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News from King County Department of Transportation
Release date:
Oct. 8, 2007
Metro Transit on
track for another year
of record-breaking ridership
The latest
ridership numbers for King
County Metro Transit shows demand for bus service in King County
continues to grow at a very strong rate – and it’s barely into October,
which historically has been Metro’s busiest month.
“In 2007, we’ve been able to offer more service and more choices,” said
King County Executive Ron Sims.
“It proves that people are willing to green-up their commute and daily
travel, if you give them the right options.”
Sims pointed out that in addition to the monthly ridership gains, the
newly reopened transit tunnel in downtown Seattle is busy again. New
service delivered through the Transit Now initiative approved by voters
last year has been immediately popular with bus riders.
“People can’t wait for us to launch ‘RapidRide,’ our version of Bus
Rapid Transit,” he said.
Sims said all
indications point to Metro surpassing last year’s record-breaking
ridership numbers. In 2006, Metro had more than 103 million boardings
for the entire year, with an average daily boarding of 341,000 riders on
a typical weekday.
So far in 2007, each
month’s ridership has been significantly higher than the same month in
2006. In some months, there has been an increase as high as 32,000 more
daily boardings. Overall, Metro’s 2007 ridership is running almost 7
percent higher than 2006.
That puts Metro on the
top of the pack nationwide. The American
Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced national
ridership figures last week for the first six months of the year. Metro
was mentioned as having the biggest bus ridership increase among the 26
largest agencies in the nation. In addition to exceeding ridership
growth trends for the large agencies, Metro’s trend far exceeds the
national rate of growth in bus transit systems. Nationally, APTA
reported Americans took 78 million more trips on public transportation
during the first six months of 2007, compared to the same time in 2006.
Here’s a breakdown for Metro’s monthly
ridership:
Average Metro Transit weekday boardings by month
2007
2006
January
349,000
331,000
February
365,000
337,000
March
352,000
325,000
April
374,000
342,000
May
375,000
355,000
June
364,000
343,000
July
364,000 (est.)
346,000
August
356,000 (est.)
336,000
September
346,000
October
366,000
November
345,000
December
324,000
“These numbers are very strong, and we
could set a record for the month of October, given it’s one of our
strongest months,” said Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond. “We’ve been
on a growth trend for almost three years now. If you compare the 2007
figures to date with the same period in 2004, average weekday ridership
is up 14.7 percent throughout our system.”
High gas prices have been a factor in the
ridership growth, but it’s also tied to the region’s high employment
rate.
“With more jobs, more traffic, and
higher gas prices, more and more people are seeking alternatives,” said
Desmond. “In addition to the bus ridership gains, we have a record
number of vanpools and vanshares on the road, another indication of
strong demand.”
If employment in the region stays strong,
Desmond expects transit ridership will also continue to grow. Especially
as Metro expands service with new partnerships such as the one that
recently debuted with Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center,
and the upcoming addition of RapidRide.
“It’s a very exciting time for us at Metro,”
said Desmond. “We know people are eager for these new transit options
and for enhanced service on existing routes. Our challenge is to use our
resources wisely and efficiently to blend the old with the new in ways
that best serve our passengers.”
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