Northstar Commuter Rail passengers may see something next time they drive around the northern Twin Cities suburbs: Their new way to work.
Metro Transit has begun a billboard advertising campaign, touting Northstar as 'The cure for gas problems. Take twice daily.'
While admirable, one question exists: where has this been in the past?
The fact that Northstar is still a secret to thousands of North Metro commuters is really no secret. Metro Transit does very little to market their services, depending on word-of-mouth to get the message across that transit IS an alternative for some.
Sadly, the fact that the train is not doing as well as expected is in part due to the lack of advertising by Metro Transit. Northstar trains are not touted on radio or TV, nor are they in newspaper advertising. What little is out there is very generic, non-route/corridor-specific advertising aimed at everybody, not focused on targeted areas of interest (no transit ads aimed at 35-W or 35-E commuters touting buses not affected by road construction, etc.)
And now, with the Twins' season mercifully over, the Vikings' season in the tank, and the Timberwolves not playing at all (due to the NBA lockout), there is even less reason to ride Northstar for those whose personal schedules do not mesh with the train's limited service.
Somebody better start thinking of more advertising...
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Metro Transit's way to deal with Northstar interruption: Not deal with it at all
OK, Northstar riders. NOW do you see how much Metro Transit really cares about your service?
The abject failure of Metro Transit to clearly deal with the aftermath of BNSF Railway's train derailment early Saturday shows this blogger just how little the agency is committed to transit alternatives in the North Metro.
An eastbound grain train derailed after the embankment next to the Rice Creek bridge washed away following Saturday's early-morning 3+ inch rainfall in Fridley. The fact of the matter is that although the Staples Subdivision (the main line of BNSF that was washed out) would not allow trains to operate east of Coon Creek, the mainline west of Coon Creek was totally unscathed. Northstar could have operated with a bus bridge from Coon Rapids (Riverdale) to Downtown Minneapolis' 5th Street Transit Center, one block east of the train's Target Field terminus. This is especially true on Monday, where the combination of the start of the workweek and the Twins' day-night doubleheader (two admissions) would have been a prime example for showing that Northstar could have all-day service.
Instead, a terse statement was issued from Metro Transit Saturday afternoon, saying that Northstar trains were cancelled thru Monday, including for Twins' games on Saturday, Sunday and the Monday doubleheader, and that passengers, including commuters on Monday, were on their own to fend for themselves to get to work, or wherever they were going.
This is definitely a way that Metro Transit shows how they feel about the North suburbs. If this had happened on a South Suburban rail line, you would bet that they would have a bus bridge set up and pronto! But we live in the North Suburbs, where bus routes are not coordinated properly, and when disruptions occur, 'you're on your own! We can't get to you! Good Luck!'
This is disgusting...
The abject failure of Metro Transit to clearly deal with the aftermath of BNSF Railway's train derailment early Saturday shows this blogger just how little the agency is committed to transit alternatives in the North Metro.
An eastbound grain train derailed after the embankment next to the Rice Creek bridge washed away following Saturday's early-morning 3+ inch rainfall in Fridley. The fact of the matter is that although the Staples Subdivision (the main line of BNSF that was washed out) would not allow trains to operate east of Coon Creek, the mainline west of Coon Creek was totally unscathed. Northstar could have operated with a bus bridge from Coon Rapids (Riverdale) to Downtown Minneapolis' 5th Street Transit Center, one block east of the train's Target Field terminus. This is especially true on Monday, where the combination of the start of the workweek and the Twins' day-night doubleheader (two admissions) would have been a prime example for showing that Northstar could have all-day service.
Instead, a terse statement was issued from Metro Transit Saturday afternoon, saying that Northstar trains were cancelled thru Monday, including for Twins' games on Saturday, Sunday and the Monday doubleheader, and that passengers, including commuters on Monday, were on their own to fend for themselves to get to work, or wherever they were going.
This is definitely a way that Metro Transit shows how they feel about the North suburbs. If this had happened on a South Suburban rail line, you would bet that they would have a bus bridge set up and pronto! But we live in the North Suburbs, where bus routes are not coordinated properly, and when disruptions occur, 'you're on your own! We can't get to you! Good Luck!'
This is disgusting...
Monday, April 25, 2011
Every Twins Game gets a Northstar train in 2011
Metro Transit, operator of the Northstar commuter train service, announced that there would be trains for all 81 Twins' baseball home games in 2011. Most games would be covered by existing trains in at least one direction. Twins day games normally start at either 12:10 PM (except Sundays), 1:10 PM (Sundays) or at 2:55 PM (Saturday day games televised by FOX, as part of their 'Major League Game of the Week' package). Night games start at 7:10 PM except on Saturdays, when home games start at 6:10 PM.
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