SW Transit hates Eden Prairie workers

[kevingaustin]

At least that's the only conclusion I can draw from this proposal. The relevant portion is:

684 · Would be suspended for resource reallocation

The 684 being their only reverse commuter route and therefore the route that anyone who works in Eden Prairie and lives elsewhere would be taking to get to work. This didn't even make the Highlights section of the proposal. In the Highlights however it does mention "SWT would suspend all service from/to... Golden Triangle". That's the area that's bounded by 212, 169, and 494 and contains mostly office parks including the one that I work in. (As far as I know it isn't a major opium producing area.) I really don't know what I'm going to do if they eliminate all reverse commuter runs. There isn't really any other convenient way for me to get to work.

Comments

[salexa.livejournal.com]

I don't know how many businesses would be affected, but this sounds as if it could be a major problem for businesses in the area getting competent employees (such as yourself) to work reasonably. It may be enough of a problem to get employers to complain. Do they really expect everyone to drive?

[sraun]

Honestly? Yes, they expect everyone to drive. The people who don't drive at all in this town are in a very small minority. The mass transit is really set up to get to downtown Minneapolis / St. Paul in morning, and out from the downtowns during evening rush hour. If you live in Minneapolis or St. Paul proper, and want to get to somewhere else in Minneapolis or St. Paul proper, you can do it with more or less annoyance and delay. There are a small number of places outsides the cities limits you can get to somewhat easily during non-rush times - the Mall of America is the big one that comes to mind.

I work just outside the Minneapolis city limits. I work 7am-7pm Sun, Mon, Tues & alternate Wed. I can actually get to work at 7am on Sunday - I was surprised to discover I could. But to do so, I have to be catching a bus 15 minutes before I wake up if I'm driving. If I'm busing to work, I figure I'm out of the house for nearly 16 hours. My bus route is 'take a bus to downtown, wait a bit, take the bus from downtown to work'. This is something I can do for short periods - a week or two - but not as a regular thing.