MVTA passengers set State Fair ridership record
Sep 3, 2024 4:32 pm
Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) set a State Fair ridership record this year with 127,220 rides, which eclipsed the previous record ridership of 110,718 set in 2023.
The 2024 record topped last year’s ridership total by 16,502 or 15 percent.
MVTA, the public transit provider for seven communities in Dakota and Scott counties, served riders from the south metro and beyond. Customers traveled to the fair from MVTA transit stations in Burnsville, Eagan, and Shakopee.
MVTA set six daily ridership records during the 12 days of the fair.
MVTA ridership tracked closely with record attendance days at the fair in 2024. MVTA daily ridership records were set on the first day of the fair with 8,526 riders. Daily State Fair attendance set an opening day record of 138,875. Friday, Aug. 23, was another MVTA record ridership day of 11,212 while the State Fair set a daily attendance record of 171,233. There were 9,672 MVTA riders on Wednesday, Aug. 28, when a State Fair daily attendance record was set at 145,532.
Ridership through the midway point of the fair was tracking slightly behind last year’s pace, but a record-setting Labor Day weekend made the difference.
On Friday. Aug. 30, MVTA set an all-time ridership record of 16,752, but that record only held for two days. On Sunday, Sept. 1, a new all-time ridership record of 18,528 was established. Those two days also were record attendance days at the State Fair – 225,521 and 261,015 respectively.
“It was a very interesting year with ebbs and flows based on the weather,” said MVTA Chief Executive Officer Luther Wynder. “The extreme heat on the first Monday and threats of storms during the week kept attendance down. People were ready to go on the days with pleasant forecasts.”
With the State Fair complete, MVTA will be shifting additional buses to serve the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. On weekends through Sept. 29, MVTA will be providing service from Eagle Creek Park and Ride, 6600 Eagle Creek Boulevard, Shakopee;Southbridge Crossings Park and Ride, 1401 Crossings Boulevard, Shakopee; and Burnsville Transit Station, 100 East Highway 13, Burnsville.
For more information on Renaissance Festival service and trip planning, go to mvta.com.
