Stop Metro Transit Service Cuts. Boost the Bus Instead!

Bus drivers have been heroes throughout this pandemic—getting us where we needed to go day in and day out. Now, Metro Transit is facing a bus driver shortage. In response, the agency announced it will eliminate routes and reduce transit frequency beginning on December 4, 2021. Even more cuts are planned for March 26, 2022. Cutting service, and leaving riders stranded, is the wrong way to address this shortage—and it doesn’t have to happen.

Sign the petition below to tell Metro Transit and key Twin Cities leaders: Stop cutting transit routes. Speed up service instead.

Public transit is an essential service in our lives, our communities, and our workforce. Bus drivers are essential workers. Over 40 percent of transit riders are essential workers. Many other regular riders—including seniors, youth, people with disabilities, and people with low incomes—also rely on transit to get to the essential places in their lives. Metro Transit has an obligation to be caring for both bus drivers and riders.

We need effective, commonsense solutions that ensure high-quality transit is available to people now AND after the bus driver shortage is resolved:

• GIVE TRANSIT A GREEN LIGHT – Give green lights to buses and trains when they get to an intersection.
• PAINT BUS LANES – Quickly paint a comprehensive network of temporary bus lanes as an emergency stopgap, with full engagement occurring as the driver shortage eases, and after residents have had a chance to experience bus lanes in their communities.
• ADJUST STOP SPACING, PRESERVE ROUTES: Eliminate select stops—rather than full lines—along local routes. For example, most stop spacing on High Frequency Transit routes is 200 meters, while many authorities place optimum stop spacing for local lines at 400 meters.

Improving bus service is more important than ever. While other cities have taken big steps to boost service and access to transit as the pandemic continues, Twin Cities riders and bus drivers have endured more and more cuts. People are struggling. Our transit system is struggling. We need a path forward with better, faster transit for more people! If our buses run faster, Metro Transit is in a stronger position to maintain service while we weather this crisis. When staffing is back to normal, buses can—and must—run even more frequently with transit trips that are even quicker and more convenient. A transit system that serves all of us is the system we all deserve.

Add your name now. Push metro decision-makers to reverse cuts and #boostthebus instead.

Sign the Petition!