Cedar Way Transit

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February 23, 2010March 8, 2017 Cedar Way Transportation Specialist

Cedar Ave BRT Cedar Avenue is a busy area that many people are not happy to travel through. However, it is the main roadway between the southern suburb and downtown
Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It is also the travel route to get to the Mall of America, the airport, and the University of Minnesota. The fact that people needed a better way to get around is one of the main reasons officials of the Dakota County Regional Rail Authority began trying to figure out how to make the transit service more effective. It is a process that began a few years ago and continues through current times as people’s needs are constantly changing. As time goes on, the Implementation Plan that started in 2010 will continue to improve as demographics, land uses, and other situations come up in the corridor.

Changes to the Redline

The Metro Redline is the first BRT (bus rapid transit) line in the Twin Cities region. It is a popular way to travel for many people because it is faster than other transit services and provides a higher reliability than others. It is available for people to use all day and provides easier access throughout Dakota and Hennepin counties. The area of Cedar Avenue was upgraded to give the transit system traffic signal priority, improved passenger information, shoulder lane operation, and even off-board fare collections to make life easier for anyone who wanted to get where they were going, faster.

New BRT Implementation Equals Stress-Free

There are stations all along Cedar Avenue for people who want to ride the BRT. They are shelters to protect you from the elements outside. Inside many have restrooms, a screen to tell you when the bus you are waiting on will arrive, and comfortable places for you to sit while you wait. You can also pay in advance for the bus ride so that you do not have to wait more once you are on the bus. If you have a ride card, you simply have to swipe it as you walk on the bus. There are bike racks on the bus for people who have them and spacious seating for your comfort while riding.
The goal is to eliminate stress and road congestion along this major route. The buses run frequently enough that you can catch a ride with them whether you are traveling home after a long day of work or trying to reach a scheduled appointment on time. All you have to do is sit back and relax. The driver will take care of everything else for you.

Express Your Opinions

The Cedar Avenue Transitway relies on riders to keep going. Over the next 20 years or so, the traffic expected will increase potentially up to 63% over the Cedar Avenue Bridge. The way to get ahead is to begin planning now for what may come in the next few years. We ask that you tell us what we can do to make your commute easier and we will continue to try to implement your suggestions. You can tell us where you feel a station would be beneficial and let us know that you are willing to leave the car at home if you have a bus option that is more relaxing for you.

Future of Emission Free Transportation – Segways

February 12, 2018January 20, 2018 Cedar Way Transportation Specialist

commuting on a segway In a busy world, there are cities that never seem to sleep. There are commuters going to work, to school, and to run errands. At first, the thought was that carpooling and buses could cut down on commute times and the emissions that are affecting the environment. It has helped, but some people question whether it is enough. Some cities are saying that the future of emission free transportation is Segways.

The Future of Transportation

segway mini Segways are a great transportation option for people who do not want to ride a bike or walk to work. They are very stable to use and with a little practice, you can be riding it while in full control of where it is going. This can make it easier for people to get to the bus stops that they depend on to get them into the city. It will also make it so that people who need to run errands after work can avoid taking the bus to go only a few blocks. This will save the seat for someone who may need to travel home and potentially speed up their commute time since there will be fewer stops for people who only wanted to go two blocks. When a person is ready to get on the bus, the hoverboards and segways can be carried on board the bus and stored with very little effort under the rider’s seat or legs.

Cost Effectiveness of the Segway

Most segways are affordable because of their constantly growing popularity. A person can purchase a hoverboard for less than a $100 if you want to go cheap or you can pay a little more and have a Segway. To see the difference, Scooter Smarter compares the Mini Segway vs Hoverboard Segway. One thing to keep in mind though is that the features that you want, such as Bluetooth or lighting may bump up the price a little. In general, though, they are within the same price range as a bicycle, but easier to work with if you need to take the bus for part of your commute.

Is a Segway Right for You?

Segways and hoverboards are not just kid’s toys. They are commonly used by adults and children alike. Kids can use them for going to school and they will fit inside their locker. Adults can use them for traveling to work and they will fit into a locker or under a desk. Elderly can use them to save themselves pain when they want to venture outdoors.

They are practical, and you do not have to worry about locking them up outside where they can get rained on the way that a bike can. You simply have to be able to balance yourself while on a moving board. Most people say that it only takes a few minutes to get the hang of doing this. Riding on one eliminates knee pain and is faster than walking to work or to the store after work. Overall, they are ideal for use in the city, the suburbs, and all other areas where you have the choice to ride public transportation, walk, or pedal your way around.

Increasing Parking Safety

May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 Cedar Way Transportation Specialist

We have asked around and discovered that one of the biggest concerns for people who want to use our transportation system is the fact that they do not want to leave their vehicles behind. Some people will use the transit system only if they can be back to their car before dark and some will not use it at all because it doesn’t pick them up close enough to their home that they can walk to the pickup area. Most all people refuse to leave their car overnight or while they go away on vacation. For that reason, we have decided to start increasing parking security.

Why People Fear Leaving Their Vehicle

Although it isn’t a huge problem during the day time hours, there are times at night when vehicles are broken into. We live in a large city and although we control our parking area as best as we can, anything can happen. People worry that their car will get broken into or that someone will steal it. They also worry that it may get damaged in some other way and feel that the longer they leave it there, the more likely it will be to happen. We do not like this train of thought. We want people to feel that their vehicle is safe with us both day and night, even over multiple days.

What We Are Doing to Provide Security

The best way that we have come up with to ensure that everyone feels safe with us to install a driveway gate. This is the same type of gate that many homeowners have in their fenced yard to protect their home and property. It will be able to lock at night and monitor who comes and goes throughout the day. This will protect your vehicle from outsiders that may want to cause damage to your personal property. This will give you peace of mind in the big city where anything can, and often does, happen. You can leave your vehicle for however long you need to and know that no one will mess with anything that belongs to you.

How Driveway Gates Will Help

By having a driveway gate that locks such as these, our security team will have an easier time controlling who comes and goes. People who want onto the property after sunset will have to give their name and state why they are there in order to gain entry. This will make it easy for guards to keep up with who ventured in, how long they were there, and more. Our hope is that this will make you feel better about your vehicle knowing that when you are not there; it will be safe in our parking lot.

Our transportation services are designed to make life easier for you. We understand that if you have to worry about your vehicle every time you get on a bus; this isn’t making anything easier for you. We are doing what we can to help you feel better about our parking area. Is it working?

Above Ground Pool Party at The Station

April 14, 2017April 14, 2017 Cedar Way Transportation Specialist

BBQ Party Spring is in the air and it will soon be followed by summer. It is a time celebration for people who are sick of cold weather. It is also a celebration for us, which is why we are excited to talk about our upcoming summer fun day. It is being done in an effort to draw more attention to our transit system and we guarantee that it will not be something you want to miss out on. Would you take notice if we have an above ground pool party at the station this year?

Our Big Plans

intex pool party To kick off summer, we may be hosting a huge party. It will be the BBQ that everyone is talking about. It is to celebrate summer and show the people who do not take advantage of mass transit why it is a great option to start considering. To celebrate, we will have a lot of BBQ favorites for you to enjoy. This includes hot-dogs and hamburgers as well as chicken for as long as we have food available. We will have games for kids and adults set up, booths for you to find hidden treasures at, and much more. There will also be a swimming pool for people who want to truly enjoy the first days of summer. Our Intex Ultra frame pool seen here, can hold several people at one time and we will have it set up so that your kids can play ball or Marco Polo type games if they want to. For people who do not want to get into a pool, but still want to enjoy splashing; we will have sprinklers set up for you to enjoy.

What To Look Forward To

backyard party games For people who are there early and raffles throughout the day for the people who stay awhile to enjoy it. Many of the prizes will be passes for you to give our transit system a try, but there will be other types of prizes available for both adults and children.

Are You Ready for the Fun?

This party is the first of its kind to be held by us. If it is a success, we may try to hold our own BBQ party each year. Much the same as we need support from our community to keep the transit system running, we also need your support to turn a single party into an annual event. Who knows. If enough people attend, we may add more above ground pools, more sprinklers, more games, and bigger prizes next year as a way of saying, “Thank You” to the community that we love transporting.

Installing Battery Switches, Increasing Efficiency

March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 Cedar Way Transportation Specialist

battery switches Without a good battery, nothing that needs it will be able to go very far. We have already upgraded our transit system to use marine batteries so that they will not suffer the first time that something goes wrong and it drains further than we wanted for it too. The idea behind it was to ensure that they will run just as hard as our transit system does. However, we have discovered that the best marine battery still needs a little help. That is why we are also installing battery switches to increase efficiency.

How Do They Work?

The reason for a switch is confusing for some people. However, their primary purpose is simple. They are installed to help manage the overall power on a boat or vehicle. They come in two different types. One allows you to disconnect when not in use and the other allows you to switch from one battery to another. This means that when we are not actively running a bus, we will not have to worry about the potential drain on our batteries when they are not in use or we will be able to switch between batteries. It helps to give us peace of mind that when it is time to start running the routes that we will be able to do it. It also gives passengers confidence that no matter what, we will be there and be on time.

Why Switches are Necessary

cedar Ave transit Switches are good because it enables you to use the power that you have available and reduce the risk of over draining the battery. They are most often used on boats where you may have a lot of accessories pulling power off one that doesn’t work for starting so that you can switch over to the other one when you need to crank up and move to another area. This ensures that no matter what you have running on board while you are fishing, you still have the power to get back to shore when you are finished. In our case, we would use it as a way to ensure that when our buses need to move, there is power there for them to do so.

Our Goals for a Switch

Some people may question why we feel it is a necessary upgrade for our transit system. After all, it seems like a moot point considering buses battery Switch for Boats have alternators where boats do not. The thing is, alternators sometimes go bad and when you have people who depend on you and your bus services, you cannot take a chance on any part of it failing. We also do not have time to let the bus sit while we charge up a dead battery to put into it. We have to be ready to go when it is time to roll. There are no excuses for us to not be ready. In our mind, switching power from one to another is the ideal solution to make us a more dependable source of transportation during all hours of the day and night.

Only the Best for the Transitway

March 8, 2017March 26, 2017 Cedar Way Transportation Specialist

deka battery The Cedar Transitway makes traveling from the suburbs easier. Therefore, we wouldn’t want anything to go wrong with any part of it. If the buses are unable to run because we failed to provide them with everything they need; then our roads will become more crowded and a lot of bad things will begin to happen. That is why we put so much effort into choosing only the best for the Transitway.

The Changes We Make

We are constantly upgrading our buses to ensure that they have the best of everything that we can find. We stay up on all oil changes and transmission checks. We test the brakes to ensure they are working properly. The motor is tuned up every time it seems to develop a noise. We use the good gas at the pumps and fix issues that we notice inside of the buses as soon as they are noted. Then, we started talking about our buses and realized that there was one area of which we were not providing the best that we could; the battery. We were using average batteries and it occurred to us that we would be wasting all the other efforts that we put into the Transitway if something went wrong with our batteries and we have decided to upgrade them as well.

What We are Hoping for In a Battery

In our search for the best of the best in batteries, we quickly discovered that most batteries aren’t very reliable. They rely on the alternator to provide a steady charge and they do wear out fairly quick. Most standard batteries for a vehicle will only be warrantied for a year or so and the marine batteries have a better warranty in many cases. This led us to search for marine batteries. They have a longer lifespan, are able to handle deep discharges, and promise to never leak out. It isn’t that we are expecting the alternator to suddenly stop working, but we do know that anything can happen when you
run as many miles as our buses do each day, through both summer’s heat and winter’s snow.

Our Top Battery Choice

For our buses, we have chosen the to give the Deka Marine battery a try. We have read an endless amount of information about sealed marine batteries and Deka Marine battery reviews seem to hold the most promise for our needs. These batteries are durable and have a long battery life, even after many deep discharges. deka battery
No one has ever had an issue with them leaking or letting them down when they are out on the open water for days at a time. In our opinion, all of these things make a huge difference and we have already begun using them in a few of our buses. We are also happy to say that so far, they are performing better than we ever expected and we will be upgrading the rest of our batteries as well. To us, it just makes sense to keep going with the best that we can find for the Cedar Transitway.