A native's informal guide to Minneapolis & St. Paul. Fourth of several.
In Prequel #1 I discussed how the avenues and streets in downtown Mpls work. In Prequel #2 I attempted to give a sense of the history and relative positions of the Twin Cities. In Prequel #3 I talked about the highway and street structure in and around the Twin Cities. With that basic layout established, it's time to move on to Public Transportation.
Airport --> Hotel --> Airport
or There and Back Again
From most expensive and fastest to cheapest but slowest:
Taxis are available, as they are in virtually any airport, though late at night (9pm or so) the availability might be more limited. Even very late, one will come along eventually.
Unless they've changed things from when I last took a taxi: From the baggage claim on the lower level (and you have to pass by even if you have no baggage to claim), follow the signs down another level, go under the street and come back up to the taxis. The route is well marked but moderately tricky to follow. You will be on at least two escalators (elevators available).
Once at the taxi stand, you will generally take the first one in line. If there are different protocols, I don't know what they are. And yet, some taxis have different pricing.
MSP airport itself says, "Downtown Minneapolis is approximately 12 miles from the airport, with fares averaging $37-$47. The distance to downtown St. Paul is approximately 8 miles and fares average $29-$36. All taxi fares are metered at a rate of up to $2.50 per mile and include a $4 airport access fee that is added to the final metered fare."
I called a couple of taxi companies and got pricing from the Airport to the Hilton. Figure a little more for the Millennium.
Airport Taxi 612-721-000 claims they charge $34 and take 15-20 minutes in non-rush hours.
MSP Airport Taxi 952-888-8294 claims they charge $38 for the same trip. Maybe they include the $4 access fee and the other one doesn't.
Shuttles
Neither hotel has its own shuttle to the airport, but both use Super Shuttle, 612-827-7777-ext 2. The Shuttles are just outside and across the street from Baggage Claim #8. They leave every 15-20 minutes from roughly 5am-7pm. After hours, or with other questions, go to the Super Shuttle service desk. Follow the signs to "Hotel Shuttles and Vans" in the center of Ground Transportation. These are shared ride vans.
$17 one-way, $30 round trip. You can pay the driver. You can also prepay through Supershuttle or the Service Desk, but that costs you an extra $1 fee. If you've bought a round-trip, keep your fare ticket.
No one would commit to a travel time, but I imagine the same constraints apply to the shuttle as to taxis: 15-20 minutes to downtown plus whatever drop-offs and pick-ups they have.
Coming from the hotels, you have to reserve through the hotel. (You can call Super Shuttle on your own, but that would be confusing.) The shuttle won't stop at a hotel unless called. They leave the Hilton (612-376-1000) every 30 minutes 4:55am-6:55pm and the Millennium (612-332-6000) 5am-7pm, a few minutes after the half-hour. After hours, check with the hotel.
Light Rail and buses
Both Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the city buses are run by Metro Transit. Buses cover pretty much anywhere you want to go in the twin cities metropolitan area, if you're willing to take the time. Closer to downtown, the coverage is better than farther afield. Still, you can get from the airport or the Mall of America to downtown easily.
You can take a bus from the airport to downtown, but that's been so utterly superseded by the LRT that I'm not even going to go into it.
Getting to the LRT stop at the Lindberg Terminal (ie MSP or "the airport") is moderately tricky but well marked. Basically, off on the left side of the baggage claim, go down another level, walk through the car rental area and take the tram. (The tram only shuttles from one spot to the other, then back.). Go right, follow the signs.
Important: Pay (and get a fare card) before you take the stairs/escalator down to the platform. You can add as much as you want to the fare card right here. Fares for LRT and non-express buses are $1.75/$2.25 during rush hour. You have 2 1/2 hours to ride on any one fare.
Take the escalator/stairs down to the LRT platform. You want to be on the left (going to Minneapolis) not on the right (going to the Humphrey terminal/MOA).
It takes about 20 minutes to go from the Lindberg Terminal stop to the Government Center stop. Another minute or two to the Nicollet Mall stop.
The Government Center Light Rail stop from the Pillsbury Building
The Hilton is a bit west of the Millennium, and if you don't mind a bit of a walk, or want to explore the skyways, get off here.
You can simply walk up (south) the city streets from 5th Street and 3rd Ave to the Hilton on 10th Street and Marquette (1st Ave). You can go into the Government Center (to the right, south, of this picture) and wonder at Minnesota's only building designed to withstand an earthquake. There's a cafeteria below the fountain, and plenty of places to eat in the skyways… during business hours. Slightly quicker is to to into the Pillsbury Building (the white building NW of the stop) where there are even more restaurants and better access to the skyways (the Government Center skyway goes to the Pillsbury building). Follow the wending skyways south to the Hilton and/or the Convention Center.
If you're arriving on Thursday during the day, or staying at the Millennium, I highly recommend getting off at the Nicollet Mall stop and walking up Nicollet through the Farmer's Market.
The Nicollet Mall LRT stop.
The closest bus stop to the Nicollet LRT stop, ahead (west) and across the street from where you debark.
One of the veggie vendors of the Farmer's Market which takes place every Thursday during the summer on Nicollet Mall. You can get flowers or cheese or bread, among other things.
I will cover Nicollet Mall in another Prequel. It's a great walk, and if the weather's nice this is the street to saunter up. The LRT stop is at Nicollet and 4th St. and the Millennium is at 1313 Nicollet, in the middle of the block.
If you don't want to walk down Nic or take the skyways, the bus is free.
Free Ride buses from downtown (Washington Ave, almost at the Mississippi River) and the Convention Center are free. Note: Not all buses are Free Ride buses (though your LRT fare covers a transfer to any bus.)
A Free Ride sign at Nicollet and Grant, one stop before the Convention Center, showing the Free Ride route.
Light Rail is the easiest way to get to the airport or the Mall of America or any place in between.
Downtown, most N/S buses run on Nicollet Ave or Hennepin Ave.
E/W buses run on the Streets. Remember, downtown streets are one-way, so a catching a bus may not be on the same street as where it lets off.
If you're just going to the Netroots Nation, this is all you need to know. But if you want to explore via public transportation, there's more.
Maps and Schedules for the MetroTransit system.
Much of what you want to do involves taking the 18 bus farther up (south) on Nicollet. It's a quick bus ride up Eat Street to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, for example. (I'll do a separate Prequel just for Nicollet Ave.) The Grant Street bus stop, two blocks from the Convention Center, is roughly 15th St. Major bus connections are at Franklin Ave. (20th St.) and Lake St. (30th).
Hennepin Ave. is also a major bus artery, and buses branch off to various places.
Going E/W, for example to the University, are on the one-way streets. Consult the map.
You can get to St. Paul by bus, and even by Express Bus at various commuting times. But I don't recommend that.
Where to get bus passes
The Information Booth in the Convention Center
Note: One of the advantages of getting a pass or card is that you save 10%. For example, buying a $10 bus pass puts $11 worth of transit fee on.
You can get bus passes in many places, including the Convention Center. These are standard transit cards like in many places these days; little pieces of stiff paper with the amount left on them. You can add more money.
Go To cards are bus passes, but plastic. You can also add to these at any time. The number of places that will issue Go To cards is limited. The major advantages are: You can transfer between buses and Light Rail without a physical transfer. And you don't have to pull out the card to use it: Simply hold your wallet (or whatever) up to the circle:
The Go To card reader on a bus.
The cash/bus pass reader on a bus. Coins on the right, bills in the middle (no, it doesn't make change) bus pass slot out of sight on the right.
Transfers All bus fares are good for 2 1/2 hours from first use. You may go anywhere in the bus system in this time period, even return. If you have a fare card, the bus will deduct the amount, print the new amount left over, and track what time you used it. If you use a Go To Card, the card will track the time.
You can buy a Day Pass, 24 hours for $6.
Next up: The Convention Center.