State Fair Planning Sonora CA

Metro Transit is already making plans for its service to the 2008 Minnesota State Fair.

Even though the state fair does not begin until Aug. 28, planning is critical given the scope of service over the 12 days. The Minnesota State Fair is one of the nation's largest state fairs and it is the largest annual promotional event for Metro Transit. The agency expects to carry one million riders, better than one-third of the attendees, to and from it next year. A dozen express bus routes will be created, regular-route service will be beefed up and it will contract with Metro Transit to operate from 18 parking lots near the fairgrounds, which suffers from limited on-site parking.

It is an enormous undertaking, because Metro Transit has its regular customers that it serves at the same time. Chief Operating Officer Vince Pellegrin said that when Metro Transit first began to provide service for the state fair, the very large undertaking took many hours of planning by a lot of people. Metro Transit now assigns one project manager, Eric Isakson, to organize the event for Metro Transit. "It has become part of our regular service or business as usual for August/September," Pellegrin said. "It is not any less work now than it was in the beginning, but the people at Metro Transit know that it is a special event in which they can take pride."

Once the state fair is underway, for 12 days Metro Transit operates the two largest transit services in the state. Nevertheless, the agency does not purchase or lease more buses. It does not hire more drivers or mechanics. Instead, it's an all-hands-on-deck event with 90 extra buses in service on weekends and 60 on weekdays.

Park-and-ride lots set up in suburban locations are staffed by volunteers from Metro Transit. Express buses from those park-and-ride lots arrive and depart at up to 15-minute intervals between 8 a.m. and midnight at a very large transit station set up across the street from the state fair grounds. The State Fair Transit Station has street supervisors, Metro Transit Police and safety employees that keep people on the correct side of the fences while walking to their bus stop.

Buses arrive at the fairgrounds using the streets around the state fair and by using a transitway from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The trip from the university parking lots to the State Fair Transit Station is 10 minutes. During hours of congestion, buses use the shoulders of the freeways as a transit advantage. The customers love the service!

The amazing thing about this event is the number of operators, police, office staff and maintenance workers committed to the service by working many hours and by not missing their regular work shifts. They park cars, collect fares, ensure safety and dispense information, as well as taking care of the maintenance, fueling and cleaning of the buses.

Metro Transit Police and the St. Paul Police take care of crowd control, passenger safety and the traffic at the fairgrounds to keep the buses moving. Buses have priority in moving in and out of the State Fair Transit Station. The motto for state fair service one year told the story: We'll Get You to the Cheese Curds Faster. While motorists were stuck in traffic and stuck with the high cost of scarce parking, Metro Transit customers were spending more time and money on the fairgrounds. No wonder ridership has increased every year.

Next year Metro Transit will have a double challenge. The Republican National Convention will be in town. The convention will overlap the state fair on two days, increasing the need for additional planning and additional resources. However, it will be a challenge that Metro Transit employees will meet.

Metro Transit is made up of people that love transit and are committed to excellence. They take their responsibility seriously. They are a good mix of old-time transit employees who are very seasoned and dedicated, and new employees that have an abundance of energy and a can-do attitude.

People in the Twin Cities appreciate Metro Transit's efforts, and Metro Transit employees appreciate their customers. Ridership has continually grown on the light-rail line since it opened in 2004.

The bus ridership has also continually grown since General Manager Brian Lamb has rejoined the team. With Brian Lamb's leadership of this team of employees, the sky is the limit for success.

Bill Porter is the deputy chief operating officer for Metro Transit in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.