Assessing Transit Spending in Minnesota’s Proposed Transportation Bills

In a piece for Minnesota Public Radio, Cathy Wurzer, Alanna Elder and Ellen Finn outline the transit investments in Minnesota’s proposed transportation budget, under consideration in a pair of bills making their way through the state legislature. Wurzer spoke with Sam Rockwell, executive director of advocacy group Move Minnesota, about the proposed bills.

Those bills increase funding for roads, bridges, and transit across the state. Both bills would also create a new program to address safety concerns on buses and light rail lines in the metro area, and they would also allocate funding for a passenger train between Duluth and the Twin Cities.

According to Rockwell, “I think this year at the legislature is the most exciting year for transportation that we've seen in a long, long time.” Rockwell supports the funding of microtransit, which can fill gaps in fixed-route transit systems, as well as the decriminalization of fare evasion and the creation of a Transit Rider Investment Program that would create a new type of transit employee trained to provide assistance to riders and avoid interactions with law enforcement.