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on October 31, 2018
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Public Safety Does It Again with Long Delays for Driver’s Licenses

Written by Tom Steward
in Government, Transportation

Minnesota motorists can't get a break. The Dayton Administration's Department of Public Safety continues to struggle to salvage the disastrous roll-out of the motor and vehicle registration system that has rivaled the MNsure state health exchange  for technical malfeasance.  Nearly a year and a half later, the so-called MNLARS system remains tens of millions of dollars over budget and in dire need of expensive technical triage. Yet now comes word via the Star Tribune that many applicants for new driver's licences face their own frustrating delays in customer service for road tests and licenses. New driver Priscilla Thomas said the state told...

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on October 11, 2018
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Minnesota’s Roads Receive a Dismal D-Plus Rating

Written by Isaac Orr
in Metropolitan Council, Transportation

Minnesota’s beleaguered road system received the lowest grade of all — a D-plus. Roads across the state are in poor condition, and congestion in the Twin Cities means motorists spend an average of 41 hours in rush-hour traffic every year, a slog that costs drivers $1,332 each in commuting expenses annually....

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on October 10, 2018
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The Fading Relevance of Mass Transit: Must-Listen Podcast

Written by Isaac Orr
in Minnesota Economy, Transportation

American mass transit systems face challenges from demographics, how people work, and ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Randal O’Toole discusses what agencies should do to respond. In short, mass transit is becoming less popular, not more. [embed]https://cdn.cato.org/dailypodcast/The%20Fading%20Relevance%20of%20Mass%20Transit.mp3[/embed]    ...

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on September 24, 2018
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MnDOT Demands Another Amtrak Train Despite Big Ridership Decline

Written by Tom Steward
in Government, Transportation

MnDOT wants to add a second Amtrak train between Chicago and the Twin Cities. By the front page story in the Star Tribune, you'd likely think ridership on the taxpayer-subsidized passenger line must be on the upswing. Adding a second daily passenger train between St. Paul’s Union Depot and downtown Chicago, a proposal that has been bandied about for many years, would likely cost from $137 million to $169 million. But it’s unclear at this point how the project would be funded, and by whom, says a new study. But the paper left out an inconvenient fact on the campaign underway to double...

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on August 09, 2018
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Much Ado About Something at the Met Council

Written by Kevin Terrell
in Metropolitan Council, Transportation

A series of curious events over the last six weeks related to the Southwest Light Rail project and key personnel at the Met Council suggest disarray at the Twin Cities’ unelected “regional authority”. First, with respect to the Southwest Light Rail (SWLRT) project, the Met Council has been battling lawsuits, its own misleading practices, and various self-inflicted delays in an effort to secure nearly a billion dollars in matching federal funding. One final battle appeared to be a lawsuit filed by the Twin Cities & Western railroad (TC&W) in opposition to the Council’s somewhat convoluted plan to buy and manage a critical...

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on August 08, 2018
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Backlash Over Bikes In Rochester

Written by Isaac Orr
in Transportation

Tensions over bike lanes have boiled over in Rochester, Minnesota where bikes and bike lanes have become a contentious issue in the City Council Elections. According to an MPR article, many people in the community are worried adding more bike lanes will result in slower traffic and fear that there will be fewer parking spaces available in an area where parking spaces are already scarce. According to the article: "There are people who will wait until I finish my spiel, and say 'Do you ride a bike? And if you do, I will not vote for you,'" Patrick Keane, who is running...

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on July 31, 2018
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Met Council has a new director of equal opportunity but not enough bus drivers. Some Routes Suspended.

Written by Kim Crockett
in Metropolitan Council, Minnesota Budget, Transportation, Unions

One of the Met Council’s core functions is transit. I could not help wondering if the Council focused more on delivering good transit, rather than trying to re-arrange the metro area according to its own “progressive” political and social agenda maybe it would not find itself without enough drivers. ...

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