Metro Transit to cut Green Line light-rail service in early morning hours

Metro Transit said Friday it will shut down Green Line trains for two hours early weekday mornings beginning in August — after nearly five years of round-the-clock service.

Metro Transit General Manager Wes Kooistra acknowledged the scheduling break from 2 to 4 a.m. will likely displace some homeless riders on the train between Minneapolis and St. Paul. But at the same time, the transit agency has received a growing number of complaints about homeless passengers on trains, buses and at transit stations throughout the metro area.

"These trains, which lack running water, beds and bathroom facilities, do not constitute a humane or dignified shelter," Kooistra said. "Using trains for overnight stays is not compatible with providing a transit service." Curtailing operating hours for the four Green Line trips will allow more time for staff to "thoroughly" clean trains, as well.

The move prompted a broader discussion about passengers who use light-rail trains as shelter.

Tim Marx, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, noted that homelessness has reached record levels in Minnesota and "the trains are becoming de facto shelters for hundreds of our neighbors who have no dignified place to sleep at night, just one tragic symptom of our affordable housing crisis."

In recent months, Metro Transit has tried to address a variety of issues related to the quality and reliability of its service. Plainclothes officers have been riding the rails to root out disruptive behavior, such as smoking and harassment of passengers. And the Metro Transit Police Department's Homeless Action Team will continue to work with government agencies and local organizations to work on solutions for homeless transit riders.

Of the 22 transit agencies across the country that operate light rail, Metro Transit said only two provide 24-hour service on weekdays — the LA Metro in Los Angeles and the Green Line in the Twin Cities.

Round-the-clock service for the Green Line will continue on weekends; the new schedule will be similar to the Blue Line, which links downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America. Buses will replace light-rail service along the Green Line during the trains' weekday scheduling break.

A recent survey of 152 early-morning passengers on the Green Line found about 15 to 20 people every hour who were "destination riders" who weren't using the train as shelter. Kooistra noted that "some people were simply using the Green Line as a gathering place."

The overnight stays and impromptu gatherings on the train undercuts the transit agency's ability to provide safe, clean and reliable service, he said. Ridership on the Green Line increased 5% in 2018, with some 13.8 million passengers using the service.

Tom Chapman, a Burnsville resident who frequently uses light rail, said most people sleeping on the train are "polite and quiet. If they're disruptive to other passengers, then that could be a problem. You need to look at it on a case-by-case basis, but you shouldn't wholesale deny people from using the train because they're homeless."

One night in January, the Minneapolis nonprofit St. Stephen's counted 603 homeless people in Hennepin County, 431 of whom were using trains, buses or transit stations for shelter.

"It's a huge concern about what will happen to those individuals" when overnight service is interrupted come August, said John Tribbett, program manager for St. Stephen's street outreach team. Many of those sleeping on trains don't feel comfortable in shelters or may have mental health or substance abuse issues or chronic health conditions, he said. Or, there may not be room in available shelters.

"There are systemic issues at work here, with the lack of affordable housing, high occupancy rates and rental costs and racial disparities" making it difficult for some to escape homelessness, Tribbett said.

Metro Transit will devote an undetermined amount of funds to "better understand the needs of our riders experiencing homelessness" and to help people connect with services and housing options they may need, including federal housing vouchers, Kooistra said.

"There is a critical need right now for investments in permanent housing and other strategies that will address this crisis before it gets worse," said Marx, of Catholic Charities.

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752 @MooreStrib