Minneapolis Green Line ridership grew 2.5 percent in 2016

In 2016, Metro Transit in Minneapolis logged 12.7 million rides on its Green Line light-rail route, marking a 2.5 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Ridership on the line has increased for the second consecutive year, Metro Transit officials said in a press release.

The line posted an average weekday ridership of 39,386 rides. When it opened in June 2014, the line was projected to provide 41,000 average weekday rides by 2030, agency officials said.

Meanwhile, weekday ridership on the Northstar commuter-rail line inched up 1 percent to 2,369 average weekday rides.

Total annual ridership on the Blue Line light-rail fell to 10,620,284 in 2016 compared with 10,261,707 in 2015, when the line logged its highest annual ridership since it opened in 2004.

Lower gas prices may have contributed to some ridership losses, Metro Transit officials said.

Last year, Metro Transit provided more than 80 million annual rides across its rail and bus lines, marking the agency's third-highest annual ridership since 1981.