wpb003
@wpb003.bsky.social
1.4K followers 290 following 1.2K posts
Just a guy who likes buses. Don't take me too seriously! Twin Cities transit news and observations. Also NYC content. New York City, USA 🇺🇸 (formerly Minnesota) he/him
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wpb003.bsky.social
This implies that there are authorized canines on the subway tracks
mtaalerts.bsky.social
Forest Hills-71 Av-bound [R] trains are delayed while crews investigate a report of an unauthorized canine on the tracks at 57 St-7 Av.
Reposted by wpb003
metrotransitmn.bsky.social
Light rail service has been restored on the METRO Blue Line – ahead of schedule – after more than a week’s worth of important maintenance activities.

Thank you for your patience!

Starting Saturday, 12-minute service begins at 7 a.m. More at www.metrotransit.org/route/blue
wpb003.bsky.social
Just noticed that the word used is "formally" and not "formerly". I think they meant "formerly", but if not, that changes the meaning of this quite a bit!
wpb003.bsky.social
Tbh I'm glad we're not wasting the color purple on what was shaping up to be a pretty inconsequential project. Now we can use Purple for a north-south Minneapolis rail spine!
wpb003.bsky.social
"The BRT project formerly known as the Purple Line"

metrocouncil.org/getdoc/9fc75...
wpb003.bsky.social
The Blue Line's outage is a stark reminder of the efficiency of rail transit. Just to provide a basic replacement service, Metro Transit has had 25-30 replacement buses out at a time, more than double the usual number of trains on the line, and the end-to-end trip time is also double!
wpb003.bsky.social
In the US this technology is typically reserved for airport trains like this. But that doesn't have to be the case! We only have to go as far as Vancouver, Canada to see intermediate automated metro technology used for as the entire city's rail system!
wpb003.bsky.social
The JFK AirTrain is a great example of modern, automated, elevated transit. How disruptive or unsightly is this? Basically not at all. Build more!
wpb003.bsky.social
Public comments in support of transit: "Thank you for this proposal, it will really help me and our community. We strongly support it."

Public comments in opposition: "BOONDOGGLE!!! Waste of money empty CRIME TRAINS! How dare you!?!?"

See for yourself: metrocouncil.org/Council-Meet...
metrocouncil.org
wpb003.bsky.social
As the data shows, you are not wrong!
wpb003.bsky.social
So while the topline fell, the numbers in fact show that the Green Line may be reversing its falling ridership trend that's been ongoing since the start of the year. Always look deeper into the numbers!
wpb003.bsky.social
The Green Line fell below the Blue Line in total ridership for the month of July.

But! This data obscures something. The Green Line was closed for maintenance for 10 days, and if you divide the line's total monthly ridership out by 21 service days, rather than 31, you get about 23k daily riders.
wpb003.bsky.social
We take for granted our freedoms in Minnesota. Here in New York you are not free to have THC drinks, and more importantly, you are not free to Idaho stop, and they actually enforce that!
wpb003.bsky.social
Hardly any mention of positive benefits. No discussion of why this is completely different from the Green Line Extension. Didn't talk to any supporters. But sure, several quotes from a backbench Republican legislator who doesn't represent anywhere this line goes.

www.startribune.com/light-rail-e...
Light-rail extension moves ahead with federal approval, but funding for $3B project still uncertain
The approval means the Met Council can apply for federal grants to extend the Blue Line. But whether the Republican-controlled federal government will pick up a big chunk of the transit project’s mass...
www.startribune.com
wpb003.bsky.social
Some fascinating MTA ingenuity at Harlem-148 St. They're installing a ramp to make the station accessible, and during construction the main stairs will be unavailable. So they closed off one of the tracks and put a temporary stairwell there!
Temporary stairwell at Harlem-148th St subway station in New York City
wpb003.bsky.social
Haha yep...the "Rarely" has struck a few times already
wpb003.bsky.social
Ah nice! And I would certainly argue that statement too. Enjoy Toronto! I hope to visit someday. Much closer now!
wpb003.bsky.social
Yeah! I've got Zohran, AOC, and the R train, what more could I ask for?
wpb003.bsky.social
Here's my first fun NYC subway observation. An out-of-service R42 garbage train on the Crosstown Line! Weird to see a garbage train in the middle of the day!
R42 A Train out of service running the garbage train at Metropolitan/Lorimer G train station
wpb003.bsky.social
Are you out here now too? And there's interesting stuff everywhere if you know where to look!
wpb003.bsky.social
Programming update: I moved to New York City! On this account, Twin Cities transit news will continue to the best of my ability, and new observations and news from NYC are forthcoming. I'll miss the Twin Cities but I'm excited for this new chapter!
wpb003.bsky.social
It looks like 134 will have a standard peak-direction service pattern. That said the schedule is pretty strange for a typical 8-4 workday.

www.metrotransit.org/Data/Sites/1...
www.metrotransit.org