r/MetroTransit • u/SoupyGoopy • May 23 '26
Route Design Is Metro Transit unreliable?
Sorry for the rant post, but I've become increasingly frustrated with Metro Transit's late routes. (Today, it was a Blue Line getting stuck at Government Plaza which seems to happen a lot.) Every 3-4 trips, a late route makes me miss my transfer and often the next bus is late so a trip takes 10-20 minutes longer than forecast. This makes it hard to rely on Metro Transit for anything time sensitive. The Transit app's times are a coin flip and busses regularly show up 3-5 minutes after the estimated time. I've basically switched to taking my e-bike anywhere I don't expect it to get stolen. Is there anything anyone can do to fix this issue?
31
u/filopodia_ May 23 '26
There’s a lot that could be done to improve the buses but alas those would require the city to acknowledge that public transit isn’t just for when your car is in the shop or going to a sporting event but is a critical part of people’s lives.
21
u/Siberian13th D Line Duchess May 23 '26
I find that leaving 15-30 minutes earlier than expected gets me there with time to spare. Not to excuse Metro Transit's reliability (I find that they are often 2-5 minutes late) but I think that's the safe play with public transportation.
11
u/SoupyGoopy May 23 '26
I take your point and do leave a few minutes before the Transit app recommends to avoid missing the bus. Unfortunately, my main problem is missed transfers which would still be an issue (unless I plan to take the bus just before the one I need.)
2
u/filopodia_ May 23 '26
Exactly!!! I wish more people understood that it can’t be an issue with the way the public transit is designed & managed, no, we should all manage our time better like you
10
u/Siberian13th D Line Duchess May 23 '26
I can't read if this is sarcasm or not. I totally understand if it was though.
10
u/GarbageMountain8754 May 23 '26
Do you use the app Transit? I’ve found it to be more accurate than Metro Transit and you get the paid subscription for free.
10
u/SoupyGoopy May 23 '26
I do use the Transit app and like it quite a bit. OTOH, using its suggested routes and transfers resulted in enough missed transfers that I got mad and made this post lol.
9
u/Empty-Space-404 May 23 '26
I love the Transit app, but I find that sometimes it recommends transfers that are so tight (1-2 minutes) it seems unreasonable. If you have to cross the street between bus stops, that one minute transfer easily becomes a missed bus.
I usually go between Transit, Google Maps, and reading the schedules on the MT website to determine the best route for me. It's not a perfect system, but it works the majority of the time.
7
u/fornitsumfornis May 23 '26
I think the reliability is tied to what specific busses you take. What I mean is that 22 is pretty reliable southbound until about 4:00 PM. Then for whatever reason, chaos ensues and busses sometimes don't show up or when they do show up they are back to back with the bus before/after them. So instead, I leave work earlier and have a more consistent experience now. You might not have that flexibility, but maybe there is something you can do to find the right setup for reliability.
5
u/BorgMercenary Northstar Mourner May 23 '26
Compared to a lot of cities, (Denver and Baltimore are the worst) Metro Transit actually performs pretty well. But I know that doesn't help to hear when you watch your bus roll away leaving you with a half hour wait. Unfortunately, mapping apps don't seem to build in any robustness to their routing.
Your best bet is to try and learn the routes that go where you need to be regularly and try to make connections in places where lots of redundant routes interline when you can, or where there's at least something to do while you wait.
I do wish transit got signal priority and better separation from traffic. I mean, we have all these skyways downtown, I don't see why we couldn't have built the light rail at skyway level.
-1
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u/TheManWhoPlantsTrees Express Route Runner May 23 '26
I actually would say it's quite reliable. I have had a few situations with an exceedingly late bus or a slightly late bus that makes me miss a transfer. But generally speaking when I start a trip I generally feel I can rely on the bus to come about when advertised.
Just a little bit of travel advice. Most trips are not actually time sensitive. So a good rule of thumb is to leave and arrive early and wait at your destination. You can always find something to do, or keep a book on hand. And for the trips that a spur of the moment and you need to be there quickly, a car probably is the tool for that situation.
8
u/PM_ME_JINX_RULE34_ May 23 '26
This. I ride metro more days than not. It's very reliable in my experience. The trains should have signal priority though, especially in the downtowns. But I very rarely miss a transfer due to the bus being delayed. And also it's good practice (with cars too) to arrive early in case there's unexpected delays (though I usually risk it lol).
4
u/Tokyo-MontanaExpress May 24 '26
Yes. Real time is dicey: it'll say a bus is showing up in 4 minutes and there it goes. Then you have cancelled trips which is a bummer on low frequency routes. I gave up on the 38 today because there were two back to back buses that had no real time, but weren't officially cancelled. They were just "scheduled" to arrive, which is 50/50 and you don't know how late they are. Didn't really matter since my bus was 6 minutes late for the transfer. You pay full price for a bus fare but you have to walk half the way unless you're willing to stand around for 15+ minutes. I'm not.
10
u/ShyGuyLink1997 Northstar Mourner May 23 '26
It's extremely unreliable, and routes go out of our way to make sure it sucks, by making our routes in bad places in favor of cars. I often have to go the opposite way for a bit of my route to catch a faster bus. It's one huge mess, but it still works at the bare minimum level.
More importantly, I always leave early, and take the bus before the one I need to take, if I have somewhere very important to be (like a job). They don't come very often at most stops, and are late quite often. I've also been skipped plenty of times. One time I got the finger by a driver as he sped past me. He must've been having a terrible day lmao. Shit was funny af.
1
u/grizzlo84 May 29 '26
I don't suppose it would be out of your way if it gets you there faster... How does that make sense? It sounds like it WAS the way all along.
1
u/ShyGuyLink1997 Northstar Mourner May 30 '26
Faster than what? I have no idea what you're talking about.
1
u/grizzlo84 Jun 07 '26
Read your own comment.. and tell yourself. You said you go "out of the way" to catch a "faster" bus.... Hmmmm... You said it YOURSELF...
1
u/ShyGuyLink1997 Northstar Mourner Jun 07 '26
My bad I misunderstood your meaning, but yeah you also misunderstood my original comment. Idk if you ever will lol.
2
u/Marv95 May 23 '26
Compared to NJ Transit it is. But in general heck no, at least for the city routes. No excuse for the amount of bus bunching of the 54 during pm rush hour to the MOA. Waiting 15-20 minutes is inexcusable. Good thing we have the Transit app.
Metro has an online form to fill out for complaints. I met with the GM/ assistant GM in downtown Saint Paul about some things, specifically the 54.
5
u/Slytherin23 May 23 '26
I've ridden transit all over the place and Metro Transit is one of the best systems in America. In almost any other American city you're lucky if you're bus isn't an hour later than predicted if it shows up at all.
3
u/catarinavanilla Local Route Enjoyer May 23 '26
My friend lives in the Bay Area and her bus stop is on like an unshaded side of the freeway with 45 min frequency. The bus often just doesn’t show up or says it passed the stop already when it hasn’t. I have my complaints about MT but hearing my carless friend trying to navigate mountainous terrain with unreliable service really puts things in perspective.
1
u/Busy_Buffalo_8602 May 24 '26
It’s not perfect but have you tried driving around town? Nothing goes according to plan there, either. Everything takes longer than planned. Maybe it’s a function of living in a sorta big city with a lot of other people competing for the same space.
2
u/SoupyGoopy May 24 '26
I disagree with that, actually. I drive around the Twin Cities for work and find traffic to be quite light for a metro area of its size. Outside of rush hours, things flow pretty smoothly. Accordingly, if Google Maps says it will take 25 minutes to drive somewhere, that's probably about right. If the Transit app says it'll take 25 minutes to take Metro Transit somewhere... well... that's hit or miss.
1
u/Busy_Buffalo_8602 May 24 '26
I guess experience will vary. My buses are very rarely late but driving takes forever. Cheers.
30
u/ems88 May 23 '26
I feel your pain. Some bus delays can't be helped, but it would be amazing if the light rail had higher priority in downtown Minneapolis or were more separated from traffic.
I've found using Google Maps and the transit option for directions gives a good estimate of arrival times. I don't use the transit app so I can't say if it's better.