Riding the Entire Minneapolis Light Rail System

[@radaf4429]

"What's that skyline over there?" "That's like, grain elevators" Most Minnesota thing I've ever heard

[@OrigamiMarie]

What do you need to make a town in Wisconsin? A church and a bar. What do you need to make a town in Minnesota? A church and a grain elevator.

[@kirstena9994]

Hey, my cousin lives right behind those grain elevators! Which is true AND possibly the second most Minnesotan thing someone could say!

[@Zorgot.]

man it feels surreal seeing something like this on a random youtube video from recommended

[@skreamnredskull8941]

Ol I hear that

[@mariegp5021]

same.

[@JacksonBetz]

Eli is an underrated-ass guest and this was a fun-ass summertime romp

[@JacksonBetz]

also that was a masterfully cacophonous description of the fares and I'm here for it

[@JacksonBetz]

The Mickey's Diner cameo was pretty delightful (so funny that the incandescent chaser lights on the sign were still going, even though it's been closed for a while!) but nowhere near as delightful as those Calibri end credits

[@MilesinTransit]

Love calibri best font

[@ChasMusic]

Wait, if that was summertime, I don't want to know what winter is like there.

[@TravelsByTransit]

​@@MilesinTransitcomic sans is better!

[@sIosha]

The only thing wrong with MSP's light rail system is that there aren't more lines. It really is an enjoyable way to get around, though, and is actually what sparked my interest in public transit and urban planning! It's changed the way I look at our built environment entirely and woke me up to how our current car-dependent system perpetuates many social issues.

[@plasmakitten4261]

Minneapolis has had a lot of drama over the last few years but I have drastically more beef with the assholes who keep protesting light rail expansion than anyone else

[@gingythebrawler3898]

I couldn't agree more

[@sIosha]

@@plasmakitten4261 You'd think everyone would get excited about taking more cars off the road. People often vote against their own interests, I guess. I suppose bringing in crime and the homeless is a real concern when you don't spend any resources helping them, either.

[@plasmakitten4261]

@@sIosha idk, it's usually some person who just hates train noises and is willing to let that matter more than making people's lives better

[@sIosha]

@@plasmakitten4261 For sure. Train noises are much scarier than traffic jams and car accidents to some people.

[@22kbut]

Glad Minnesota is finally getting some attention, it's a great state and always under appreciated by people born in other states.

[@joeskis]

huh? MN shouldn't get attention because of the cities. It should get attention because driving the entire North Shore and visiting all the waterfalls along the way is mighty fantastic.

[@22kbut]

@@joeskis I was saying didn't didn't get much attention at all. Not like what you see with places like New York, California, and Florida. I get they've been around longer and have more grand cities, doesn't make them better. The twin cities, getting attention is better then nothing though.

[@thatvikesfan750]

@@joeskisit should get attention because of both. For example, the vast cycling networks in the Twin Cities that make them the most navigable cities by bike in the country

[@jollygrapefruit786]

When it's not being burned to the ground by Well you know

[@brandonlatzig]

@@thatvikesfan750 the one place that does kinda get the short stick is well As the state calls it the "Urban/Rural/Town areas" We have good landscape but No public transport outside of ridesharing

[@marshmallows5641]

"...including the overnight airport shuttle! The foamers will like that." Yes! Thank you, I enjoyed seeing that Siemens S70

[@yogsothoth8389]

I'm from Minneapolis and I'm so accustomed to the fare system on the trains that I had no idea people thought it was so complicated!

[@Joyride37]

If you’re a disabled veteran it’s 100% free so long as you have your ID with you so you can bypass the fare system. It’s quite nice

[@JBLewis]

I have to admit, I just charge up my Go Card, tap, and am never too worried about the exact fare. My primary usage is when I fly solo. My wife drops me off at City Hall, and I take the train to the airport.

[@lightning_11]

TBH I just swipe my card and let the machine figure out how much I owe.

[@kirstena9994]

I just cough over the $5 for a day pass because I'm usually riding out to somewhere and then back sometime later. But, by that I really mean I have an all day pass I purchased on my phone- ready to activate at a moment's notice if I ever see a transit oinker checking fare.

[@JBLewis]

@@kirstena9994 Are you saying you cheat unless you think you're about to get caught at it?

[@EthanRKassel]

Fun fact, you can take the light rail between the Twins' stadium and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints' stadium, CHS Field! It's about a six-minute walk from Union Depot Station to CHS Field. So the two stadiums are basically at each end of the line. I went to a Twins game and Saints game on the same day in 2021, which was a tremendous experience aside from the 90% humidity.

[@andysorensen1737]

Honestly surprised they don’t promote/demote players more using the light rail 😂

[@frisbeepilot]

now thats a fun fact

[@katherineberger6329]

@@andysorensen1737 One of the Twins' "bubble" guys a couple years ago had an apartment at the University of Minnesota campus and he said that if he got called up the only thing that would change would be getting on the Westbound train instead of Eastbound.

[@goldenstarmusic1689]

LET'S GO IT'S MINNESOTA TIME!! Thank you for another awesome video! I want to make a couple comments about the light rail system addressing points in this video! 1. Ridership per mile has fallen since the pandemic started, but is recovering and is still in the top for US LRT systems 2. Though it was not on the footage, that whole area around the Light Rail and MOA is called the South Loop, a neighborhood that Bloomington is trying to transform into a downtown from scratch. Bloomington Central Station is anchored by a nice park, and more mixed use development is going up with a mixed use Oxendale Market grocery store+apartment opening up at the station later this year! 3. The Washington Ave crossing bridge over the Mississippi is actually rated for up to 50mph! 4. The 15 minute frequencies are due to a driver shortage, which could be fixed with hiring less than 10 light rail drivers. 5. Each fare comes with a 2.5 hour unlimited transfer window, something you can stretch A LONG way to ride a lot of different lines. Overall great showcase of a video! Glad to see the Twin Cities representation is strong on KZbin lately :) can't wait for a BRT showcase next!

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you so much for the extra info and kind words!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

"Ah, the PP Plaza" only 20 seconds in and we already have a banger quote lol. I appreciate your dedication for explaining their confusing fare system, and the ✨𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓻✨ caught me off guard. I really do like the design of Minneapolis's City Hall. Yup it's in the Richardsonian Romanesque style promoted by Henry Hobson Richardson but was designed by Franklin B. Long and Frederick Kees. The Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh served as inspiration for Minneapolis's City Hall. When constructed, the building claimed to have the world's largest four-faced chiming clock. The faces are 18 inches/45.7 cm wider than those on Big Ben/Elizabeth Tower. My favorite stadium of all-time remains the Bird's Nest/Beijing National Stadium, but I still love the design of the US Bank Stadium. HKS designed it, who also worked on Lucas Oil Stadium, SoFi Stadium, Venetian Macau, and Atlantis Paradise Island. The stadium looks like a viking ship, but the actual inspiration was the jagged rocks that formed the nearby cataract known as St. Anthony Falls and the ice shards that pile up on the edges of Minnesota lakes as they freeze, thaw, and refreeze in winter. The roof was done with 60 percent Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, and inspired by Nordic vernacular architecture, allows the stadium to endure heavy snow loads as the snow moves into a heated gutter and drains into the Mississippi.

[@zacharyabelson8196]

Wow this is really strange to watch a video of everyday things I never really think about seen through new eyes, like I never thought the fare structure was confusing or that our light rail lines were that special

[@davidburrow5895]

While the fare system is way too complicated, something you didn't mention is that the base fare isn't for a single ride. It's actually a 2.5-hour pass with unlimited transfers to buses and other trains. As someone who lives in Iowa and comes to the Cities fairly often, I've been through that diverging diamond on 30th Avenue lots of times. The first time I drove through it I was scared out of my mind, but it does make sense once you get used to it.

[@VhenRaTheRaptor]

Reminds me a bit of how Melbourne does things. Where your base fare is X amount of time and a 2nd base fare afterwards hits your daily payment cap [basically, when you hit that payment cap you instead are retroactively buying a daily pass]

[@ToastersAreEvil]

I used to drive an airport shuttle at MSP when that diverging diamond was first built. Frequently saw people driving down the “wrong” side of the road the first few months it was open 😢

[@ssShockRyder]

What they didn't mention is that no ticket checking is in place along the entire line only people from out of town pay for it .

[@ChaosLightspeed]

​@@ssShockRyderNot anymore. They're enforcing it a lot more.

[@mrmc101]

isnt the 2.5 hour pass pretty common? at least it is where i live

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

"Into the great unknown" considering this was filmed in Winter, it was a missed opportunity to sing "INTO THE UNKNOOOOOWN". The Metro uses three different LRVs. Bombardier Flexity Swifts is Type 1 and are also used on the Croydon Tramlink, Cologne Stadtbahn (which these models were originally produced for), Melbourne's Yarra Trams, and the Porto Metro. Type 2 LRVs are Siemens S70s (known as Avantos in Europe), and Type 3 are Siemens S700s. The S70s and S700s are the same thing, but the S700s are successors of the S70s. These are the ones used on the Atlanta Streetcar, Charlotte's Lynx system, The Tide, Portland's MAX, San Diego Trolley, OC Streetcar, and Seattle's Link. Mall of America is managed by the Triple Five Group, which in turn is owned by the Ghermezian family. They also own the West Edmonton Mall and the American Dream Meadowlands mall in New Jersey. The Mall of America is located on the site of the former Metropolitan Stadium where the Vikings and Twins once played A plaque in Nickelodeon Universe commemorates the former location of home plate, and if you look carefully, there is a chair from the stadium hanging on the theme park's walls to mark the longest home run in the history of Metropolitan Stadium, a revised estimate puts it at 522 feet, by Harmon Killebrew in 1967.

[@namele55777]

which LRV will you use for pyongyang's streetcar network?

[@EmperorMaglev]

Reunify with 🇰🇷 you communist uncultured swine

[@afimcr28]

After commenting on your Duluth video, I'll add here that Minnehaha Falls (the natural waterfall park you mentioned) is extremely cool for being so urban. A beautiful waterfall in the summer and completely frozen over in the winter!

[@allysoncygan5110]

As a lifelong Minneapolis resident who takes public transit everywhere, it’s nice to see it get some appreciation and see it through some fresh eyes!

[@TheAbbster79]

MINNESOTA MENTIONED 🔥🔥🔥

[@reesesapphire]

Union Depot is also sometimes used as a convention center. I would stop there when I was in university to be picked up by my parents from the eastern suburbs, and this one time while waiting I stumbled upon a convention for dogs and dog owners. it was adorable as hell, I got to pet so many of them!

[@ryanrobinson5638]

Did you also get to pet any dogs?

[@ScienAnimation]

is this what Minneapolis actually looks like in august lmao

[@goldenstarmusic1689]

This is December, but yes!

[@MSP-km6li]

Can confirm, we had 4 feet of snow this morning

[@Leonard_Wilson]

Believe it or not, Minneapolis reaches 90 degrees during the summer. With that said, Minneapolis has wintry weather from late October to early May.

[@hikinghaani4213]

​@@MSP-km6litwas a bitch to shovel

[@ItsYaBoiiiDB]

Dam they get snow in the city already?

[@nnadir__]

Tracing the lineage of transit logos that are Ts or Ms by observing the accumulation of mutations along their evolutionary history

[@keithlantz6821]

Pittsburgh Regional Transit also uses a T in a circle for their light rail lines, but the T is connected to the circle, not floating in the middle.

[@JuneNafziger]

The architecture of Metro Transit is genuinely really good, they like to vaguely match the local area, or at least do something that looks nice.

[@simonsv9449]

The Minneapolis Light Rail system only has 2 lines, but it manages to serve the downtowns of both twin cities, the area’s main international airport which is one of the biggest in the US, 4 hospitals, the Minnesota State Capitol, the biggest mall in the United States (A well known tourist destination), a lot of other malls, a trade school, the BIG University of Minnesota, a hydroelectric dam, a veterans home and 4 STADIUMS! That Light Rail system impresses me! And the fact that there is a Light Rail connection from the Amtrak station in St. Paul to Minneapolis makes up the fact that there is no Amtrak station in Minneapolis, at least for me.

[@marcus201192]

That train is for sure Minnesota nice. It will say in a heart beat “ Please be considerate of others, do not put your feet on your seats… thank you “ lmfao

[@alexanderboulton2123]

That Union Depot used to be where all the streetcars went...before the 50s ☹️

[@kenetickups6146]

Thanks to big oil

[@sambarton5963]

Gosh, I now truly understand the very easy fare system of Minneapolis, and my goodness it looks so beautiful in the summer.

[@loganlemieux8806]

10:25 Wikipedia says that, per mile, the most productive lines are the MBTA, then San Francisco's Muni Metro, then Seattle's Link, then Metro Minneapolis as a whole.

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

Fuck yeah Seattle is third place wooo

[@ztl2505]

Most of the downtown grain elevators have been unused for decades. They’re in an awkward spot of being old and interesting enough to be worthy of historical preservation but also basically impossible to repurpose for anything else.

[@whistlepig64]

You have spoken for most grain elevators in the Midwest, let alone downtown Twin Cities.

[@Lazycakes]

Maybe this isn't that unique, but in my city in central Illinois, one has been made into a rock climbing gym

[@whistlepig64]

@@Lazycakes that's really cool! I always thought they would make for cool houses.

[@shatteredshards8549]

The ones near 38th St on the Blue Line are still in use though - ADM loads up grain cars EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and is not quiet!

[@plasmakitten4261]

Well they turned one of them into a museum, which is a lovely excursion for a family with children (it has this awesome silo-themed climbing structure, many childhood memories there)

[@kathrynstemler6331]

The mall is not the only tourist attraction. Minneapolis also punches above its weight in art and architecture. The Walker, the Weisman (both in iconic buildings) and the Minneapolis Institute of Art are all fantastic.

[@Carl_McMelvin]

Minneapolis is a cess pool.

[@sedij2358]

@@Carl_McMelvintrue, but it’s an interesting cess pool

[@DonutVIP]

The art institute is where I haven't been in forever, since 8th grade, might wanna visit again sometime this year

[@philipkelly7369]

@@Carl_McMelvin actual literal bot detected. A person with a somewhat generic name and a profile picture that is purposefully drawing attention to the fact that the poster is a "black man" and who has opinions about a midwest city that was in the center of some controversy, who just COINCIDENTLALLY has a playlist full of RUSSIAN music (with non-English, Russian titles) in their profile. Very normal, nothing to see here

[@Carl_McMelvin]

@@philipkelly7369 thank you for identifying yourself as a low level NPC. Well done.

[@ajh057]

There is also a start park at Fort Snelling (Fort Snelling State Park) down by the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers with some good hiking trails.

[@Chaosrunepownage]

This is really cool to hear someone with city planning language inspecting the rail system! I'm too anxious to drive so the light rail has been a huge part of my life. Normally it runs every 10 minutes, but the pandemic really hecked things up and they've yet to get fully unhecked. I knew we had decent (for America) public transit, but I never knew the light rail was so good! (again, by American standards)

[@benzo277]

Props on having a fairly uneventful ride on the light rail system. Can't say I've been that lucky.

[@MilesinTransit]

Only time things got a little hairy was when we took the last Blue Line of the night back up from the airport.

[@usa91787]

The multiple daily drug deals and assaults at the stops and in the trains are a great selling point.

[@randyjohnson7908]

@@usa91787 ive only had one knife pulled on me on the train. most people just do their own thing like smoking crack. so its usually pretty chill, especially during the day

[@Mac-tw3zu]

@@usa91787people need to ride the trains so that other people give a shit about the trains so that stuff like that is less likely

[@NorthStarKnifeReviews]

⁠@@usa91787lol. “Drug deals and assaults” 😂😂😂

[@Ianman258]

watching this after city nerd's video on what the twin cities does right really hits different!! love to see you explore different regions of the US

[@MilesinTransit]

I can't believe how well that timing worked out!

[@robertcartwright4374]

I love your editorial on the straight forward fare structure.

[@infamouspineapple2175]

You made me feel pride in what I take for granted everyday thank you. Minneapolis can be pretty cool

[@homogenized]

I just watched City Nerd's video about Minneapolis and he mentioned the waterfall park too! It looks nice. Seeing such a wintry video in the middle of yet another hot Atlanta summer is fun too lol.

[@MusicFillsTheQuiet]

3:09 I used those "weird little bike racks" all the time when I lived in Minneapolis, esp worked in the airport. If you carry a backpack instead of panniers, they're great. They keep the bike out of the way and let you be mobile in the car while riding. I live in a different city now where they have barely any consideration for bikes on the cars. It's a nightmare and every time I ride with my bike, which is rare, fortunately, I remember fondly my time riding the Blue Line in Minnesota.

[@domki366]

14:07 That hall can also be rented for events-- my junior prom was held there

[@history_leisure]

There is also Valleyfair and the Minnesota Renaissance Faire on the other side of the river. Also that is the closet renaissance faire to an amusement park I've found so far. Ren Faire runs from Mid-August to end of September/first weekend of October. Valleyfair is open from May to around Halloween, but their Halloween event is for kids and not a horror event anymore

[@hikinghaani4213]

I believe it's also the only u.s. Ren Faire with permanent grounds/structures. Don't quote me on that though

[@Hemostat]

hell yeah one of the best ren faires

[@SuzieNerds]

Pretty sure they’ve brought back ValleyScare!

[@history_leisure]

@@SuzieNerds They dropped it after Covid, but I forget if it was officially confirmed if they were adding haunts back this year

[@swyftcities969]

Being able to ride all the way from Target Field to the airport is awesome!

[@ahmadfrw1]

To get to Target Center, home of the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA Minnesota Lynx, take blue line to Warehouse center.

[@auroramayyy]

It's so interesting seeing a youtube video of a guy riding a lightrail by places I drive around and recognize all the time. Kinda surreal. MN is so underrated.

[@andrew_ray]

We used to go to Stamford Town Center, which is a ten-story mall in Stamford CT. Admittedly, the first two floors are just parking, the sixth floor doesn't exist, and the top three floors mostly consist of walkways to nowhere, but that's still four floors of actual mall.

[@onesob13]

12:16 Metro trains only have signal priority in Minneapolis, but they do not in Saint Paul

[@MilesinTransit]

Ah, noted!

[@Yay295]

2:16 My favorite thing about these trains is that they have an integrated snowplow.

[@BrianBuchanan-w1y]

This is the first metro system I remember riding independently. Cool!

[@WBTravels]

@Milesintransit the Seattle Link (metro system) carries well over 7000 riders daily due to the 2020 northgate extension that increase the yearly ridership by over 220,000 alone. as a Seattleite who now lives in buenos aires i can tell you 2 things, A The light rail in seattle is a metro its entirely grade separated exept for a wierd 3 stop street running segment where its still in the median and EVEN has crossing gates (mostly), 2 we shouldve built a metro. I have used the metro here in Buenos Aires daily, its absolutely incredible, its fast, convenient, super clean, ultra modern. and covers the whole city.

[@MilesinTransit]

I will be in Buenos Aires later this year and I'm really excited to check the Subte out!

[@kaileymo]

I’m a regular citizen and I’m on a MetroTransit committee for a new bus line in St Paul. There’s way more that goes into it than I thought! I love watching videos like this to learn more about

[@SeaBassTian]

"Transit accessible farmland" Lmao

[@____-sj5vi]

Honestly I dont think the fare system is particularly complicated in practice, you just get a To Go card and tap to automatically pay. Definitely not as much of a hassle as it would seem like looking at all the different fares.

[@elizabethpemberton8445]

Yep. And you don’t need to worry about the tiers for categories you aren’t in. I never use Northstar, and don’t qualify for any of the discounts, so it’s just rush and non-rush. And free ride buses are clearly marked, and the downtown zone is irrelevant because I start south of it (and can just use the free rides within downtown Minneapolis.)

[@allysoncygan5110]

Yeah and it’s even easier if you get a monthly Metropass through work, where it’s just a flat rate per month. But even before I worked at a place that did that I just had a card and topped it off whenever I was running low on funds. Super easy.

[@plasmakitten4261]

Or for public high school students, the whole thing is pretty much free

[@trainman1971]

I want to ride this system more than ever, now! The Type 1 LRV's there get my vote for best-looking low-floor LRV design ever. The late and sorely-missed CLRV and ALRV fleets of the TTC had my vote for best-looking standard-floor LRV design ever. My criteria was simple: totally personal opinion on outward appearance!

[@MilesinTransit]

Oh man, the CLRV's were just incredible vehicles.

[@trainman1971]

@@MilesinTransit I miss those so much!

[@AnachronicRodent]

As someone from boston who moved to MN, I never actually rode any of the public transportation here while I used it primarily as only means of back in MA. Its interesting to see!

[@lizcademy4809]

I made the same move ... and I do use transit. The system doesn't hold a candle to the MTBA, but it's good enough that I got rid of my car - and getting better. It doesn't hurt that my commute dropped from 1h 15m (suburban bus to Alewife to financial district) to 10 minutes (Uptown to IDS).

[@romanmarcus14]

That voice over for the fairs might be the best thing youve ever done

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you!!

[@keithlantz6821]

Luggage storage is crazy. Wish more places had that in cities/towns/transit centers.

[@alexanderboulton2123]

Fort Snelling is NOT a military base, it is a tourist attraction that is actually really really cool, and you should visit sometime when it's not 10 degrees Fahrenheit!

[@samuelbuck5722]

the station serves the military base, not the state park/historic Dakota internment site

[@Joyride37]

It is a military base, my job has me occasionally going into it. It’s a reserve base that’s mainly operated by the Air Force so it’s not very populated or has a lot going on in it. Office buildings and a small PX. Then theres the historic base that’s open to the public which is what you’re thinking of. And then there’s a state park right next door to that. It’s all clustered together

[@LouisOnAir]

8:15 I know 3-storey malls are very common in Europe, and there's some in Montreal's underground city where the malls extend down below ground

[@bahnspotterEU]

Yeah, I was very surprised by Miles pointing out three stories as something special. Then again, mall construction in the US probably follows the same pattern as housing construction compared to Europe, lower and wider instead of taller and narrower.

[@johnhawkinson]

Ironically the major mall in Miles' hometown (the CambridgeSide mall in Cambridge, MA) was a 3-story mall until a few years ago when the 3rd story was converted to offices.

[@danielgrogers]

@@bahnspotterEU yes US malls are almost all suburban, unlike in Europe

[@carolinemercer9779]

I will fight for people to appreciate the metro transit system more! Used to take the green line to work on campus every day, loved it

[@KawarthaTransiteer]

2:22 This is kind of possible with Toronto's Presto. With some transit agencies, you can ask the operator to pay for multiple people when you get on a bus. Also with the stationary card reader that GO Transit, UP Express, the TTC, and York Region Transit uses, you can check a card's balance and transaction history. And from my knowledge, GO Transit is the only agency that allows for a transaction to be reverted as well (only for their trains, and it might also be possible on UP Express but I haven't checked). Since for GO, you have tap off within 3 hours of your tap on, I've used the fare reversal feature a few times since apparently they didn't think anyone would take a train trip that takes more than 3 hours :/

[@Szari124]

Feels weird to find a video recommended about something I see in my everyday life

[@trainrover]

mightily classy looking airport stop, cleverly effective; along that championing crest showcasing Naples and co. 🍸

[@thyagarajannatarajan6234]

Miles you make some of greatest and funniest trip reviews. I love every single one of your videos and honestly no one has humor like you do. I myself especially love your videos as i am from, Massachusetts myself. Keep up the amazing videos. Say hi to jules.

[@MilesinTransit]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

[@louiszhang3050]

The Minneapolis Light Rail system reminds me a lot of Bergen's tram system. Only difference is Minneapolis is way bigger. They need a lot more transit.

[@pxmonkeederp]

One more note about fares: disabled veterans with a Veterans Affairs Health ID Card can ride the entire Metro Transit system for free, regardless of peak/off-peak, including the Northstar Commuter Rail, Blue & Green lines, and all BRT lines. This courtesy also extends to partners in the greater metro area like the MVTA.

[@MilesinTransit]

Oh wow, good to know!

[@georgekarnezis4311]

10:25 ridership per mile is cool but have you ever tried building your light rail through a ton of corn fields? Regards from St. Louis

[@MilesinTransit]

On my list of systems to ride for sure!

[@delibakerytravel]

Minneapolis Looks Like A Great City To Visit, Even Mall Of America Looks Interesting.The Light Rail System Looked Great And Clean. And Lot's Of Housing Close To The Rail System. Mostly I Enjoyed The Weather You Guys Were Having, Cold And Snowy. I Don't See That Here In Southern California.🌴

[@bigred2989]

I discovered the light rail there when I had l 4 hour layover at the airport on the way to Montana. The plan was for my group to just hang out at the airport until it was time to fly again but then I discovered some lockers to put our carry-on in and figured out the trip to MOA would take no time at all. Got some lunch and did some shopping before returning to the airport.

[@Unmannedperson]

10:20: Pre-pandemic, San Francisco MUNI's N-Judah carried 43,000 passengers per day on a line approximately 9 miles long, for about 4,780 riders per mile.

[@MilesinTransit]

Ah, good one!

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Pre pandemic Toronto's King Streetcar carried 84 000 passengers per day on an 8 mile line, so 10 500 passengers per mile. I know it doesn't count because it's not in the US and isn't really a comparable type of light rail but I can't get over how busy a lot of Toronto's local routes are.

[@mitchries6339]

Would love to see you come to Denver, there's a lot of really good transit that lead to nothing much (some of the stations are really good though!) but TOD is starting to pickup a good amount. Also! RTD has a similarly complicated fare system right now but they are simplifying it A LOT early next year. Loving the MN representation! The city is also starting to upgrade the busiest bus lines into BRT that will also act as a road diet on some of the worst stroads. Some very good improvements in the relatively near future.

[@alexanderboulton2123]

One Amtrak train a day...soon to be two 😎

[@AstroGoalHorns]

I'm an incoming freshman at the University of Minnesota so this video was actually quite useful lol

[@zacharyabelson8196]

Beware the 121 campus connector it's supposed to be every 5 minutes but sometimes it's 3 all at once and then none for 15 minutes. The buses smell like diesel fumes and rattle a ton

[@AstroGoalHorns]

@@zacharyabelson8196 Noted. Thanks.

[@ArthurFellig]

If you ever come back to the Twin Cities, you may like to check out the old Streetcar boat that still exists on Lake Minnetonka.

[@alexanderboulton2123]

The REAL best option for getting from Minneapolis to St Paul might be the 3, which runs every 15 minutes but splits off into the 3A and the 3B, and sometimes the 3U or the 3E ot even like the 3S??? Idk it's weird.

[@row-jpg]

Very fun that you actually got to ride a 2.5 type train on the first section, especially on the blue line, those usually run on the green line, and there's only a few of them compared to type 1 and 2s

[@xingcat]

Okay, Miles....when you did the planet tracking from the Museum of Science and were in the CambridgeSide Galleria, you were in a 3-story mall And that's a fact!

[@MilesinTransit]

Oops...

[@MichaelOKeefe57]

Now that's a fun fact

[@tobitimesthree]

woah! really cool to see my city from fresh eyes - definitely makes me appreciate all the stuff i've gotten used to haha

[@jeastman9603]

december is the BEST time to experience the reality of riding metro transit lmao. many a cold winter nights waiting for those damn trains. not sure if you planned on doing this trip in the winter, but good timing if you didn't!

[@oliviaoverboard]

i've lived in minneapolis for 4 years and the two target field stations confuse me every time

[@sognsvann3]

As an european it is crazy how little railinfrastructure there is there. Here in Oslo we have the same weather but 5 subwaylines, 5 tramlines and 8 commuterraillines and the Oslo metro is roughly 1/3 of the twin cities metro😮

[@KrustyKrabPizza22]

The reason is we dont use public transit to build up our city we use it in already built up areas of the city. There is a big push to invest a ton into it though and to build a subway.

[@bmingo2828]

The Twin Cities (Minneapolis/ Saint Paul) used to have an extensive street car system. The system was all ripped out in the early 50’s due to under the table deals and corruption. Leaving us with buses as the primary transit option.

[@usa91787]

That's why we don't have as much. It's 1/3 the size. 🙄

[@mrxman581]

​@@bmingo2828Sane thing happened in LA though they've been building a lot more transit rail infrastructure since the 1990s.

[@cooltwittertag]

​@@usa91787in population he means

[@jiffyb333]

Very cool! Loved getting a full exploration of the system. :)

[@Minnesotanlights]

The North Star line also connects pretty far into the northern suburbs to the target field station as well to help commuters living up to an hour drive away get to Minneapolis.

[@NealCMH]

The Twin Cities are my favorite place to visit. However, it has been ten years since I visited. I am sure the U of M students like being able to take the Light Rail from campus to the airport. BTW, one wing of the Mall of America is four floors.

[@JuneNafziger]

It’s also great for high school students doing PSEO at the U (at least Roosevelt high school because it’s 2 blocks away from 38th st station) because it means they don’t have to drive and pay for parking

[@EdwardM-t8p]

13:58 to 14:13 The station is primed for future rail transit - it would be an ideal hub for a Twin Cities regional railway like SEPTA Regional in Philadelphia or Melbourne's Metrorail.

[@beardedgaming1337]

i miss this so much. for most my life id bike around the paths and green round, then jump on the train and be across town to jump off and go biking again. i moved to a smaller town with no train :((

[@Celevie413]

as a foamer and a coaster enthusiast, I love that there is a transit accessible amusement park

[@jarjarbinks6018]

Feels reminiscent of old era streetcar systems with amusement parks at the terminus

[@drdewott9154]

Come to Denmark then. Most theme parks here are transit accessible. In fact I'll just run down all the notable ones and the transit next to them. Tivoli Gardens: located right next to Copenhagen central Station Bakken: located a 10 minute walk from Klampenborg station on the Copenhagen S train's C line (sees S-trains every 10 min and Regional trains every 30) BonBon land: located a 15 min walk from Holme Olstrup station with regional trains to Copenhagen central and Klampenborg every 30 minutes. Sommerland Sjælland: has their own dedicated train station in the middle of the park with trains every 30 minutes. Djurs Sommerland: has a shuttle bus (line 400) connecting to Ryomgåed station on the Aarhus light rail (service every 30 minutes) Fårup sommerland: Sees direct service with the line 200 bus every hour and special line 92 express bus to the park from Aalborg. The regional transit agency, NT, also offers combo tickets that cover park entry, and travel to and from the park by bus and train from anywhere in the region. Tivoli Friheden: local bus service on line 18 in Aarhus every 20 minutes iirc. Legoland Billund: is located within walking distance of Billund Airport. No rail though.

[@Celevie413]

@@jarjarbinks6018 trolley parks!

[@Celevie413]

@@drdewott9154What the hell. that’s awesome, and i’ve wanted to go to tivoli gardens for a while

[@ASQ1Fan]

Cool that you liked it. Just moved out of St. Paul; might return by the end of the year. But the frequencies on both lines aren't good. I usually took a bus to the 54 to work near the mall rather than dealing with the Blue Line.

[@waynecopple385]

Thanks for the Twin Cities light rail tour. It looks like a well thought out system, other than crazy fare structure. They should through a couple of additional levels of complication, maybe fares for service animals based on weight? And maybe veteran fares based on which war you were in. ( Free for all WW1 vets ). You always mention the one Amtrak train per day situation but St. Paul has two, the delayed (usually) train from Portland/Seattle going to Chicago in the morning and the (often) on time westbound counterpart from Chicago late at night. Running only one train in one direction per day would cause a awful pile up cars and locomotives at one end or the other 😮. Amtrak service is pitifully sparse 😢 anyway, don't make it sound worse. For the sack of clarity we'll not discuss the Amtrak routes ( the Cardinal and the Sunset ) that don't even rate daily service, double pitiful 😢😢.

[@chicagoakland]

Shoutout to that diner’s starring role in Jingle All The Way.

[@Louie92801]

So I can take the Amtrak to saint paul then get on the metro from there i'm assuming?

[@MilesinTransit]

Yes!

[@Louie92801]

@@MilesinTransit that's cool my daughter is gonna love that

[@zama422]

Rail is pretty good, its the people that make it terrible.

[@joermnyc]

Points off for the fake bell sound. 😒 The Manhattan Mall on 33rd-ish street and 6th Avenue used to have like 6 floors, then they closed off several of the top levels to use them for server farms. I haven’t been in there in a long time (last time was to check for something at Radio Shack… and they didn’t have the parts I was looking for.)

[@karlahovde]

I know it's not a video about bike infrastructure, but you missed my favorite spot along the light rail, the Martin Olav Sabo bridge!

[@Misty_FT]

It's funny, I live like 10 minutes from the Twin Cities but I never get to use the rail system, it's cool to see y'all explore it!

[@epilektric]

Mickey's Diner is still closed because the Midwest Disability Initiative hit them with an ADA lawsuit for not being handicap accessible. The tiny train car that was used to create the diner is too small for wheelchairs. I believe the counter argument for renovating is that it is cost prohibitive and detrimental to the cozy train-car aesthetic of a place listed on both local and national historic registries.

[@MilesinTransit]

That's the hard debate about historic preservation! I'm surprised it didn't get grandfathered in though...

[@rubenotero7100]

I grew up a few blocks away from the 46th street station it was so convenient

[@PaulSobon1]

PEOPLE - this is NOT the “Minneapolis Light Rail” system - it’s the Twin Cities Metro Light Rail system! Twin Cities, as in two cities: Minneapolis (largest city in Minnesota) and Saint Paul (second largest city in Minnesota). This video runs through both; the Blue Line is roughly Minneapolis and the Green Line is roughly Saint Paul connecting to Minneapolis. It’s a nice system (though not quite to Switzerland standards ;) And for those who say this is the Twin Cities in August: the dead giveaway is that a Vikings game is going on, so this is filmed sometime in Fall/Winter (though I give you the point that the snowy weather and heavy coats are non-deterministic 😂)

[@Mark_LaCroix]

Normally, I'd call this a pedantic distinction, but there's more to it. Metro Transit is a service of the Metropolitan Council, which is an agency not tied to any specific city, county, or even to the state of Minnesota. It's its own government body that serves the Twin Cities metro area. It also handles things like certain parks, culture and arts grants, and even wastewater treatment facilities. It's a very unique thing, as almost all transit services that exceed the boundaries of a single city are either county- or state-run.

[@MarkBerg-tk8js]

Down town had to compete with Malls, when this kid of 85 yrs was a kid!

[@lizcademy4809]

For all the locals complaining about "unsavory" characters riding light rail, it honestly isn't that bad in 2024. Just when were you last on the trains? I'm a little old lady. I look like an easy victim (my martial arts training doesn't show). While I have been on train cars with people I don't want to associate with, I have *never* been hassled, or even asked for spare change. They are adding security guards as fast as they can hire them, and it's paying off. I think the open access to ride (honor system to pay) was a mistake ... but if you are not tapping your card, you're part of the problem.

[@lizcademy4809]

@@Sunbeam4242 I don't think it was you ... I originally posted this as a comment reply, but then realized more people would read it as a stand alone comment. Transit will never be as safe from criminals as a private car. To offset that, you're much less likely to be in a crash. And the cost, onc you factor everything in, is less expensive on transit. I don't pay attention to local mass media, as most of it is owned my national mega media with strong political agendae. I do read my community newsletter, and listen to the local news on KBEM. I also don't take transit after dark, and pay attention to people waiting at the stations and on the train.

[@tommybrandes4671]

This is awesome. I'm a current UMN student and I was super excited when I saw you uploaded this. Love seeing some positivity about our light rail lines. Also I believe the amtrak 7 and 8 serve st Paul union depot (SPUD) which are just EB and WB empire builder (does that only count as 1 train per day?) Great video hope you enjoyed Minnesota

[@MilesinTransit]

I consider it one a day - one in each direction. Thank you so much! You should join UMN's model railway club - I met up with some of them to ride North Star later in this trip and they were amazing!

[@ramonas4328]

Not to be that person but Fort Snelling is not a military base, it's now a museum/historical site where you can take tours as airplanes fly over head!

[@MilesinTransit]

Ah, noted!

[@thepurestofboredom1219]

The dude behind them be glaring at them so pissed the whole time

[@Nouvellecosse]

Yeah I couldn't tell if he was just a rando or if he was somehow associated with the channel and it was maybe some sort of gag or prank.

[@KyleBDoeden]

The complicated fare system is significantly simplified by having no turnstiles and no ticket checks ever. 😉

[@fjanson2468]

The only people paying to ride the trains are from out of town.

[@rebeccacartier153]

There is a division of police called the metro transit police that randomly enter trains and check your tickets.. they claim you get ticketed or fined did caught riding without paying, but mostly they just kick you off.

[@Supr_KILLA]

No one ever pays for that shit

[@cooltwittertag]

​@@fjanson2468minneapolis has a fare evasion rate of 5%, not a lot of locals using the trains huh

[@fjanson2468]

@@cooltwittertag 5% is a made up number to appease the peasants that were conned into to paying for this. I have family that ride the train everyday, its more like 25% pay for it and the only time you see cops is at the Fort Snelling stop or the MOA, the 2 areas nothing happens, the rest of the line is an open air drug market.

[@swiftflight7927]

This is so fulfilling to watch. Miles in my townn 😄