Metro Transit marks 30 years of ferrying fairgoers

Metro Transit bus driver Scott Jester made an announcement over the speaker as he pulled out of a park-and-ride lot in Minnetonka on Thursday morning.

"We're going to the fair!" he said exuberantly.

And his passengers, many of whom were standing, erupted in a loud cheer.

This marks the 30th year that the transit agency is providing express bus service from the suburbs to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. By the time the extravaganza wraps up on Labor Day, Sept. 5, nearly a quarter of a million fairgoers are expected to catch a ride.

For many, taking the bus is as much a part of the State Fair experience as munching on Pronto Pups, taking in a show or gazing at livestock and 4-H exhibits.

"It's a happy place — it's our Disney World," said Anita Pitcher of Maple Grove, whose agenda besides taking the bus on Thursday included visiting the WCCO radio booth, adding to her State Fair button collection and, of course, eating.

"You get to meet people in line," she said while waiting for the bus, noting that taking transit helps the environment, too: "There are less cars on the road."

Jody and Sharon Miller of Plymouth have been taking the bus to the fair for the past 15 years. They live minutes from the Minnetonka stop, making it convenient, but the biggest reason they like the bus is because they can leave the driving in heavy traffic to somebody else.

"There is less stress," Jody Miller said before boarding the bus. "There are a lot of crazy people on the freeway."

For Janet Hedy of Willmar, Minn., the price was right. She paid $6 for round-trip transportation, far less than the $17 the fair charges to park on site.

"It's a good deal," said Hedy, who was the first person to get on the bus for a 30-minute ride that dropped her off feet from the fair gates. "I could not park that close."

Still, express service is not nearly as robust as it has been in the past. This year, Metro Transit, facing a driver shortage, is offering express service from just three locations — Minnetonka, Cottage Grove and Bloomington — and has fewer buses dedicated to State Fair routes. Service does not start until 9 a.m. on weekdays, two hours after the gates open. Weekend and Labor Day service begins at 8 a.m.

That translated into a long line that wrapped around the block in Minnetonka on Thursday, with some passengers, such as Hedy, waiting up to two hours to board. By 10:30 a.m. lines had shortened and Metro Transit had shuttled nearly 900 people to the fair, said Connie Skinner, one of several transit employees on site to collect fares and direct people to buses.

Metro Transit spokesperson Laura Baenen suggested fairgoers use other parts of the agency's system, such as regular Route 3, which stops at the fair, or take the Green Line to Snelling Avenue and transfer to the A Line bus rapid transit route, which also stops at the fair.

"You will be standing in line at the Park and Ride," she said. "Think of other ways to get there. There is more than one way to do it."

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority and SouthWest Transit are also providing State Fair express bus service this year.

Jester, the Metro Transit driver, has been driving State Fair express buses since their inception in 1992. The buses, he said, create a friendly atmosphere and enhance the State Fair experience. He's bused loads of passengers singing on the way home after concerts and others who have given him Sweet Martha's cookies.

"People are just excited to go to the fair," he said.

Jester also sees the fair buses as a way to attract people to transit, a need given that Metro Transit ridership dropped dramatically with the onset of the pandemic and has yet to recover.

"I get to interact with people who normally don't use transit," he said. "I'm selling Metro Transit."