Roughly 100 new daily round-trip riders are expected to use the Northstar Commuter Line when rail service at the new $13 million Ramsey Station starts next Wednesday, Nov. 14, the Star Tribune reports. However, some officials are concerned construction was too costly and it will only take riders from neighboring Elk River and Anoka stations. The newspaper notes the Ramsey Star Express bus line is being discontinued.

Minnesotans looking for safe travel on New Year's Eve can ride Metro Transit for free starting at 6 p.m. The free rides are for any bus route and will run through the all scheduled stops.

With ridership numbers not living up to expectations, the Met Council said Wednesday that it's cutting fees on the NorthStar commuter rail line. Starting Aug. 1, the NorthStar -- which travels between the Twin Cities and Big Lake -- will charge $6 instead of $7 for weekday rush hour patrons. The reduced fee experiment will be evaluated in nine months.

On the busy Pride weekend in Loring Park, the Hiawatha light-rail line will be closed in downtown Minneapolis and replaced with buses. From 6:30 p.m. Friday until 3:30 a.m. Monday, Route 55 buses will run in place of the trains between the Target Field and Franklin Avenue stations because of maintenance, Metro Transit announced.