Metro rail ridership surges in June

Metro just released the rail ridership numbers for June and ridership is up 12.8% compared to June of 2007. The subway, Gold Line, Green Line and Orange Line busway set records for average daily ridership and the Blue Line had its second-highest totals. But bus numbers dipped from a year earlier.

Overall, bus and rail ridership was about the same as last June, said agency spokesman Marc Littman. Littman said the agency believes that last year's fare hike -- when the cost of a day pass went from $3 to $5 -- hit bus ridership harder, because some people stopped taking the bus for discretionary trips. On the other hand, gas prices have helped spur some commuters to take the rail lines, he said.

Still, Littman said that the agency is surprised that the bus ridership is bouncing back so quickly after the fare increase.

The full press release from Metro is after the jump.

--Steve Hymon

METRO RAIL, METRO ORANGE  LINE SET NEW RIDERSHIP
RECORDS AS COMMUTERS BALK  AT PAYING HIGH GAS PRICES   

      Metro Rail ridership records were set on several rail lines in June 2008 as commuters and others parked their cars and opted for cheap and fast service to avoid high gas prices. The Metro Red and Purple subway lines, the Metro Gold and Green Lines all set weekday ridership records and the Metro Blue Line fell just short of a record.  Metro Orange Line buses also set a ridership record.

       Last month 309,000 passengers boarded Metro Rail trains on an average weekday, up 12.8 percent, compared to a year earlier.  About half of those riders (153,928) rode the subway, which connects downtown Los Angeles and Universal City and North Hollywood via Hollywood with a spur to Wilshire and Western.

     For the second month in a row, the Metro Gold Line from downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena, set a new ridership record with 26,338 average weekday boardings, up 31.8 percent in June 2008 over last year.

      "The cost-effective, convenient alternative to driving propelled the Gold Line to an all-time high in ridership," said County Supervisor and Metro Board Member Michael D. Antonovich.

      The Metro Green Line connecting Norwalk and El Segundo nabbed a record with 44,034 boardings, and the Metro Blue Line, which travels from downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach, experienced its second highest ridership with 84,353 average weekday boardings.

      The popular Metro Orange Line, a 14-mile busway that operates like a “train on rubber wheels” from North Hollywood to Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley, boosted weekday ridership by 4.4 percent over last year to 26,596 boardings.
   
      An even better measure of Metro Rail’s growing popularity is to compare total boardings for the fourth quarter of FY2008 (April-May-June) with the fourth quarter of FY2007. Metro Rail ridership surged 7.13 percent.  At the same time, Metro bus ridership, which had been lagging following last summer’s fare hike, bounced back. It’s still down 1.96 percent for the quarter compared to last year but it had been down as much as 7 percent in previous quarters. Metro schedulers observe that a sharp drop in Metro Day Pass sales has resulted in bus riders making fewer extra discretionary trips, however, Metro Rail has consistently gained new commuter riders eager to avoid pain at the gas pump. Combined Metro Bus and Rail ridership was just about even in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier.       

      The combination of cheap fares and fast service competitive with driving is luring more riders, according to Metro officials who note that Metro’s $5 day pass is about what a gallon of gas costs and if the  cost of fuel, vehicle depreciation, maintenance, insurance and parking are factored in, those who use public transit  or opt for vanpools or carpools can easily save well over $6,000 a year by getting rid of one of the average family’s 2.5 cars and trucks.

      Go to Metro.net to access the 24/7 Metro trip planner and learn more about Metro rideshare programs or call 1-800 Commute for information.

Comments

[David Raether]

Remember back when there were those "neighborhood groups" (mainly in South Pasadena) that fought the Gold Line because it was going to ruin the city and cause accidents and nobody would get out of their cars and ride the train from upper middle class communities like Pasadena and South Pasadena?

Ah, those were the good old days...

Maybe everyone opposed to the proposed Phase 2 Exposition Line should do some digging and see that their arguments right now sound virtually identical to the "neighborhood group" objections from 15 years ago in South Pasadena.

What does that tell you? It tells you the Phase 2 opponents are totally, completely, and utterly wrong and that these obstructionists should be fought, shouted down and defeated so that Phase 2 can get built as soon as possible.

[Charles P.]

As a two-year Gold Line rider, I've welcomed the increase in passengers using the service.

However, trains are now packed during peak hours, making the ride uncomfortable and unsafe. Most folks standing crowd at the trains' doors, just imagine having to exit in an emergency.

Hopefully, the MTA will add more trains and capitalize on the recent upsurge in ridership before people change their minds and return to their cars!

[RC]

I moved from LA to NYC and try to keep up with public transportation in LA. If it continues to improve, I may consider moving back. A little crowding that you complain about is what us New Yorkers deal with everyday. It's like this everywhere that there's good public transportation. Better than paying $5/gallon, adding CO2 to the atmosphere and sitting in traffic. Plus you get to see people, aren't you tired of just sitting in your cars!

[MatthewScott]

I ride the Metro rail system (Gold and Purple Lines) several times per week. I concur with other comments here. The trains are noticibly more crowded and uncomfortable. There are people standing down the isles on the Gold Line in the morning. On the other hand, I'm glad to see people give up driving. I can tolerate the crowding for that.

[aldo818]

I don't know about the other lines but I know that they have been holding the trains back by 10-15 more minutes on the Red-Line.

I don't know why they would fill the train to the brim at North Hollywood when they are supposed to be departing every 10-12 mins. They have also been shortening the train by two cars going between north Hollywood and Union Station making the trip pretty untolerable.

The only conclusion that I have is that they want to inflate their numbers and drive away the monthly pass holders like me. I drove to Downtown three times this week. It was faster and more comfortable.

[Tim Buchheim]

wow. 31.8% increase on the Gold Line? Those riders are being packed like sardines.

Back when I first started riding the Gold Line (18 months ago, maybe), it wasn't unusual to have mostly empty trains on the weekends. But it has been packed the last few times I've been on it.

Time to run more trains (waiting for a train on the weekend sucks.. they're 15-20 minutes apart) or at least add a few cars per train. I know they have plenty more cars.. there are always a ton parked at the gold line maintenance yard, and there's always an extra empty train parked at the Sierra Madre Villa station.