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Metro Transit, which serves Minneapolis and St. Paul, marked a 3.2 percent ridership gain in the year’s first half and a 6 percent increase in June compared with the same 2010 periods, agency officials said in a prepared statement.

Ridership on the Northstar commuter-rail service grew 4.4 percent during the first half. However, the Hiawatha light-rail line’s first-half ridership fell 2.3 percent.

For the month of June, the Hiawatha line marked its seventh anniversary of service by registering ridership nearly 5 percent higher than in June 2010. The line posted a record number of 10.5 million riders in 2010.

“Transit ridership has continued to grow through the second quarter as more commuters choose to avoid high gas prices and congested freeways,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “If this pace continues, it appears 2011 could rival the record ridership of 2008.”