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Greater Minnesota transit leaders urge restoration of general fund support, cite ridership and capital shortfalls
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Summary
Representatives from Greater Minnesota transit and Duluth Transit told the Senate Transportation Committee that ridership gains and reliance on service for work and health access underscore an urgent need to restore general fund support for operating and capital needs; the committee requested underlying survey materials.
Greater Minnesota transit providers told the Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee on April 13 that restoring general fund support is critical to sustaining service that many rural residents rely on for work, health care and basic mobility.
The president of the Minnesota Public Transit Association, speaking for rural providers, summarized system scope and needs and cited survey findings showing heavy reliance on transit: the state has 28 rural and 5 tribal transit providers (more than 3,000,000 annual passenger trips) and 7 urban providers (more than 4,300,000 passenger trips). He said riders often have low household incomes and limited vehicle access and noted ongoing capital and operating shortfalls, including being "behind on purchasing buses, and maintaining a good state of repair" that are exacerbated by inflation.
Why it matters: committee members said transit is essential to job retention and community access in rural and small-city Minnesota and asked for documentation to verify key statistics before Wednesday's markup. Senator Johnson Stewart pressed for clarity on a cited 2017 survey finding that "33% of respondents" said they used transit to get to work and would lose employment without it; staff and witnesses said the 33% figure comes from that 2017 rider survey and that the committee will be provided with the survey methodology and response-rate information.
Duluth Transit Authority Executive Director Chris Belden described local ridership growth as evidence of service investment paying off. "Since 2021, the DTA has seen a 46% increase in fixed-route ridership and a 65% increase in paratransit service," Belden said, and described two arterial BRT routes he called the "goal lines" that now carry more than half of DTA's ridership. Belden attributed system gains to a reinvention of service and said DTA plans incremental station and infrastructure upgrades tied to MnDOT projects.
Committee response and next steps: members thanked witnesses and asked staff to compile and post the survey and supporting materials. No formal action was taken; the committee will resume consideration and take testimony, amendments and a possible vote on the omnibus finance package at a Wednesday markup.
Attributions: the factual claims and quoted figures in this article are drawn from testimony to the Senate Transportation Committee (witness statements from the Minnesota Public Transit Association president and Chris Belden, executive director of the Duluth Transit Authority). Where statistics were cited without committee-provided documentation, the article notes that members requested those materials for verification.
