Twin Cities' rail ridership exceeds projections by 61 percent.

"Within months of its launch, the Twin Cities’ new light rail system beat initial ridership projections by 61 percent." . . . .

"When it was first proposed in the 1970s, conservative politicians attacked light rail as a waste of taxpayer money. Now, however, Russ Adams of the nonprofit, Minneapolis-based Alliance for Metropolitan Stability says it is clear how wrong that claim was.

“The critics of light rail made a very bad miscalculation of the public’s growing desire for transportation choices,” Mr. Adams said. “Our region now recognizes what a terrible mistake it has been to focus on a single-solution approach.”      

Source: http://mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16918 

9/8/2005
Without Doubt, Rail Builds Better Economy
Twin Cities soar with transit, Detroit sinks without
By David Dempsey
Elm Street Writers Group