Star Tribune | September 23, 2009
By Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio News

Minnesota's rural transit services are being hit with money problems just as demand is starting to take off.

The demand comes from the state's aging population as well as working people who can't afford a personal vehicle. The money problems are a trickle-down effect from the cuts in state and other funds for rural transit.

There's literally a cloud over Brianna Anderson's life these days. Her '96 Ford van went up in smoke recently.

"It started smokin' and downshifting and all kinds of wonderful things, and here I come to found out I blew a head gasket," Anderson said.

Anderson found a temporary way, a loaner from a friend, to get to her job in Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, then started burning up the phone lines looking for a more permanent transportation option.

The results weren't good.

Anderson, a single parent who lives paycheck to paycheck, was at her wits' end, especially after checking with the local public transit supplier which, she discovered, can't really deal with a mother who needs to get to day care, then to work.

"And then figure out how to pick up my daughter and get home and go from there," she said. "It's a horrible position to be in."

Not having access to a personal vehicle or transit in rural Minnesota can be a life-altering event if keeping a job or getting medical care is at stake.

Minnesota is home to 61 public rural transit agencies. State officials say they supplied nearly 12 million rides last year.

Jackie Forner, director of the Isanti-Chisago Heartland Express service, said ridership has increased 10 percent each year the past three years. Her service is based 50 miles north of the Twin Cities.

Besides older citizens, Forner said riders include people who can't afford a car and need the bus to get to work.

But Forner's budget is down.