Chart of the Day: Top 2017 Metro Transit Routes

streets.mn Forum user tcmetro reports that Metro Council published 2017 ridership data on the Minnesota Geospatial Commons a few months ago. The data includes the top bus routes and transit ways, with average daily ridership.

Among bus routes, the 5 is the mighty workhorse, with the 21 and 18 also topping 10,000 average daily riders.

Top Metro Transit Bus Routes 2017

Among transitways, the light rail routes move significantly more people daily than any other line, benefitting both both route, and frequency of service.

Top Metro Transit Transitways 2017

The top 5 stations for the Green/Blue Lines were:

  • Target Field – 1,930/1,657 (Green/Blue)
  • Hennepin Ave – 3,015/2,472 (Green/Blue)
  • Nicollet Mall – 1,978/2,176 (Green/Blue)
  • Government Plaza – 1,829/2,013 (Green/Blue)
  • US Bank Stadium – 2,774/2,903 (Green/Blue)

More data and discussion on the Forum Post.

About Julie Kosbab

Julie Kosbab is an online marketing consultant and active transportation advocate living in Anoka County, Minnesota. She was one of Minnesota's only League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructors when certified in 2005, and is no longer lonely in that calling. A past member of the National Bicycle Tour Directors Association, she has 2 children and a garage full of bicycles. Find her on Twitter as @betweenstations, or read her (seldom updated) blog at Ride Boldly!

4 thoughts on “Chart of the Day: Top 2017 Metro Transit Routes

  1. Matt SteeleMatt Steele

    I’d be curious to see those urban bus routes normalized per mile or per stop. Otherwise it’s hard to distinguish between routes that have lengthy segments on both ends of a downtown with routes that terminate in or near a downtown (18/11 split, for example).

    Crazy to see how the 21 is so high without even touching downtown. Time to build out the B-Line ABRT now and the Midtown Greenway LRT (call it a streetcar whatever) in 5-10 years.

    1. Jeremy HopJeremy Hop

      5-10 YEARS?! No, lets build that midtown greenway transit NOW as a dedicated aBRT using self driving mini buses with a chain of 10, frequency of ~10 min and demonstrate the success. Then we can upgrade to electric rail and dovetail that into the Blue/Green lines. — We are sooo slow at buildout

    2. Joe

      Yeah the 18 has 63% of the usage of the 5, at 45% of the area covered.

      I assume meant the 18/10 split, and not the 18/11, and if so, I agree. Those two routes combined would be the largest ridership by a good margin.

  2. Zack

    Interesting that although generally agreed to be pretty successful (I think at least, I’m certainly a fan anyway), the A-Line doesn’t look like it would even crack the top 10 bus ridership list. Anyone have thoughts on why? I was thinking that it passes through several neighborhoods where many people are pretty transit averse (Mac-Groveland, Highland Park) and goes along Snelling, which realistically is pretty spread out and doesn’t have huge draw destinations, though that may change some with the new soccer stadium. What else am I missing?

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