From General Manager Wes Kooistra
Words cannot capture the pain caused by George Floyd’s horrific and senseless death. The destruction of community resources and local businesses added to that pain.
As General Manager, I want to assure customers that our response to the past several days was focused on protecting the safety of our customers and our employees.
Transit is a lifeline for many people in our region. We did not make the decision to suspend service lightly.
Our decision to protect our riders and operators by suspending service on Thursday had the consequence of depriving people access to places they needed to go. We knew this as we made the decision. But given the information we were receiving, suspending service was necessary.
We acknowledge that many of the neighborhoods that rely heavily on transit are also those that were hardest hit by these events. People who use transit to secure groceries and medicine, to get to their jobs, or to make other essential trips suffered twin impacts -- the loss of neighborhood businesses and services they rely on and the experience of being stranded because transit was unavailable.
We are working as fast as we can to get service back on the street. Our staff is assessing damage to our infrastructure and facilities, making repairs, and developing necessary detours.
Bus service and Northstar commuter rail service will return at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3. We anticipate restoring METRO Blue Line and METRO Green Line service as early as Thursday, June 4. As service returns, we will continue to operate at the reduced levels that have been in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I ask for – and I thank you for – your continued patience as we work to restore service. Please know that we are eager to return to fulfilling our mission to get people where they need to go. We recognize that reliable transportation is especially important in areas where food and other services are now harder to come by, and we will do all we can to meet those needs.
Stay informed with Rider Alerts
Given the events of the past week, we anticipate ongoing and changing detours for many bus routes, including routes 5, 7, 11, 18, 21 and 23. As we receive detour information it will be posted here, so check back often. Or sign-up today to receive Rider Alerts by text or email for your specific route as soon as new detour information is available.
If you have questions, the Transit Information Center is open weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Customer Relations is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To speak with a representative, call 612-373-3333.
Above right: Traction Power Maintainers inspect overhead wire south of the Lake Street/Midtown Station. Such track inspections must be performed before light rail service can resume.