Transportation

Author

Bill Dossett

New Ride Minnesota

Coming to America via Minneapolis: Nice Ride Minnesota will launch a public bike sharing system—based on an internationally successful model—in Minneapolis in May of 2010.

It's easy: Anyone can subscribe. Take a bike from one kiosk and ride to another kiosk. Anytime you need.

It's where you want it: 1,000 bikes will be available in 80 secure, self-service kiosks throughout Downtown, the U of M Campus, and Uptown from April-November.

Resources

Act Locally!: 

Nice Ride Twin Cities Metro Area, MN 612-747-4659 niceridemn.com

Author

Metro Transit

<p>Explore your transportation options instead of driving alone. Sharing the ride in a carpool or vanpool can save you money, help the environment and allows you to relax during your commute. To get started, visit <b><a href="http://metrotransit.org/rideshare">metrotransit.org/rideshare</a></b> and use the Rideshare Planner. It will automatically match you with potential rideshare partners.

Author

Metro Transit

Bike2Benefits is a free online program for Twin Cities bicycle commuters—from the aspiring to the accomplished. Members register and track their trips at bike2benefits.org, where they can view summaries of miles pedaled, trips taken, CO2 reduced and other measurements. It's a great way to see how bicycling instead of driving really adds up.

Author

Jamez Smith

Transit for Livable Communities

My breakup with my car occurred in July of 2007 when I moved to Minnesota from California. I had every intention of getting a car, but it has yet to happen. When I arrived in Minneapolis I got a bicycle. It is very easy to get around on two wheels—the grocery store, a department store, restaurants, the post office and the library were all within walking distance of the Northeast Minneapolis neighborhood where I lived when I first moved here.

Resources

Act Locally!: 

Metro Transit bus and lightrail MetroTransit.org 612-373-3333

HourCar car-sharing program HourCar.org 651- 221-4462

Author

Excerpted from "Transit for Livable Communities" by Joan Pasiuk

Transit for Livable Communities, through Bike Walk Twin Cities has awarded $193,200 for the Sibley Bike Depot's new Community Partners Bike Library. This program will enable patrons to check out a bicycle at no cost for an extended period of time from a fleet of 220 refurbished bikes. The program will launch in April of 2010.

Resources

Act Locally!: 

Bike Walk Twin Cities St. Paul, MN 651-767-0298 bikewalktwincities.org

Sibley Bike Depot St. Paul, MN 651-222-2080 sibleybikedepot.org

Author

Katie Eukel

Transit for Livable Communities

Investing in a region-wide transit system is a significant step toward reducing Minnesota's global warming pollution. Think about this: there will be one million additional people living in Minnesota by 2030. If Minnesota had a 21st century transit system, it would reduce car travel by nearly two billion miles. That's no small amount!

Resources

On the Web!: 

Twin Cities Transitways: 2020

Be Your Own Engine

Act Locally!: 

Transit for Livable Communities Saint Paul, MN 651-767-0298, tlcminnesota.org

Alliance for Metropolitan Stability Minneapolis, MN 612-332-4471, metrostability.org

Author

John W. Diers

Author of "Twin Cities by Trolley, The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul"

The Evolution of the Streetcar and the Transition from Horsepower to Electric Power

In the late 1880s a steam motor and a coach of the Minneapolis Lyndale & Lake Calhoun Railway sit at the passenger station at 31st Street & Nicollet Avenue. Minnesota Streetcar Museum

Looking east toward downtown St. Paul, a cable car descends the Selby Avenue hill. Cable cars were used in St. Paul on the Selby Avenue line from 1888–98 and on East 7th Street from 1889–93. Minnesota Historical Society

Resources

On the Web!: 

Minnesota Historical Society Library, Twin City Rapid Transit Company corporate records

American Public Transit Association

Read Up!: 

Twin Cities by Trolley, The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul, by John W. Diers and Aaron Isaacs. University of Minnesota Press, 2007.

The Electric Interurban Railways in America, by George W. Hilton and John F. Due. Stanford University Press, 2000.

Act Locally!: 

Minnesota Streetcar Museum & Streetcar Rides Como-Harriet and Excelsior Streetcar Lines trolleyride.org

Minnesota Transportation Museum St. Paul, MN 651- 228-0263 mtmuseum.org

Author

METRO TRANSIT

Metro Transit helps match Twin Cities commuters who want to share the ride to work or school through its Carpool/Vanpool Planner at metrotransit.org.

Now you can look for carpool partners for trips in addition to work or school.

This new option is great for errands, weekend trips around town and even to sporting events. You can use the tool to plan carpools to your kids' soccer games, for instance.

Author

MARK SNYDER

Do It Green! Minnesota

As we learn more about the potential effects of climate change, many of us are exploring ways to reduce our "carbon footprint" or how much carbon dioxide is created by the choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away. In Minnesota, more than 25% of the carbon dioxide emitted into the air is from motor vehicles, making cars one of the largest contributors to our individual carbon footprints.

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to immediately reduce our