The suburban buses that bring folks into the downtown areas do not deadhead empty back to the suburbs--at least not all the time.
When I worked at Best Buy HQ in Eden Prairie a few years ago, I rode the SW Transit 681 out in the morning and back in late in the day(a very comfortable ride--nice buses with good seats). There were usually about 6 people that got on with me downtown, and another 10 or so that got on at the Lake St.-35W stop, and perhaps three more at the Southdale stop. All of us worked somewhere in the Golden Triangle section of Eden Prairie. When the bus stopped at the park and ride, most got off and rode the local circulator to their job. Some others stayed on; the bus did a swing through the Triangle before heading to Southwest Station. It was a great arrangement for me. I could leave my house in north Minneapolis, walk two blocks to catch the #5 downtown, and be at my job in under an hour. The return trip was similar. I should note that SW Transit spent some money and effort in encouraging these reverse commutes; they would visit area businesses and help folks figure out how to do it. When I worked in Burnsville later, I couldn't do the same thing because the local Burnsville circulator didn't start running until after I had to be at work. I did consider keeping a car at the Burnsville station parking ramp so I could do a reverse park and ride; it was okay with Minnesota Valley Transit, but I never got around to doing it--mainly it was too expensive to have a second car for just that. --M. G. Stinnett Jordan REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
