From: "Friends of Transit NEWS" To: Subject: Transit Ridership Continues to Grow Nationwide Date: Monday, April 15, 2002 10:47 PM (Reprinted from the January 28, 2001, issue of Passenger Transport) Transit Ridership Continues Growth During 2001 New APTA statistics show that ridership levels for 2001 continue to exceed the previous year, with growth of 2.2 percent for the first three quarters of the year. Ridership for the third quarter increased 0.8 percent compared with the same quarter in 2000: an estimated 2.323 billion trips, compared with 2.305 billion the previous year. "All types of communities are made stronger and more vibrant when trips are taken on America's public transportation systems," said APTA President William W. Millar. "While still growing, third-quarter ridership statistics were understandably affected by a sluggish economy and the events of Sept. 11." For the first three quarters of 2001, the highest modal increase was 10.3 percent for buses in areas with populations of 50,000 to 99,999. Demand response followed at 8.7 percent, heavy rail at 3.1 percent, commuter rail at 3 percent, and light rail at 2.8 percent. During this period, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority led heavy rail systems with an increase of 66.8 percent, due to a line extension that opened in the previous year. Ridership on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metrorail system was up 8.5 percent over the first nine months of 2000. Among commuter rail systems, ridership on Seattle's Sound Transit jumped 3,581 percent because the service only operated during part of September in 2000. Other noteworthy increases were found at Trinity Railway Express in Dallas-Fort Worth, 87.3 percent, and Altamont Commuter Express in San Jose, Calif., 43.8 percent. New Jersey Transit Corporation led light rail ridership for the first three quarters of 2001 with an increase of 203.9 percent, because of an extension of service on the Hudson-Bergen Line. Denver's Regional Transportation District reported an increase of 49.4 percent, and Los Angeles, 11.2 percent. All of these systems also reported ridership increases for the third quarter of 2001. In the third quarter, demand response or paratransit showed the largest increase, 8.3 percent, followed by 8 percent for buses serving populations of 50,000 to 99,999. Bus ridership in urbanized areas with populations of more than two million grew 2.9 percent. Commuter rail was up 1 percent for the quarter, and light rail showed an increase of 0.2 percent. Smaller bus systems with ridership increases exceeding 15 percent in the third quarter occurred at Altoona, Pa., 21.2 percent; Bloomington, Ind., 19.4 percent; Bowling Green, Ky., 18.8 percent; Gainesville, Fla., 23 percent; Grand Rapids, Mich., 16.2 percent; Greensboro, N.C., 17.8 percent; Kankakee, Ill., 51.5 percent; Lafayette, Ind., 21.7 percent; Lexington, Ky., 18 percent; Santa Monica, Calif., 15 percent; Anoka County Transit in suburban Minneapolis, 23.3 percent; Muskegon, Mich., 32.4 percent; Ventura County Transportation Commission in Oxnard, Calif., 18.4 percent; Seattle's Sound Transit, 28.5 percent; Sioux Falls, S.D., 21 percent; Syracuse, N.Y., 18.1 percent; and Washington suburban systems Corridor Transportation, 47.4 percent; Prince George's County Transportation, Md., 29 percent; and Prince William County, Va., 26.3 percent. As a whole, the nine Canadian systems reporting showed a 3.6 percent decrease, partially due to the legacy of a strike at Calgary in April, and a strike at Vancouver that continued through most of July. The most notable system-wide increases were at Toronto's GO Transit, 5.3 percent; Ottawa, Ont., 5 percent; and Mississauga Transit in suburban Toronto, 4.6 percent. Among individual modes, the most significant increases were for demand response in Victoria, B.C., 17.5 percent; GO Transit buses, 6 percent, and commuter rail, 5 percent; and Toronto's intermediate rail, 5.2 percent.