Metro Transit sees most passengers in one month since 2020 as ridership increases

Last month, Metro Transit provided more than 4.1 million rides, the most in a single month since early 2020.

Additionally, the organization has given more than 33.1 million rides this year, through September, Metro Transit spokesperson Drew Kerr said. That’s up more than 15% compared to the same time last year.

Metro D Line alone had an average of almost 14,000 weekday rides last month, which is twice what Route 5 had in September of 2022. Kerr also stated that the Orange Line’s ridership is up one-third compared to last year and averaged more than 1,600 weekday rides last month.

In September alone, the ridership of Route 32 increased by 32% and the ridership of Route 62 was up by 23% compared to last year. Through the end of last month, ridership at the University of Minnesota had also increased by 61% compared to last year.

Metro Transit says staffing improvements led to service expansions in June and August, and another expansion is expected on Dec. 2. By that point, Kerr says the service levels will be at about 79% of what they were in 2019.