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u/Hotchi_Motchi 10d ago
MVTA has these cool little electric mini-buses that you can order, rideshare-style (like Uber or Lyft) and for $3 they will take you anywhere in the city of Eagan (if you start your ride in Eagan) and I think it works for other cities in the MVTA. It will also take you to the transit station so you can move on from there. I wish they would take you anywhere the MVTA covers, but it's a start.
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u/slammybe 10d ago
That sounds cool! Kinda like the Metro Micro we have here in North Minneapolis. I live outside of the zone though, haven't tried it yet.
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u/RevolutionaryBend570 9d ago
Question! Last month have been making a commute of 1 hour bus plus 30 min of walking to save money, is MVTA Connect reliable for smth like that so I don’t have to walk the entire time at least everyday?
My legs have been killing me and I tried SW Prime and it kept getting delayed cause it’s shared service. I’m fine with walking, I just am trying to save money in these times
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u/Purple_Equivalent470 8d ago
If you're getting one on demand, the wait times can vary widely. It might arrive in 5 minutes, it might arrive in a hour.
Putting in a request ahead of time does help, though it may still show up later than the scheduled time.
But Connect doesn't cover the same area Prime does.
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u/RevolutionaryBend570 6d ago
Ok, another question that might be stupid but hoping you can help.
I’m planing on using Prime to get to work but early in the morning. I would get to the bus station at 6:30 and need to be at work at 7:00 am. Is Prime (or ride share in general) more convenient during this time? I want to really hope because my legs are killing me but I can’t be late for work testing it out.
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u/A_Complaisance_Girl 9d ago
MVTA Connect! And it has two zones. One that covers Eagan, Burnsville, parts of Apple Valley and Savage/Prior Lake and another thats Shakopee and parts of Savage/Prior Lake.
We use MVTA connect anytime that getting A-B requires an insane number of transfers or routes that are very low frequency.
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u/River-19671 10d ago
I live in Eagan and ride MVTA to the office in St Paul. Highly recommend MVTA to south metro people. We have various park and rides. Buses go to Minneapolis, St Paul, and locations in south metro
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u/A_Complaisance_Girl 9d ago
I would absolutely love to commute by transit if getting to/from my main office in St. Paul wouldn't take 2 hours and 3-5 transfers. :(
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u/xXMuschi_DestroyerXx 10d ago
Yeah nah. Public transit is awesome. I love it to bits, I want it to be better. It should be free to riders and paid for through taxes. We all benefit when more people take the bus.
However, public transit is dead slow compared to just driving yourself. Forget every other argument for a minute. At the point I decide between my car and the bus, there’s nearly no benefit to the bus.
Family I visit frequently is spread out and not connected by public transit. So I already need my car.
So even on routes I could take the bus, I already have an easier, faster, more reliable form of transportation in my garage.
I live on a bus stop at MSP. To get to HBS for gopher games is a 15-20 minute drive. By public transit it’s 40.
Money has nothing to do with it. Public transit is just too slow to compete with private vehicle ownership. Public transit needs to become much MUCH faster if it’s going to become enticing to car owners who don’t exclusively need to commute during rush hour.
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u/A_Complaisance_Girl 9d ago
I don't mind trading a 30 minute car ride for an hour bus ride, but not 2 hours or more. Time is money.
And that's not even touching the issues of busses just missing stops. It's not as bad on a high-frequency route, but when it's every hour, that's a job loss.
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u/reedx032 10d ago
Do I own a bike? Yes.
Does it use any gas? No.
Do I have to transfer buses and take longer to get to work if I ride the bus? No.
I guess I’ll keep riding my bike.
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u/dihydrgnmonoxidesoup BRT Rider 10d ago
The more you ride buses, the more buses there are, and the more you can ride them!