Transit Ridership Showed Increases in All Modes in 2005 Third Quarter

Transit News

 

Even With Decline in Gas Prices in November, Strong Ridership Trend Continues As More Than 25 Agencies Show Double Digit Increases

 

 

With high gas prices in the third quarter of 2005, national transit ridership grew by 3.3 % from the same period in 2004, according to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) today. At the same time that transit ridership was increasing during the 2005 third quarter, Americans parked their cars and vehicle miles of travel (VMT) decreased by 0.2%, according to the Federal Highway Administration statistics. Additionally, a recent survey of transit systems conducted by APTA indicates that this growing ridership trend continued in November, despite a drop in gas prices that month.

 

Ann Arbor, MI  19.5%

Antioch, CA  10.0%

Atlanta, GA (Xpress)  121.0%

Austin, TX  7.3%

Big Bear Lake, CA  14.0%

Burlington, VT  6.8%

Canton, OH  63.0%

Centralia, IL  5.3% 

Charlotte, NC  9.5 %

Chicago, IL  2.9%

Columbus, OH  5.2%

Dallas, TX  14.9%

Denver, CO  7.8%

Durham, NH  12.0%

Eden Prairie, MN  16.7%

Eugene, OR  9.7%

Flint, MI  20.0%

Fort Worth, TX  18.5%

Fort Wright, KY  6.0%

Grand Rapids, MI  18.8%

Hartford, CT 2.1%

Houston, TX  14.9%

Ithaca, NY  12.8 %

Jersey City, NJ (Port Authority of NY & NJ)  13.0% 

Johnstown, PA  7.1%

Kansas City, MO  13.0%

Knoxville, TN  12.9%

Lafayette, IN  3.0%

Lansing, MI  4.4%

Logan, UT  19.7%

Los Angeles, CA (LACMTA)  9.0%

Los Angeles, CA (SCRRA)  7.0%

Louisville, KY  6.4%

Milwaukee, WI  3.8%

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN  4.3%

Montebello, CA  3.0%

Montgomery, AL  20.3%

Muncie, IN  13.5%

New Haven, CT  5.6%

New York Metropolitan Area - Northern Suburbs 4.5%

- New York City 2.0%

- Long Island 3.2%

North Little Rock, AR  15.2%

Oakland, CA (Capitol Corridor)  4.8%

Oklahoma City, OK  17.0%

Owensboro, KY  2.0%

Painesville, OH  7.0%

Palm Bay/Melbourne, FL  12.9%

Palm Beach, Fl  6.9%

Phoenix, AZ  7.4%

Phoenix Metro Region, AZ  8.0% 

Pittsburgh, PA  2.0%

Prince George's County, MD  12.0%

Reno, NV  12.4%

Research Triangle Park, NC  8.1%

Richland, WA  4.7 %

Sacramento, CA  1.0%

Salt Lake City, UT  17.7%

San Antonio, TX  13.8%

San Bernardino, CA  3.2%

San Diego, CA  9.4%

San Francisco, CA  6.5%

San Luis Obispo, CA  21.0%

San Mateo County, CA  0.8%

Santa Clara County, CA  5.5%

Seattle, WA  4.6%

Snohomish County, WA  8.8%

Spokane, WA  5.1%

State College, PA  1.7%

St. Louis, MO  9.7%

Tacoma, WA  5.2%

Tampa, FL  9.9%

Topeka, KS  4.5%

Tucson, AZ  10.5%

Tulsa, OK  22.0%

Washington, DC  9.1%

 

For more info, click the link

 

***

http://www.apta.com/media/releases/060118ridership_increases.cfm

Cool!

Nice to see Cleveland in a positive leadership position for a change.  This info should be presented to our "leaders" to push for more Red Line TODs.

The way some of the leadership is presented here, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to keep this info "hush-hush."

 

Negativity aside, I'm really excited to see these figures and I'm proud to say that I'm one of the numbers!

Actually, an interesting aside... Much like the Census is inaccurate on many accounts, how accurate do you think transit ridership numbers are?  Are these figures based on fares or actual counts or are they based on samples? 

 

The reason I ask is that I feel like my fare is often not counted.  Namely, because I'm a student and just wave my ID.  No one HAS to press anything when I get on a bus or train in Cleveland.  They SHOULD, but they often don't.  I sometimes think I'm a dork for wanting to tell the booth attendant or driver to punch me in, but then I think about how numbers add up and lead to big decisions...

 

Just curious what you all think about this...

 

    I've paid attention to bus operators and they seem to do the job effectively. I see them pushing a lever on the farebox; I assume that is a counter.

 

    That said, I've seen people cheat by sneaking in the back door at crowded bus stops. They neither paid nor were counted.

Riders crowd public transit systems

 

By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY

 

WASHINGTON — Ridership on public transportation jumped to the highest level in nearly five decades in 2006 as high gas prices and expanded bus and train service enticed people to park their cars.

 

More than 10 billion trips were taken on buses and rail lines last year, the American Public Transportation Association says in a report to be released Monday.

 

That's up 2.9% from 2005 and the highest level since 1957. Ridership rose three consecutive years through 2006 and increased 28% in the 10 years since 1996.

 

The rise in 2006 came as gasoline prices increased, coming within pennies of the all-time record, not adjusted for inflation, reached following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "Certainly, a lot of the growth last year was with the high gas prices," APTA President William Millar says.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-03-12-transit-4-usat_N.htm 

 

 

Let's keep an eye out for what our local transit systems are saying about ridership and post the results here.

SORTA (Cincinnati, Hamilton and surrounding counties) has been down in the city, but doing well in the suburbs.

Greater Cleveland RTA NEWS

Monday, March 12, 2007                           

 

Americans take more than 10 billion trips on public transportation

 

CLEVELAND - The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) announced today that Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation nationwide in 2006 – the most in 49 years. Over the last decade, public transportation’s growth rate outpaced the growth rate of the population of vehicle miles traveled on our nation’s highways. 

 

RTA’s ridership increased from 52.7 million trips in 2002 to 57.2 million trips in 2006, an increase of 8.5 percent. In 2006, RTA also showed ridership growth in four of its five modes – big bus, heavy rail, light rail and Paratransit.

 

More at:

http://www.gcrta.org/nu_newsroom_releases.asp?listingid=1012

Good news for RTA, and transit in the US as a whole.  Gas prices aren't heading down, so I expect this trend will continue for a while. 

Interesting article by the travel writer for the Columbus Dispatch about using transit to sightsee around Atlanta.  What makes it more interesting is that the reporter has not been a big fan of rail in that past.  He used to write an opinion column fore the "Big D" that often took swipes at rail and transit.

 

Marching through ATLANTA

Rail system allows visitors to see attractions without braving congested roads

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Steve Stephens

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

 

ATLANTA — More than 15 years had passed since my last visit to the Big Peach, and despite hearing all the stories of growth and sprawl, I thought I was ready.

 

I wasn’t.

 

Exploring several cities in the state, I was driving to Atlanta from Savannah. The first 130 miles or so were clear sailing. But the congestion started just north of Macon — about 70 miles outside of Atlanta — and continued all the way to the Atlanta airport.

 

That’s when I decided to ditch the rental car, even though some Atlantans I met in south Georgia had warned against the move.

 

More at:

 

http://dispatch.com/travel/travel.php?story=dispatch/2007/03/18/20070318-H1-02.html

no surprize here, ny's transit ridership is bursting at the seams.

 

question is will other state/local transit agencies take notice of this?

A legislative alert about a bill that could threaten transit funding. It stems from Perrysburg's dispute with TARTA, but it has statewide implications.  Source: www.1kco.org (One-Thousand Friends of Central Ohio)

 

Dear Members and Supporters of 1000 Friends of Central Ohio,

Two transit-related issues in the Ohio Statehouse require your immediate action.

 

State Senator Randy Gardner (R-Bowling Green) has introduced Senate Bill – 88, which would allow local communities to unilaterally “opt out” of their region’s transit authority.   The bill, which would undermine an already fragile funding system for transit, has advanced to the Ohio Senate Transportation & Public Safety Committee for hearings.

 

Senate Bill 88 grows out of a dispute between the Toledo suburb of Perrysburg and the Toledo Area Rapid Transit Authority.  Perrysburg has contended that the bus service it gets is neither convenient nor at sufficient levels to make it so.  Perrysburg officials approached Senator Gardner to change the current law that allows communities to end their membership in their local RTA, but only if all other communities involved vote to allow it. 

 

This may sound appealing, but the reality is that it would further degrade local transit service and result in a “Swiss cheese” approach to providing mobility. It also sets a dangerous precedent that would threaten not only transit systems, but other entities that depend on public support. If communities are allowed to “opt out” of a transit district, soon similar initiatives will follow for those wanting to opt out of school, library, fire districts and others.

 

 

A better way to address this is by increasing state funding for local transit districts.  Consider:

 

Per Capita State Spending on Public Transportation

 

Pennsylvania          $63.29

Michigan                   $20.73

Ohio                           $ 1.34

(Source: Greater Cleveland RTA)

 

Transit service is lacking in Perrysburg – and other communities throughout Ohio – because of the woeful investment Ohio has made in transit for years. At a time when the cost of owning and operating a motor vehicle is second only to the cost of housing for most families, Ohioans need more, not fewer transportation choices.

 

Here’s what you can do to help stop this erosion of support for public transportation:

 

Call or e-mail your state representative (see information below), especially Senator Gardner and the members of the Senate Transportation & Public Safety Committee, and send them two messages:

 

    1.  Vote “No” on Senate Bill 88

 

    2. Vote “Yes” for a greater state investment in public transportation.

Thank you for your quick attention to this urgent matter.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Douglas Ervin, Chairman, 1000 Friends of Central Ohio

 

 

To find your State Representative:  http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/Representatives.jsp

 

To find your State Senator:        http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/

 

E-Mail for Senate Transportation & Public Safety Committee Chair (Senator Patricia Clancy):  mailto:[email protected]

 

E-mail for State Senator Randy Gardner:  mailto:[email protected]