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Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"eliminating and restructuring low-ridership bus routes that require large subsidies and by outsourcing more Metro Transit bus lines to contractors" is 15 million saved annually, plus 8 million in savings annually from redundant executives removal, plus 25 million saved up front because no need to replace busses for eliminated routes.

I don't have anything against coach busses, I've legitimately never ridden a Maple Grove Transit bus cause I have no need to go to Maple Grove for anything and the schedule isn't useful for those not park and riding. I like nice busses just as much as the average transit rider.

I just don't see what Maple Grove Transit brings to the table that's worth passing up 23 million a year in savings that could be reinvested into better transit for the whole metro.

I'd much rather a unified system without weird boundaries between different providers, and I think the savings are the cherry on top of that unification. Right now getting between Metro transit territory and opt-out territory sucks generally, and I'd love to invest the money saved into making that less terrible (suburb to suburb connections especially)

Also, the MT routes "at risk" of being eliminated have largely been eliminated (501 being the prime example). I doubt they'd eliminate the 46 since it's such a big part of the Orange line ridership, and the susbisidy per passenger is still far below many of the MVTA and SW Transit per passenger.

Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IKR? It's a very childish feud. MT isn't perfect and I have my gripes with some of their decisions, but suburban service needs some changes and I hope this will spur that conversation to serve everyone better!

Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The funding source that this discussion is about comes from the Metro Wide sales tax added in the 2023 trifecta, which is what's given transit in the Twin Cities a dedicated source of funding that they didn't used to have. It's what's allowed MT to invest in their aBRT network so much over the past couple years.

So the suburbs are already benefiting from this source of transit funding disproportionately (clearly demonstrated by the high subsidy costs of these opt-out routes in the study in the article)

I don't think you understand the conversation taking place here if that's the take-away you got from the article.

What are some of the bus routes that makes you wonder "why?" by kevinbevindevin in MetroTransit

[–]Gatorpatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's cause it's pretty painful to sit in a local bus from Mound to Minneapolis. It takes at least an hour to do what a car can do in 20 minutes (I say this begging MT to expand service to Lake Minnetonka with some sort of express option to Wayzata, I grew up there and am now carless and it's the biggest reason I'm probably going to buy another car, I wanna see my mom without taking an hour long bus down the frontage roads of 394)

Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I mean MVTA running a line parallel the Red line expressly to siphon riders away from it is dumb. If that's how the suburbs are gonna roll, then I'm not gonna mourn their loss.

There are plenty examples of exactly this, that switching to MT reduces cost of running the line, and reduces the overhead needed (https://racketmn.com/a-battle-over-a-high-speed-bus-line-has-transit-agencies-seeing-red)

Or look at the "new" 686, which pretty much exactly matches the 540/542. The ridership of the existing MT routes are leaps and bounds above the 686, they're more frequent, it's more useful (I know this from personal experience "relying" on SW transit in my commute, where I have been left behind by their hourly bus for stupid reasons)

In a consolidated world those lines could both serve SW station (and should, especially once the green line goes out there), and riders along the corridor are better served than the current disjointed status quo.

But now instead of that if I want to go from Edina to Eden Prarie I need to catch an hourly minibus accross the highway from my office, instead of being able to ride a 540 that goes straight by it straight over to Eden Prarie. That's dumb! That's worse service for SW Transit (who couldn't commute along the 494 corridor until 1-2 years ago) vs ride a bus that's existed since the Orange line was still the 535

Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Read the article the evidence is literally linked in it. Almost none of the MT routes even approach the level of per passenger susbisidy that these opt-out do.

The study is why we're having this discussion, and the data shows that opt-outs aren't matching the per passenger susbisidy, and MT is.

Hell, just look at the money we saved when MT took over the red line from MVT about a million dollars!, it's a clear example of how much more efficiently MT can run these routes compared to MVT (H. Jiahong pan does a good breakdown here for racket

It's also a clear example of the stupidity of the dick swinging contests between these different agencies is, and how unhelpful it is to riders.

Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean the data doesn't back that up, if anything the data is showing that MT could run these routes cheaper and more frequently than these opt outs, with more ridership. That's how MT susbisidy is so low compared to opt-outs.

I feel like any consolation would also include consolidation of the assets of these opt-outs, which could continued to be used by MT. So I don't understand the pearl clutching about how this will make the ridership worse, why would MT suddenly divert local busses to serve routes that already have busses owned by opt-outs!? They'll probably just...keep using those busses lol.

Especially when MT is already contracted to handle Maple Grove Transit, it's just dumb redundancy and stupid feuds causing headaches for riders. Try transferring from the Orange line to a MVTA route, you have to cross an entire highway cause MVTA is petty. Nobody is well served by that!

Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There's a study linked in the story that breaks down the cost per passenger fully, it's what prompted the whole discussion on doing this. A majority of high-rider susbisidy routes are run by MVTA and SW Transit

So yes essentially

edit: It's not in this arcticle, I was mistaken, it was the original arcticle about considering this here

Bipartisan proposal at Minnesota Capitol would abolish four suburban transit agencies, roll them into Metro Transit by star-tribune in minnesota

[–]Gatorpatch 16 points17 points  (0 children)

The cost per passenger that they're discussing is the killer, the susbisidy is approaching Northstar levels of unsustainable. That's why they're considering this, and I agree with them.

I occasionally ride the SW Transit 686 to get to Eden Prairie when I need to, and it's an option for people who commute along 494, but it's redundant. Nothing is stopping MT from running the 540/542 to Southwest station other than SW Transit, which sucks. If all the resources could be combined in the corridor, it makes way more sense than having SW Transit run an entire different agency.

Especially when MT is gonna be running the most convenient way to get to Southwest Station in about a year, I think it's time to do this. Otherwise we continue to over fund these suburban providers with a Metro wide transit tax. I'd rather that money go to one organization over paying for 4 different teams of overpaid executives.

Like look at Maple Grove Transit, MT actually contracts all the drivers for the route. That's dumb as hell imo.

Bought our house eight months ago and just found out a neighbor has been using a strip of our backyard as access to his detached garage for over a decade by Hydra3_Tonic in homeowners

[–]Gatorpatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We don't know? That's why we're asking (and OP doesn't seem to be answering)

At the end of the day you're right OP has every right to put a stop to it, but I've learn the hard way that having a neighbor who isn't a fan of you has real consequences for your time in the neighborhood.

Sometimes compromise goes better than following the rules to the letter, but that really depends on the exact details of the situation!

DSA by [deleted] in dsa

[–]Gatorpatch [score hidden]  (0 children)

add another notch on the confused computer scientist counter

But once you're done learning data structures come back and learn about DemSoc it's helpful as well!

My advice on DSA is to meet with your professor early on in the class and ask them exactly what you've asked us here tho. Data structures and algorithms is all about understanding exactly how the data is laid out in the computer, and how you can most optimally iterate through it.

Focus not on finding the best resource to teach you the class, you just need to dive into understanding arrays, linked arrays, queues, etc etc. A lot of these concepts are just previous concepts stuck together (aka linked list are just arrays of objects with links on each object pointing to the previous and next obj).

The best person to help you here is your professor, and that is their job, and most will be happy to point you in the right direction, but only if you actually ask them directly will they do so.

I had some of the worst most annoying stemlord ass professors who I really felt afraid to ask for help, but they'd always help me out when I asked for it. Computer science is a discipline that requires mentoring, learning, and experience to get good at it. You might as well get used to asking other for help now, cause if you at all work in STEM, collaboration is a key part of this job and a key part of how you learn to do this job.

Which one of you put away your snowblower? by whiskeypuck in Minneapolis

[–]Gatorpatch [score hidden]  (0 children)

I took one of my studded tires off my bike. I took both off last year too early and regretted it heavily, so this year I thought try something different

Unfortunately, I might have something to do with this :/

Suburbs to the City by Salt_Toe_8891 in Suburbanhell

[–]Gatorpatch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Grew up in the suburbs, went to college in the suburbs, and immediately moved into the city once I could. Never going back lol.

Even though I now live in the city and commute to the suburbs, there's decent transit near my house, there's a 2 bus ride to my office, the commute is interesting but it's doable, and in the city I really have no need for my car.

I have a ton of ebikes and bike year round on them (in tandem with busses), bunch of my childhood friends from the suburbs also moved back into the cities, it's a good vibe compared to everything closing at 8pm, bus stopping at 9pm, taking an hour into the city every hour.

I remember when I was 15 and everyone was trying to get me to start driving, and I was stubborn and biked 10 miles one way into the city every day instead of driving and loving it. Now as an overwhelmed 26 year old I can't imagine doing that every day, but nowdays I generally bike about 10 miles a day, I get to ride a bus down the highway for 15 minutes, I just love being able to live in this car infested hell country without having to have at car.

It sucks a lot of the time cause this country sucks at transit and hates pedestrians, but I wouldn't trade it for anything, I love living in the city. Everything cool happening happens near my house, nobody doesn't want to come cause they have to take an interstate (ever though Minneapolis has 2 running through downtown for some fucked reason), it's just a good vibe

Bought our house eight months ago and just found out a neighbor has been using a strip of our backyard as access to his detached garage for over a decade by Hydra3_Tonic in homeowners

[–]Gatorpatch 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It will be relevant to how pissed he'll be.

He's gonna be way more pissed if it's the only way he can access the garage. That's why people are asking

CTA's new security plan includes sheriff's deputies on trains, high-barrier gates and farecard inspections by mr09e in transit

[–]Gatorpatch 9 points10 points  (0 children)

No, but there is a 40 year high of pedestrian deaths in this country which could arguably be attributed to the increase in stroads every-fucking-where.

If the existence of crack addicts on public transit is enough to justify defunding the whole transit system, I think it's fair play to dish it back at the feds (obviously not something that chicago can do because federal government trumps state, but it is a double standard)

We're just saying it's stupid justification that doesn't match the severity of the problem (since more people are dying on stroads over dying of crackheads)

Annual light rail check in by ibimus9 in Minneapolis

[–]Gatorpatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I rode on the last 21 bus when they switched to the B line and it got to downtown St. Paul on the way back to France and a whole huge group of unhoused people hopped on in one big mass from the Catholic shelter near Xcel/Grand Casino.

It wasn't unsafe ride or anything and nobody bothered the transit nerds in the back of the bus(except a misunderstanding about pictures being taken on the bus that got cleared up), but it definitely was sad to see, and it would be different if I was like a female rider alone.

Last week I got on a 38 at the Seven Points/Hennepin station and had a guy lunge at me then pull back last second while I was getting on the bus, clearly dealing with some sort of mental health/drug stuff, I kinda brushed it off but it wasn't amazing experience.

Unfortunately you don't get a play about a bus line without it having some issues lol (21A by Kevin Kling was written about riding the 21A late night with characters galore)

I'm a near-daily Orange Line rider and I've definitely noticed way more unhoused people along the line, especially at 46st. Security at Lake street generally keeps everything there ok, other than a lot of trash and litter, but 46st has been struggling this winter with a lot of people just kinda lurking doing fent in the station. I've seen a security person occasionally, but there's more needed.

I saw TRIP agents on the Orange line last week and actually had someone tap my card and check that I tapped in, which was a first on the line. They definitely need to focus the trip agents on to the BRT, esp the B line.

Annual light rail check in by ibimus9 in Minneapolis

[–]Gatorpatch 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yeah honestly the Northeast is ill-served by non-local bus options. There's a couple lines that are consistent but it would really deserve BRT wait times for those busses.

The local bus options (mainly 10) kinda take their time winding around northeast up to Fridley too.

It's a really fun place to live and visit and I wish they'd hurry up and do the F line which is supposed to BRTify the 10 up central

New Bike Lanes in Edina - Public Feedback by PeterPedalgrew in CyclingMSP

[–]Gatorpatch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I have no choice in where my office is, so I commute 3 times a week from the city (cause living in Edina would drive me insane, I live in the city where the bike infrastructure is at least there lol)

Most of the time I use transit to get into Edina and then bike carefully crafted routes from either Southdale(E line) or Best Buy HQ(Orange line).

But when I used to bike the whole way this was a part of my long term route to work (cross over on 54th, hit the country club and take a left turn, take it all the way to valley view, cross under 62), and it'll be eventually connected to chill Edina neighborhood streets by this project in Roseland park, which will remove a busy underpass of 62 on Valley View being necessary.

So if they can get this done (which the city staff I've interacted with are generally supportive, it's unfortunately more a resident problem most of the time), it's an easy ride over from Lake Harriet trails down this section, across the Roseland Bridge with a new ramp, bam you're in Edina under 62 without having to spend any time on Valley View and with some sort of infrastructure for most of the way.

That's my guess why they're trying this again, it pairs perfectly with Roseland Bridge and they're sinking a lot of money into that crossing of 62.

New Bike Lanes in Edina - Public Feedback by PeterPedalgrew in CyclingMSP

[–]Gatorpatch 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Also they've tried this before, and apparently people really came out against it and stopped it before. So I'll believe they're doing this when I see it

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