Metro Ridership

Busdad · PostJul 05, 2008#12008-07-05T16:19+00:00

This is June Metrobus usage compared to June one year ago.

xxxxxxxxxx June 2007 June 2008 % Change Since June 2007

Missouri 2,440,519 2,724,492 11.6%

Illinois 194,418 219,720 13.0%

Total 2,634,937 2,944,214 11.7%

Madison County Transit reports bus ridership increases of 22 % in June.

I take the 14X and 7 out of 11 AM trips carry standees, of which one is often me.

Metrobus usage is up substantially on express routes and most local routes. The increases are pretty much across the board.

Sorry I can't get the table to look organized.

rbb · PostJul 07, 2008#22008-07-07T13:37+00:00

Busdad wrote:Sorry I can't get the table to look organized.

Fixed for you:

Code: Select all

            June 2007   June 2008   % Change Since June 2007 

------------------------------------------------------------ 

Missouri    2,440,519   2,724,492                      11.6% 

Illinois      194,418     219,720                      13.0% 

Total       2,634,937   2,944,214                      11.7%

If you paste your info into Notepad first and use spaces (not tabs) to make the data line up, you can then paste it into the post and wrap CODE tags around it. It'll look funny when you paste it into the text box, but will appear correctly in your post.

-RBB

xing · PostJul 09, 2008#32008-07-09T17:06+00:00

Busdad, do you have metrolink ridership before and after the current gas situation?

jlblues · PostJul 09, 2008#42008-07-09T19:59+00:00

And how would you distinguish increased ridership due to higher gas prices from that due to the opening of the cross-county extension?

matt · PostJul 09, 2008#52008-07-09T20:39+00:00

I have trouble believing that MO ridership has increased only 12 percent.

tom shrout · PostJul 09, 2008#62008-07-09T21:11+00:00

jlblues wrote:And how would you distinguish increased ridership due to higher gas prices from that due to the opening of the cross-county extension?

You survey your riders. Metro ran an onboard survey about six weeks ago. I haven't seen any results.

jlblues · PostJul 09, 2008#72008-07-09T21:55+00:00

^Uh-huh, and if I live in Shrewsbury, or work in Clayton, and I started taking MetroLink recently, I did that primarily because of higher gas prices, or because Metro was now an option??? Even people that do it every day wouldn't be able to answer that question reliably. But of course most people are going to say "gas prices", because that is the lead story on any given media outlet every day.

wabash · PostAug 12, 2008#82008-08-12T17:17+00:00

I'll post here although there are a number of threads with this topic now.

Is there any new information concerning Metro/metrolink ridership for June, July, or Fiscal Year 2008? Busdad had mentioned that the 60,000,000 ridership mark could have been broken for the first time in over 25 years. Although it was a longshot, the way gas prices went this spring it may have happened. That would be great news for Metro, the County tax proposition, Metrolink expansion, and St. Louis in general.

Any news?

Busdad · PostAug 13, 2008#92008-08-13T03:05+00:00

We will not release any Metrolink ridership until October or November 2008.

We are converting our count software system to an Oracle database and updating the method of matching trains to the various schedules we operate. We have our regular schedules, but must add in extra trips for special events. We have also run a number of special construction schedules. These special schedules can mess up the factoring process.

While every train has APC equipment, the equipment occasionally fails to record both cars. This then requires factoring to get an estimate of total ridership. The methodology we plan to use is slightly different than the previous methodology and it has given different results in some months. Until we can verify the accuracy of the new method, nothing will be released. Accuracy of the counts is critical since FTA formula funds are allocated based upon ridershp. Wash U, SWIC and MoDOt contracts all require passenger counts.

Metros revenue is definitely up and bus ridership hit 3.14 million in July 2008 which was 20% higher than last year. But you will not get any Metrolink ridership until I can be sure its correct.

Don't expect any Metrolink data for June through October until we can reprocess all data since 2004. I also sure we did not carry 60 million boardings. Sorry.

migueltejada · PostAug 13, 2008#102008-08-13T23:24+00:00

Matt wrote:I have trouble believing that MO ridership has increased only 12 percent.

You should.

Just because gas prices rose doesn't mean people had a practical choice for mode change. Gas prices rose here as well, and while a number of people switched to trains trams or buses, for me, there was no practical way to get to work by PT - and I'm far from the only one. And while practical is a relative term, I'm not going to spend double my commute (45 min vs 90 min) so I can save $10 a week.

juiceinkirkwood · PostAug 14, 2008#112008-08-14T03:06+00:00

I have a Metro stop right outside my house, but according to TripFinder is would take me 1 hr, 15 mins to get to work...or drive it in 20.

matt · PostAug 14, 2008#122008-08-14T15:18+00:00

So if I understand correctly, bus ridership is up 20 percent over the same time last year. I've been a daily rider since 1996.

I too, probably wouldn't ride if I lived outside the city. For that, you need commuter rail or a convenient express bus route.

My trip to work has increased to 20-25 minutes from 7-9 minutes and that's only from downtown to Soulard. I can walk the route in 30-35 minutes and, for my health, I should start.

wabash · PostAug 14, 2008#132008-08-14T21:33+00:00

Thanks for the numbers busdad. I look forward to seeing the final tally in October. Too bad about the 60M, but nonetheless the increased ridership and necessity of Metro seems to be eroding some of the bad-taste left by Salci and the lawsuits.

krykel · PostAug 19, 2008#142008-08-19T19:29+00:00

As I was riding the metro home last night I was thinking about how they desperately need turnstyles. I have only been riding for a couple months and I was shocked to see that they use the honor system. I have never been asked to show a ticket. Maybe that would solve the problem with funding, I bet if they actually made every person pay, they would accumulate a lot more revenue. It would also make the metro much safer because you would not have the kids just jumping on and off.

dweebe · PostAug 19, 2008#152008-08-19T20:24+00:00

krykel wrote:As I was riding the metro home last night I was thinking about how they desperately need turnstyles. I have only been riding for a couple months and I was shocked to see that they use the honor system. I have never been asked to show a ticket. Maybe that would solve the problem with funding, I bet if they actually made every person pay, they would accumulate a lot more revenue. It would also make the metro much safer because you would not have the kids just jumping on and off.

While I would like turnstiles, I find that hard to believe you haven't been asked for a ticket in months. At least between Forest Park and downtown I've been asked for a ticket at least twice a week.

krykel · PostAug 19, 2008#162008-08-19T20:40+00:00

While I would like turnstiles, I find that hard to believe you haven't been asked for a ticket in months. At least between Forest Park and downtown I've been asked for a ticket at least twice a week

Believe it, I ride from Downtown to UMSL North back and forth almost every day.

u2acro · PostAug 19, 2008#172008-08-19T22:37+00:00

krykel wrote:As I was riding the metro home last night I was thinking about how they desperately need turnstyles. I have only been riding for a couple months and I was shocked to see that they use the honor system. I have never been asked to show a ticket. Maybe that would solve the problem with funding, I bet if they actually made every person pay, they would accumulate a lot more revenue. It would also make the metro much safer because you would not have the kids just jumping on and off.

It's a huge misconception that the price paid will erase the deficit. Even if there were turnstiles, which would cost plenty of up-front money, that wouldn't make up the millions needed to sustain current service, let alone expand it. It's local taxes, state taxes, state grants and federal grants.

In addition, people still jump turnstiles. We're also not the only city to use the honor system. I'm not saying it's the best thing ever, but we're not the backwoods town that even locals make us out to be. Every city's transportation options have problems, and every (or nearly every) city's transportation options lose money. I don't think any operate without without big shortfalls.

Plus, as others have said, tickets are checked more than once in a blue moon. I commute daily to downtown and have my tickets checked nearly each time I ride. Granted, they're checked more often on the return trip, but still. That's a far cry from "never."

tom shrout · PostAug 19, 2008#182008-08-19T23:24+00:00

I am checked for tickets most mornings at the CWE station and most afternoons at the Convention Center Station. I would rather invest resources in security guards and more MetroLink lines than turnstiles.

The MetroLink system needs be bigger with more transit oriented development around current and future stations, thus building the tax base in the city and county. Part of Metro's funding issue is that the tax base in both the city and county have not grown sufficiently to keep up with inflation. I suspect $4 gas will over the long term put the brakes on sprawl and encourage some to make the choice of living closer in or even selection homes and jobs where the commute is easy on transit

bprop · PostAug 20, 2008#192008-08-20T00:12+00:00

u2acro wrote:
krykel wrote:As I was riding the metro home last night I was thinking about how they desperately need turnstyles. I have only been riding for a couple months and I was shocked to see that they use the honor system. I have never been asked to show a ticket. Maybe that would solve the problem with funding, I bet if they actually made every person pay, they would accumulate a lot more revenue. It would also make the metro much safer because you would not have the kids just jumping on and off.

It's a huge misconception that the price paid will erase the deficit. Even if there were turnstiles, which would cost plenty of up-front money, that wouldn't make up the millions needed to sustain current service, let alone expand it. It's local taxes, state taxes, state grants and federal grants.

In addition, people still jump turnstiles. We're also not the only city to use the honor system. I'm not saying it's the best thing ever, but we're not the backwoods town that even locals make us out to be. Every city's transportation options have problems, and every (or nearly every) city's transportation options lose money. I don't think any operate without without big shortfalls.

Plus, as others have said, tickets are checked more than once in a blue moon. I commute daily to downtown and have my tickets checked nearly each time I ride. Granted, they're checked more often on the return trip, but still. That's a far cry from "never."

I agree; however, during my normal morning/evening commute, my tickets haven't been checked on-board in over two years, since CC opened. If I leave early and go home at, say, noon, it might be checked. Or if I go into work a few hours late, it might be checked. But there are constant, reliable windows of time where tickets are simply not checked, one being prior to 8am (that time was quoted to me). Do fare-jumpers exploit this in particular, or take their chances? I don't know, but it is a little questionable to never see a security guard on a train during those times.

smsplanstu · PostAug 21, 2008#202008-08-21T17:05+00:00

Tom,

Does CMT have a map, matrix, or analysis of the municipalities with Metro stations of zoning policies that encourge TOD?

I ask because it seems that California systems, Dallas, Denver, and D.C. each have either municipal zoning policies or a policy in the transit agency that works to create or encourage TODs, which it seems our transit agency and municipalities might lack.

If Metro does not have such a policy, does CMT have a model policy to provide to Metro to give them as an example?

tom shrout · PostAug 21, 2008#212008-08-21T19:18+00:00

Our intern, Seth Teel, wrote a model TOD overlay zoning code. We shared it with the St. Louis County Municipal League in February. (We got a few yawns

). HOK has projects near a couple stations (where Seth works now.) So I think the consulting community is getting it even though the elected officials may no.

jmedwick · PostAug 21, 2008#222008-08-21T20:57+00:00

From my own perspective, given the focus people put on TOD as a reason for supporting funding for light rail expansion, the most logical method to get enhanced funding from the State of Missouri would be to link capital funding for transit to local support for the project through TOD zoning.

Something like a "Transit Village" program might help. The State could kick in a % of funding for all transit related improvements within a designated Transit Village, with a transit village defined both by the distance from the station (ideally the standards 5 to 10 minute walking radius) and those areas which have adopted zoning that is supportive of TOD development. Such a program could be broad enough that funding would be available to not just light rail, but also bus hub improvements and even areas around Amtrak stations, thereby offering something for outstate legislatures looking to revitalize their downtowns in addition to more urban areas pondering transit improvements.

u2acro · PostAug 21, 2008#232008-08-21T22:20+00:00

JMedwick wrote:From my own perspective, given the focus people put on TOD as a reason for supporting funding for light rail expansion, the most logical method to get enhanced funding from the State of Missouri would be to link capital funding for transit to local support for the project through TOD zoning.

Something like a "Transit Village" program might help. The State could kick in a % of funding for all transit related improvements within a designated Transit Village, with a transit village defined both by the distance from the station (ideally the standards 5 to 10 minute walking radius) and those areas which have adopted zoning that is supportive of TOD development. Such a program could be broad enough that funding would be available to not just light rail, but also bus hub improvements and even areas around Amtrak stations, thereby offering something for outstate legislatures looking to revitalize their downtowns in addition to more urban areas pondering transit improvements.

That is a FABULOUSLY BRILLIANT idea!

I realize that the all-caps might look sarcastic, but I'm being totally serious. That's something that could work!

migueltejada · PostAug 25, 2008#242008-08-25T03:34+00:00

We have these in Melbourne. They're called Transit Cities.

Sorry Jmed - Australia 1, US 0!

LOL

bprop · PostAug 25, 2008#252008-08-25T18:40+00:00

I arrived at the Shrewsbury station today at about 12:00 noon. The lot was completely full, and people were parking in non-parking areas, and about 10 cars were driving up and down the rows looking for spaces. Is there a big event going on today? I noticed the lot getting more full over the past couple weeks, but have not seen it this full for a long time.

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