Here’s some encouraging news: Ridership has increased nearly 21% over last year.
Nearly 10.2 million rides were provided through the end of the first quarter, continuing the gradual ridership recovery that began in late 2020. In March, there were more than 133,000 average weekday rides, the highest it’s been since September 2022.
First quarter ridership highlights include:
• More than 750,000 rides have been provided on the METRO D Line, the highest-ridership bus route. Ridership in the D Line corridor has almost doubled over the past year.
• More than 3.4 million rides have been taken on the Green and Blue Lines, up 26% compared to last year.
• University of Minnesota students have taken more than 541,000 rides with a Universal Transit Pass, which allows students to ride as often as needed for a reduced per-semester fee.
• More than 222,000 rides have been taken through the Transit Assistance Program (TAP), which allows income-qualified riders to ride for $1.
Track ridership trends at metrotransit.org/performance.
What’s next?
To continue building ridership, we are focused on improving the customer experience and implementing the Safety & Security Action Plan, educating employers and other organizations about pass programs and transit options, and planning for future service improvements.
With more available bus operators, several routes are expected to see service improvements in June. Service improvements that will be made over the next several years will be guided by feedback collected through the Network Now project. Learn more about upcoming Network Now workshops and take a survey here.