Checking in on Twin Cities Light Rail Safety

Safety on the Metro Blue and Green lines has been a hot topic over the last several years. The ridership changes caused by the pandemic and the ensuing work schedule reshuffling, as well as policing changes in the aftermath of George Floyd all played a role. Over the last few years though Metro Transit’s focus on safety has paid off.

A Brief History

In the later part of the 2010s the blue and green lines were doing well ridership-wise regularly reaching 20-25 million rides per year. Both lines ran 3-car trains at 10-minute frequencies for large parts of the day. Despite this, there were increasing concerns about safety. A lot of these issues cited as safety issues tend to be quality of life concerns such as smoking on trains, loud music, and fare evasion but other more serious crimes did happen. Metro Transit Police officers would occasionally ride trains and check fares but seeing them on the trains was not common.

Then unfortunately the double whammy of 2020 happened. The COVID-19 pandemic hit in March and overnight ridership plummeted as office workers and non-essential workers shifted to work from home. Then in May Minneapolis Police murdered George Floyd resulting in several days of protest and civil unrest. The resulting pull back in policing and the pandemic ridership loss which resulted in far fewer “eyes on the street” on the blue and green lines led to an uptick in reports of crime and quality of life concerns. Unfortunately the political climate in the US and amplification of the “cities are dangerous and filled with criminals” narrative by certain ideologies did not help perception further hurting ridership.

Metro Transit Takes Steps to Address Concerns

Eventually Metro Transit acknowledged the issues and started to take steps to address the issues and win back riders. In June 2022, the Metropolitan Council approved Metro Transit’s Safety and Security Actions plan which laid the groundwork for improvements. A lot of these efforts were helped by a 2023 state law change that decriminalized fare evasion making it an administrative violation similar to a parking ticket. Before the change it was a misdemeanor meaning it could only be enforced by licensed police officers which limited the available staff to provide enforcement.

Steps taken to address these issues include:

• Private Security – In late 2022 Metro Transit began using private security officers at Lake Street and Franklin Ave Stations. They have continued to add private security to more stations.
• TRIP Agents – One of the biggest changes enabled by the fare evasion decriminalization are the additions of TRIP (Transit Rider Investment Program) agents. These uniformed agents check fares, assist riders, and help enforce the rider code of conduct. Metro Transit is hoping to have over 200 TRIP agents by the end of 2026.
• Homeless Action Team – Formed in 2018 the Homeless Action Team is made up of Metro Transit Police officers with specialized training who ride trains helping to connect unsheltered individuals with services and housing.
• Community Service Officers – CSO’s are students pursuing careers in law enforcement who assist with patrolling trains and doing some policing duties.
• Adopt A Stop Program – Program to allow individuals or organizations to adopt a bus stop has been expanded to light rail stations.

Current State

Conditions on trains and at stations have improved noticeably since the worst years after the pandemic. TRIP agents and Community Service Officers are a regular presence on the trains and regularly remove problem riders. If police are necessary the TRIP agents are able to communicate directly with dispatch to request them. 24/7 private security staffing has continued to expand to additional stations improving conditions at stations. Metro Transit’s own surveys also show improvements in customer perceptions. A recent survey from late 2025 showed two thirds of respondents satisfied with the riding experience. Full results are available from MetroTransit.

There is still work to do but things are much improved. At this point, I rarely encounter issues and have no worries about my family members when they ride the train. Hopefully things like increased frequency and longer span of service can be improved in the near future.