Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting - 47

2010 Annual Meeting

Community Partnerships Pay Off in Twin Cities Area
magine if two professional sports teams in a metropolitan city in the Midwest planned home games at their respective venues on the same day, around the same time. Officials expect 100,000 fans to come into the city’s downtown core about the time commuters are heading home from work. That scenario played out in Minneapolis in early September, when the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins hosted games at separate locations in downtown. Was this confluence of events a cause for concern? Not for Metro Transit, which provides public transportation service throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. The agency anticipated that its buses and trains would operate at capacity that day and urged customers to plan ahead. To add yet another dimension to this test of capacity, on the same day the agency was fielding its popular express bus service from 11 regional park-andride lots to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. “We used every available vehicle to give our customers an easier way in and out of downtown Minneapolis and to and from the Minnesota State Fair,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “We were well prepared to meet the challenges of the day and worked with our community partners on planning for the day and to help get the word out to our customers.” In April, the Minnesota Twins opened Target Field, the team’s new stadium, located in the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis. Prior to the start of baseball season, Metro Transit partnered with the Twins organization, the Minnesota Ballpark Authority, Hennepin County, the city of Minneapolis, and other agencies to provide coordinated transportation services and an information campaign to ensure that Twins fans have a pleasant experience getting to the new stadium. The plans accommodated pedestrian, vehicle, bike, and transit traffic to Target Field. Among the outcomes of the partnership for Metro Transit: n Additional express bus service from an existing suburban park-and-ride lot to Target Field for all regularseason home games; n Special game-day service on Northstar commuter rail; n Creation of a family pass for Northstar customers, helping to make taking the train more affordable for families traveling on weekends and for special events; and n Promotion of entertainment and dining options near the ballpark, so fans could arrive early or stay late and help relieve traffic congestion before and after games. Fans are responding favorably to a marketing campaign that showcased all transportation options for Target Field. To date, nearly 20 percent of Twins fans, or 7,000 people per game, are getting to Target Field by bus or train. By comparison, about 11 percent of fans took transit to the Metrodome, the team’s former location. “With our service to Target Field, we are introducing transportation options to more people who hopefully will become regular riders,” Lamb said. “It also helps raise our stature in the community.” Metro Transit also is partnering with the Minnesota Vikings to encourage fans to use transit to home football games at the Metrodome. Marketing efforts promote the ease of taking the bus, Hiawatha light rail, or Northstar to downtown Minneapolis. The agency provided 15,710 rides Aug. 28 to the Vikings’ first pre-season home game. The partnership between the Minnesota State Fair and Metro Transit has existed for more than 16 years. The transit agency provides express bus service from park-and-ride lots across the Twin Cities to the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul on all 12 days of the fair. Nearly one in every four State Fair visitors takes buses to the event on Metro Transit and other regional providers. In 2009, Metro Transit provided nearly 450,000 rides to the fair.

Fans disembark from a Northstar train for a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field.

September 27, 2010 | 43

Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Passenger Transport 2010 APTA Annual Meeting