Metro Transit records more than 107,000 riders for Green Line opening

Metro Transit tallied ridership of 107,039 during the new 11-mile Green Line's opening weekend June 14-15, agency officials announced on Friday.

Green Line trains began rolling in Minneapolis after 10 a.m. June 14. Ridership figures on the light-rail service include 38 total hours: 14 hours of service on June 14 and 24 hours of service on June 15, Metro Transit officials said in a press release.

Despite high winds and heavy rains that caused some of the opening celebrations to wrap up early, 57 percent of the weekend rides occurred on June 14 as people explored the line and visited celebrations at Union Depot, Central, Western Avenue, Victoria Street, Hamline Avenue, Raymond Avenue, Stadium Village, West Bank and Target Field stations, agency officials said.

The weekend also represented the largest restructuring of Metro Transit bus service.

"The wet weather certainly didn’t dampen the mood during the Green Line's opening weekend," said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. "Metro Transit staff and our partners are very proud to have welcomed tens of thousands of familiar and new faces safely aboard our buses and trains. We were pleased to see a 12 percent increase in rides on existing Metro Transit bus and rail service over a comparable weekend."