Rider's Almanac Blog

Prioritizing the Metro Transit To-Do List

With a modest staff and large winter storm workload, snow clearance is prioritized to keep the transit system moving and safe. For a comprehensive description, visit Metro Transit's snow removal procedures.

Priority #1 – Operations

• Clear the way for trains and buses by servicing bus garages, rail yards and support facilities. No one will be moving if our buses and trains are snowed in. 
• Plow bus roadway at park-and-ride lots and transit centers and areas where buses layover or turn around. If a bus gets stuck, it takes a lot more than a friend to help push it out.
• If there is a lot of a snow accumulation, plow the light rail track area.
   

Priority #2 – Passenger Movement

• Clear snow and ice from customer areas with the highest activity including light-rail stations, Northstar stations, transit centers and park-and-ride lots. 
• In very heavy snowfalls, clearing passenger paths is done in two stages. First, crews will clear walkways to bus loading areas and the edges on rail platforms, returning later to complete the work.

Priority #3 – Customers with Limited Mobility

• Clear snow and ice from customer areas that have high use by limited mobility customers. Metro Transit is able to track this information by reviewing data where those paying fares with limited mobility Go-To Cards are boarding.

Priority #4 – Customer-Waiting Shelters

• Clear the 700 Metro Transit-owned customer-waiting shelters throughout the seven-county metro area.
• Remove snow and ice within a 6-foot radius of the Metro Transit-owned shelter.
• Shovel a 4-foot-wide path from the curb through the plowed snow on the road side to provide a clear path for loading and unloading.

Priority #5 – Revisit and Groom

• Continue to revisit areas to plow, chip ice and shovel out paths from the curb for bus loading and unloading.

Partnerships are key in keeping the transit system moving

Park & Rides, bus stops and Transit Centers

Not all bus stops and transit facilities are maintained by Metro Transit. Other transit agencies also maintain bus service, bus stops, transit stations and park-and-ride facilities.

Here is contact information for providers other than Metro Transit.

Clearing sidewalks 

Clearing snow and ice from sidewalks is the responsibility of the property owner adjacent to the sidewalk. Many cities require snow and ice to be removed to bare concrete from back of sidewalk to curb within 24 hours of accumulation.

Each city has it own policy on snow removal:

• Minneapolis Snow and Ice Removal
• St. Paul Snow and Ice Removal
   

Bus shelters

Shelters or benches with advertising on them are not maintained by Metro Transit (except for Marquette & 2nd avenues in downtown Minneapolis). Shelters and benches with advertising are owned by private companies that are responsible for their maintenance. 

Maintenance of shelters with advertising is not the responsibility of Metro Transit.		Snow clearance and maintenance of Metro Transit shelters are performed by Metro Transit staff.

Let us know about winter cleanup needs at Metro Transit facilities

Depending on the severity of winter storms, Metro Transit staff may be required to focus on the first few priorities on our to-do list to ensure that transit operations are maintained. Please be patient as our employees make the rounds to clean up after winter storms and consider conditions following a snowfall that may further hinder cleanup progress, such as freezing rain and drifting snow. 

Metro Transit wants to hear from customers if problems persist at particular locations following a snowfall. Please call Customer Relations at 612-373-3333, or use the online contact form. If cleanup is needed at a Metro Transit location, we send crews to address the issue. If the cleanup needed is on property managed by a different municipality, agency or private shelter company, we will pass along the cleanup request.