Twin Cities light rail lines see ridership increase as demographics change NEWSWIRE

MINNEAPOLIS – The Twin Cities two light rail lines set ridership records in 2018, Twin Cities Metro Transit announced Monday. The Green Line, which connects downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, saw 13.8 million rides, a 5 percent increase from the previous year. Annual ridership has risen every year since the Green Line opened five years ago. The Blue Line, which operates between downtown Minneapolis and Minneapolis−St. Paul International Airport and the Mall of America, saw more than 11 million rides, also setting an annual ridership record. The Blue Line opened in 2004 and was the Twin Cities first light rail line.

Nationally, transit ridership is down. Through the third quarter of 2018, transit ridership slipped by about 3 percent, driven largely by a steady drop in bus ridership and low gas prices, according to transit officials. So why did the Twin Cities see an increase?

One reason is that a fare increase in October 2017 drove down ridership, a common result as riders resist reaching deeper in their pockets to ride. Over time, the effect of the fare increase faded as riders grew accustomed to higher fares and returned to transit.

A bigger reason is the Twin Cities metro area’s changing demographics. As baby boomers age, the number of seniors in the metro area age 65 and older continues to balloon, growing from more than 280,000 in 2010 (11 percent of the population) to nearly 380,000 in 2017 (13.4 percent of the population). As they age rather than driving many of the boomers turned to bus and rail service.

Metro area transit users will have another light rail line to ride in the next few years. A 14.5-mile extension of the Green Line is under construction that will extend the line from Minneapolis to the southwest connecting suburban St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka, and Eden Prairie. It is expected to open in 2023.

Both the Blue and Green lines connect to the Northstar commuter rail line at Target Field Station in downtown Minneapolis adjacent to the Minnesota Twins baseball stadium. The 40-mile Northstar line operates over BNSF Railway between Minneapolis and Big Lake and opened for service in 2009.