Record month for Green Line as ridership nears 1.25 million
September was a record month for the Green Line light rail, with total rides taken almost hitting 1.25 million.
Metro Transit reports last month set a "new high-water mark" for the $957 million light rail line between St. Paul and Minneapolis, which has significantly boosted mass transit use since it opened in June 2014.
The transit provider says average weekday ridership in September was 45,644 – which puts it well ahead of its projections not only for this year, but also for 2030, by when Metro Transit had hoped to have 41,000 weekday riders.
Prior to last month, the highest average weekday ridership the Green Line had achieved was 38,597 in October 2014.
The record numbers in September are being attributed to the large number of special and sports events in the Twin Cities during the month.
On Sept. 3, ridership on both the Green and Blue lines topped 100,000, the first time the barrier had been broken on a single day.
It followed a combination of the Twins, Gophers and the St. Paul Saints all playing on what was a workday (Thursday).
Metro Transit says 193,000 light rail rides were taken to home sporting events last month.
