Minnesota State Fair Shuttle bus riders say they’re running out of patience, even as attendance at the Great Minnesota Get-Together hits new records.
“The line to get back to Hopkins Crossroad has been unprecedented,” says Katy Born, from Plymouth. “We were parked in the overflow lot.”
The fair website says more than 155,000 people went through the fair gates on opening day, Thursday.
On Friday, more than 204,000 people came to the fair.
At the fairgrounds, the lines for shuttles going were long, with hundreds of people making that return trip, all at the same time.
“Every year, I’ve been coming here for twenty years,” notes Rupesh Patel, from Blaine. “This is the longest I’ve dealt with lines.”
On social media, the ride in caused the most frustration.
Among the complaints— waiting hours for a shuttle, and parking far away.
One woman posted she sat in line for three hours and parked in a ditch.
“I know they’re having a hard time getting drivers, so I totally get it,” Born explains. “But more park and rides would be ideal. More drivers would be wicked.”
Riders gave high marks to the U of M shuttle locations, but some people say the pickup and dropoff spots in Blaine and Cottage Grove had major delays with long waits and lots that filled up early.
Metro Transit says it’s working to fix the issues.
“Metro Transit is committed to getting people to the Great Minnesota Get-Together safely and as quickly as possible,” the agency said in a statement.
“We have been monitoring park and ride traffic and have been adding resources as available to provide additional State Fair service beyond what is regularly scheduled. With record-breaking attendance for the State Fair thus far, we are seeing heavy usage of our services and are working to add capacity.
We are also aware of specific delays at the two sites you mentioned – there were two instances of customers coming from the Blaine park and ride becoming sick on the bus, requiring the vehicles to be pulled for cleaning, and causing service gaps. A traffic accident on I-94 caused some buses coming from Cottage Grove to have to detour through downtown Minneapolis, leading to longer trips in both directions. In all cases, we adapted as quickly as possible to resume scheduled State Fair service.”
Keith Daniels, from Atlanta, Georgia, says the best plan for a speedier trip to the fair is to catch a shuttle early.
“Like we got here at nine o’clock and the line was like a block long, but it went pretty quick,” Daniels says. “Because if you don’t come in before nine, that parking lot’s full. So, we made sure we get out of here before nine and get here, get on the bus. Got to be ready. Yeah, we do have a plan. Been here many times.”
For Related Stories: Minnesota State Fair Richard Reeve State Fair