From General Manager Wes Kooistra
Last Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz signed a transportation bill that will go a long way toward advancing our goal of emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic as a stronger, better service provider.
The bill provides critical operating funds that will sustain our service in the coming years. It protects regular route transit funding from competing with funds required by mandated paratransit services by including the paratransit services in the state’s budget forecast. And it includes an impressive $57.5 million investment in our arterial Bus Rapid Transit program.
We also project that one-time federal relief funds and the use of one-time Council reserves will postpone revenue shortfalls and the impact of our structural deficit until mid-year 2025.
This is all great news!
Unfortunately, the bill does not create an administrative citation alternative to the current penalty for fare evasion, our top legislative policy priority. This means fare citations must continue to be issued by sworn officers and will result in a misdemeanor with a cost of approximately $180. This is a significant disappointment to us and so many other supporters around the region. However, the bipartisan votes in some legislative committees that were in favor of this policy change are encouraging, so we expect to continue to press for this change during the next legislative session.
So where do we go from here?
First and foremost, we must continue to show that we are wisely and effectively using the local, state, and federal funding we receive to provide high-quality and equitable services to our region.
Second, we must get to work fulfilling the vision our customers, supporters and funding partners are being energized by.
The $57.5 million the state is putting toward BRT will fully fund the METRO E Line, which we expect to start building along the Hennepin Avenue corridor in 2024. It will partially fund the F Line on Central Avenue.
In addition to this work, we are being appropriated $250,000 to develop a plan to transition to zero emissions transit vehicles. This is consistent with our recent request to hire a consultant to help us in the development of a zero-emissions bus plan that was approved by the Council in May.
As general manager, I see the significant investments that are being made in transit as a welcome sign that, despite all the disruption caused by the pandemic, people recognize how valuable our services are to our region.
Thank you to all those who helped develop our initial legislative package and answered the many questions that were forwarded by the legislature and our own governmental affairs staff. And thanks to all of you for persevering through the uncertainty, for inspiring confidence in our supporters, and for making the most of the opportunities we’re being given.
The transportation bill at a glance
The state’s $7 billion transportation bill sets the course for investments in roads, bridges, and transit over the next two fiscal years. The bill received bipartisan support and includes:
- $57.5 million for arterial BRT, fully funding the E Line (Hennepin Avenue) and partially funding the F Line (Central Avenue)
- $32 million continued general fund appropriation for state fiscal years 2022 and 2023 to support rail operations
- $250,000 for creating a plan to transition to and maintain electric buses, including milestones and/or performance measures
- Authority for the Council to borrow money needed to invest in buses, facilities, and technology
- A requirement that the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies complete a study that examines public transportation after COVID-19, focusing primarily on the metro and including the Northstar Commuter Rail Line
For more information about transit provisions of the transportation bill, contact Chief of Staff Lesley Kandaras.
What comes next
Metro Transit’s proposed 2022 operating budget and proposed 2022-2027 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) will be presented to the Council later this year. The spending plans will be subject to public comment before Council adoption. Metro Transit will conduct equity analyses on the operating budget and CIP, work that began in 2020.
The operating budget primarily covers workforce-related costs, fuel, utilities, and supplies. The CIP provides a framework for future spending on system maintenance and improvements; items in the CIP are subject to Council approval.
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A federal grant will help Metro Transit expand its electric bus fleet.
The $4.2 million Federal Transit Administration grant, announced last week, will help cover the incremental cost difference of purchasing eight, 40-foot electric buses from bus maker Proterra.
The ZX5 Max buses have larger batteries and can operate much longer distances without needing to be recharged. Charging stations will be installed at the new Minneapolis Bus Garage; no on-route chargers will be needed.
The new garage, charging equipment, and electric buses are all expected to be in service by 2023. The buses will be assigned to core local routes.
Metro Transit’s first electric buses went into service when the METRO C Line opened in 2019. The 60-foot buses, made by New Flyer, are idle while repairs are being made to charging equipment. The goal is to put these buses back into service next year.
An updated plan to continue transitioning Metro Transit’s fleet from diesel to electric buses will be developed by early-2022. The agency currently has nearly 1,000 buses, including 114 hybrid-electric buses.
Later this year, Metro Transit will begin receiving the first of 143 new 60-foot, diesel-powered buses being purchased from New Flyer.
These buses will be used on the METRO Orange Line, METRO D Line and METRO B Line, and to replace buses that are reaching the end of their service life. Orange Line buses will be based out of Heywood Garage.
Like the 60-foot C Line buses, the new BRT buses will have three passenger doors, onboard USB chargers for passengers and the Quantum wheelchair securement system.
There will be a few more express buses traveling the region’s highways starting in late-August.
Anticipating a wider return to office and the resumption of in-person classes at the University of Minnesota, several express routes that have been suspended will return and more trips will be added to select routes now operating at a reduced level.
Routes that are being restored include the 351, 353/355, 275 and 673. Routes that will see expanded service include the 250, 270, 768 and 850.
Other scheduled service changes that will take effect on Saturday, Aug. 21, include:
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Improving morning peak frequency on the Blue and Green lines to every 10 minutes.
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Improvements to Route 3, including a new routing through downtown Minneapolis on Washington Avenue.
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Expanded hours of service on routes 30 and 83.
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A new Route 804 that will replace and extend a portion of Route 4 that now operates north of Silver Lake Village.
Details about the August 21 service changes will be published on Metro Transit’s website on Monday, July 6. Information is being distributed sooner than usual so customers can plan ahead.
Bus Transportation filled several open positions by welcoming a group of new assistant transportation managers this week. Assistant transportation managers support and counsel bus operators and work with other garage staff to fill work assignments, among other duties.
The new assistant transportation managers are (clockwise from top left):
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Ruby Daniels, Nicollet. Daniels previously served as a transit supervisor, train operator and bus operator.
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Liz Hendren, East Metro, she/her. Hendren previously served as a senior rail supervisor and as a 911 Dispatcher and Sheriff’s clerk. Hendren has also served as a mentor with the MentoringWorks and Leadership Academy programs.
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Michael Heuchert, Heywood. Heuchert previously served as a TCC supervisor and as a Transit Information Center representative.
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Carri Sampson, Ruter. Sampson previously served as a rail supervisor and as a 911 dispatcher.
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George Stewart, Heywood. Stewart previously served as a TCC supervisor, bus operator and relief instructor. He served as a TCC supervisor while participating in the Leadership Academy.
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Peter Stumme, Ruter. Stumme previously serves as a bus operator, rail supervisor and Transit Control Center (TCC) supervisor. He served as an ATM at South Garage while participating in the Leadersh
Metro Transit’s Equity & Inclusion Unit will be led by Celina Martina, who began this week as the Senior Manager for Transit Equity.
Celina joins Metro Transit after most recently serving as the executive director of engagement and external relations for Minneapolis Public Schools. She previously served as the Met Council’s first parks ambassador and with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
Celina uses she and her pronouns. She is a proud immigrant from South America, a mother of two children, a spouse, and an active member of our local Latino community.
In her new role, Celina will provide strategic leadership as the organization works to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion as an employer and service provider. This work is supported by two Equity & Inclusion staff members, Sarah Berres and Rachel Cagle, the Equity & Inclusion Team, the Office of Equal Opportunity, and the Council’s Equity Advisory Committee.
Metro Transit has had an equity manager position for several years but the role was redesigned in recognition of the agency’s expanded commitment to equity and inclusion.
In case you missed it: 2021 Equity Progress Report
Efforts to advance equity over the past year are summarized in the 2021 Equity Progress Report, shared in last week’s Insights. The report can be viewed here. To offer your thoughts on the the work that's been done and what lies ahead, please consider:
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After 35 years of service, Peter Durant recently retired out of the Ruter Garage. Durant began his career at Metro Transit after immigrating from Barbados and working at an interstate bus company. Applying for a job at Metro Transit, he said, "was the best decision I made in my career.”
For most of his career, Durant worked at the Heywood Garage. Shortly before retiring this month, he looked back fondly on the path he took to retirement. “Life is like drifting in the ocean,” he said. “You never know where it will carry you. But when opportunity comes, grab it and hope for the best.”
In retirement, Durant plans to return to the Caribbean with his wife to build a retirement home on a plot of land they’ve purchased. He looks forward to inviting family to enjoy the home and the fruit trees he’ll plant, and to perhaps join him spearfishing for red snapper.
East Metro Bus Operator Lauren Cox recently received a commendation from a customer for her dedication to customer service.
I just want the woman who drives Route 74G to get the acknowledgment she deserves. Every day, I'm able to catch this bus and I am greeted with a smile and a good morning that truly makes my day. Today, I managed to catch the bus on time because she saw me walking down the street and I appreciated it so much. I want to say more but I can't put the words together now, besides she's awesome and I've never had a driver as cool as her in my 15 years of using Metro Transit.
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Metro Transit employees come from many cultures and backgrounds.To celebrate this diversity, employees who are proud to share their heritage and identity will be regularly featured in Insights. This Q&A commemorates Somali Independence Day, a national holiday marking the unification and creation of Somalia on July 1, 1960. Read more “Where I’m From” Q&As here.
Tell us a little bit about your background.
I was born in Somalia in 1990 and stayed there until I was 8 years old. Because of the civil war, my family was always moving. We never stayed in any city for more than a year. Finally, my family moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where there was a large Somali population, and it was more peaceful. After five years in Kenya, my family was able to come to Minneapolis. I earned my U.S. citizenship and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2008. I still travel back and forth. My wife and nearly 1-year-old daughter are in Somali, and are in the process of moving to the United States.
How did you become interested in law enforcement?
As a young kid, I couldn’t think about what I wanted to be when I grew up – it was more about making it to the next day. It wasn’t until I came here that I realized I could be a firefighter, a police officer, or whatever I wanted to become. I got the idea of becoming a police officer in high school after spending time with our school resource officer. I held several security jobs, earned an associates degree, then worked with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and Maplewood Police Department. I was lucky enough to get a job at Metro Transit in 2018.
What does Somali Independence Day mean to you?
It has a lot of meaning for me. My mom was born the same day Somalia unified (July 1, 1960). It’s amazing to hear my grandfathers and uncles, who were there when Somalia was colonized, talk about how they felt the day the country was unified. At the same time, it’s sad knowing that just 30 years after independence civil war broke out. Somalia is moving in the right direction now, and I hope to celebrate Independence Day there in the near future.
Communications and the Equity & Inclusion Team are always looking for ways to celebrate diversity. To share ideas, please contact Sarah Berres.
Community partners riding transit: Representatives from A Mother’s Love, a grassroots organization whose members are trained in mentoring, de-escalation and trauma care, are now riding buses and trains to connect with riders and help resolve potential conflicts. Representatives will travel in groups of four and wear hot pink t-shirts when they are on duty. As always, operators should report violent, criminal or unusual incidents and emergencies to the Transit Control Center; if a representative from A Mother’s Love is on the scene, operators are asked to share that information with the TCC.
Pride ERG Family BBQ: The Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) is hosting a family-friendly BBQ at Boom Island Park on Thursday, July 15. The event will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, contact David Hanson or Ricki Vang. The Pride ERG is open to all employees and serves as a place for staff to discuss LGBTQ+ issues.
Transit service on Independence Day and Monday, July 5: Metro Transit buses and the METRO Blue & Green lines will follow Sunday/Holiday schedules on Sunday, July 4 (Independence Day) and will operate regular weekday service on Monday, July 5. Northstar Commuter Line trains will not operate on Monday, July 5. The TIC will be open but Customer Relations/Lost & Found and the downtown service centers will be closed.
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