benefit from fewer cars on the road.
  • If all current bus riders immediately began using single-occupant vehicles, an additional two lanes would be needed on the busiest corridors to accommodate the new traffic at current congestion levels. Of transit riders, 81% report using transit to get to work and 75% ride during rush hour.
  • Congestion is often cited as our region's number one livability issue, and it costs the region over $1 billion/yr. in wasted time and fuel.
  • The Hiawatha Line carries 24,000 passengers every day. 40 percent of those riders say that if the Hiawatha Line didn't exist, they would be driving alone. In short, The Hiawatha Line removes approximately 10,000 cars from the road every day.
  • According to the Texas Transportation Institute, large cities with rail transit in major corridors have congestion increasing at a 42 percent lower rate than in large cities without rail transit.
  • Businesses rely on bus service. The availability of bus service enables businesses to recruit and retain employees from a larger labor pool which is critical in a tight labor market.
  • Public transit is a valuable Minnesota industry. The transit industry directly employs more than 3,700 Minnesotans and generates more than $750 million per year in wages, goods and services.
  • Transit has a direct impact on economic growth. Real estate sales prices in the Hiawatha Corridor (excluding downtown) rose 83% between 2000 and 2004.
  • Denver's Southeast Corridor LRT, which cost $789 million to build and opened late last year, has already generated $4.25 billion dollars of residential and commercial development -- over five dollars of private sector investment for every dollar invested.
  • Reducing car ownership leads to huge financial gains; one less car (which conservatively costs $5,000/yr to own and operate) is equivalent to a $100,000 home mortgage.
  • The availability of bus service increases the self-sufficiency of elderly and disabled persons who are unable to drive, allowing them to live independently rather than in costly nursing homes. Nursing home care in Minnesota costs an average of $30,000 to $40,000 per year.
  • Current service levels are not meeting the demand. Only 63 Minnesota counties have county-wide service, nine counties have municipal only service and seven counties have no public transit service at all. Transit in the Twin Cities area receives substantially less public funding on a per capita basis than transit systems in peer metropolitan regions. Due to increased demand, suburban transit systems are considering how to charge higher fares or deny service to non-residents.
  • 7 counties in Greater Minnesota have municipal bus service only, while another 7 counties have no transit service at all.
  • In 2004, Greater Minnesota transit provided over 9 million rides while Metropolitan Area Transit provided over 80 million rides.
  • With the decision to restrict the use of property tax dollars for transit, bus systems must now rely entirely on fares and appropriations from the legislature to operate their systems. They have lost a great deal of the local control they had to pursue expansion of transit systems to meet local needs as well as losing the most stable source of funding they had.
  • Transit budgets have been cut in recent years. Metro Transit had to cut or reduce service on about 30 routes and raise fares. In Greater Minnesota, funding is not available to meet the needs and some fares have been increased.