‘Transit’ Archives
Metro Transit – The squeaky wheel gets the grease
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON Another slow month in the transit world”¦ However, there was one interesting piece of news for Route 2 riders. I went to an “open house” in June regarding proposed improvements to Franklin Avenue bus service, including cutting back on the number of stops to make the bus go faster, installing new (presumably better) bus shelters, and adding signal priority, which is a system that allows buses to request a green light sooner than would normally be the case. Unlike signal preemption, which is used by emergency vehicles to demand a green light immediately, signal priority requires a computer to make a judgment call as to whether granting an early green to the bus is better or worse for the overall movement of people through an intersection. The most controversial part of this proposal from the bus rider perspective is probably the stop spacing. Metro Transit is proposing to have a stop once every four blocks on average instead of every two blocks. [...]
Metro Transit
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON One of the sad things about writing for a monthly paper is that even when you have early access to inside information, you rarely get the “scoop” because it”'s publicly available before your publication hits the stands”¦. That said, this month”'s big transit news is the quarterly service change, which was originally planned for 16 June, but was moved up to the 9th in order to coincide with construction on I-35W. There is no direct effect on Phillips, but residents will notice anyway. The most obvious change is that buses which normally go down I-35W are being detoured off the freeway between downtown Minneapolis and 31st St. Routes 133, 156, 467, 552, 553, 554, and 558 will be using the Portland/Park one-way pair without stopping, and Routes 135, 146, 535, 578, and 597 will be using the Blaisdell/1st Ave. S. one-way pair stopping only at Lake St. (more…)
Metro Transit – How about FREE public transit as a great alternative in blizzards?
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON Our weather hasn”'t behaved itself so far this year: March went in like a lamb and out like a lion, and the April showers that are supposed to bring May flowers came in frozen form. In adverse weather, public transit shines as an alternative to getting in your car and risking an accident. Of course, the best thing to do is stay home during a blizzard, but when you absolutely, positively have to get somewhere, and neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night can keep you from doing something important, transit is one of the best options. (more…)
