Author: Aaron Isaacs

Aaron Isaacs

Aaron retired in 2006 after 33 years as a planner and manager for Metro Transit, where he worked in route and schedule planning, operations, maintenance, transit facilities, light rail and traffic advantages for buses. He's an historian of transit, as a 40+ year volunteer with the Minnesota Streetcar Museum. He's co-author of Twin Cities by Trolley, The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and author of Twin Ports by Trolley on Duluth-Superior.

The B Line on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Photo: Metro Transit

The Quarterly Transit Report: June 2025

Aaron Isaacs • June 17, 2025

Updates and analysis from the recent Metro Transit schedule change that replaced the workhorse Route 21 with the B Line Bus Rapid Transit.

Passengers board the METRO Gold Line on opening day, March 22. Photo: Metro Transit

The Quarterly Transit Report: April 2025

Aaron Isaacs • April 4, 2025

New connections arrive on both sides of the metro: the Gold Line and Route 686. What are their pros and cons?

The C Line at its Penn & Lowry station. Expanding bus rapid transit (BRT) is a significant part of the Network Now plan. Credit: Metro Transit

Network Now Provides Post-Pandemic Vision for Twin Cities Transit

Aaron Isaacs • September 24, 2024

Network Now paves the way for Metro Transit’s new normal, focusing on frequency, micro transit, access and a shift away from the 9-5, commuter-oriented model.

Uptown Transit Center, NE Corner of Hennepin Ave. and 29th St. W. The transit center is currently closed for construction, but the outcomes of that construction are promising.

The Quarterly Transit Report: June 2024

Aaron Isaacs • June 10, 2024

Our Quarterly Transit Report is back, with good news: Metro Transit ridership is up, nearly across the board, and service increases are set to follow.

Photo by New Orleans Transit Authority, public domain

Minnesota’s Hidden Intercity Bus Network Revisited

Aaron Isaacs • March 6, 2024

All the lamenting about the lack of public transportation between the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota ignores the network that already exists.

The Brooklyn Center Transit Center and other transit hubs around the metro are the centerpoints of transit planners' strategies for improving suburban mobility. Photo courtesy of Metro Transit

Making Transit Work in the Suburbs

Aaron Isaacs • January 23, 2024

How can suburban transit become more affordable to develop, and serve riders in a car-centric market? Retired transit planner Aaron Isaacs gives an overview.

Photo by Runner1928, Wikimedia Commons, CC 4.0

Moving Twin Cities Transit Forward

Aaron Isaacs • January 3, 2024

COVID, crime and working from home devastated transit ridership. As those trends recede or reverse, we can speculate about the future of the transit system.

The Quarterly Transit Report–March 2022

Aaron Isaacs • March 24, 2022

Aaron Isaacs offers a run down of changes to Metro Transit service for the quarter.

The Quarterly Transit Report–December 2021

Transit

Aaron Isaacs • November 23, 2021

Two opposite things are happening on December 4–a big service increase and an even bigger service reduction. The increase is the opening of the Orange Line bus rapid transit on I-35W from downtown Minneapolis to Burnsville along with new or upgraded feeder routes. Together they add 1342 weekly bus trips to the system. Metro Transit […]

The Plight of Transit in 2021

Transit

Aaron Isaacs • November 1, 2021

I used to post a Quarterly Transit report, but that stopped with the onset of the pandemic. There was little to report and it was bad news anyway. I confess to have been in mourning for the transit system I helped build during my Metro Transit career. The transit system is now about half of […]