10.4 Billion Trips Taken On U.S. Public Transportation In 2011

Nationally, commuter rail ridership increased by 2.5 percent in 2011. With a new rail line extension that opened in December 2010, the commuter rail in Austin, Texas, saw an increase of 169 percent due to additional and weekend service. The follow six commuter rail systems saw double digit increases in 2011: Nashville, Tenn. (33 percent); Oceanside, Calif. (21 percent); Portland, Ore. (20 percent); Alexandria, Va. (12.7 percent); Salt Lake City, Utah (10.4 percent); and Stockton, Calif. (10.3 percent). Commuter rail systems that also reported increases were: Oakland, Calif.(8.3 percent); Seattle, Wash. – Sound Transit (7.6 percent) and Anchorage, Alaska (7 percent).

Large bus systems reported an increase of 0.4 percent nationally. The following bus systems showed an increase: Columbus, Ohio (10.1 percent); Saint Louis, Mo. (10 percent); Orlando, Fla. (8.4 percent); Miami, Fla. (8.3 percent); Washington, D.C. (7.1 percent); San Diego, Calif. (6.8 percent); San Antonio, Texas (6.3 percent); Arlington Heights, Ill. (4.6 percent); Minneapolis, Minn (4.3 percent); and Baltimore, Md. (3.9 percent).

Demand response (paratransit) ridership increased in 2011 by 3.2 percent and trolleybus ridership increased by 1.2 percent.

Separate from the 2011 ridership report, below is a sampling of 2012 ridership that shows continued momentum and increased ridership nationwide.

Albany, N.Y. - Capital District Transportation Authority
January – Increased 13 percent - Experiencing record ridership; Expect to close with 14.5 million boardings for this fiscal year (to close on March 31st.) Expected to be the highest ridership in close to 25 years.

Ames, Iowa – CyRide
January – Increased 7.5 percent
February – Increased 9.8 percent

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Ann Arbor Transportation Authority
January and February – Increased 7.2 percent each month

Arlington Heights, Ill. – Pace Suburban Bus
January – Increased 7.5 percent

Boston, Mass. – Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
January – Increased 10.2 percent; January marked the 12th consecutive month of ridership growth at the MBTA.

Burnsville, Minn. - Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
January – Increased 2 percent
February – Increased 8 percent

Charleston, S.C. - Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority
January – Increased 16.76 percent

Cleveland, Ohio - Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
January - Increased 5.3 percent; Nine consecutive months of increased ridership.

College, Pa. - Centre Area Transportation Authority
January – Increased 2.5 percent

Columbus, Ohio - Central Ohio Transit Authority
January – Increased 6.1 percent

Corpus Christi, Texas – Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority
January – Increased 9.1 percent

Durham, N.C. - Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA)
January - Increased 15.6 percent

Fort Myers, Fla. – Lee County Transit
January – Increased 20.8 percent -Record double digit ridership for the past six months

Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Rapid
January – Increased 12.2 percent

Houston, Texas - Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County
January - Increased system wide 5.2 percent; Six consecutive months of increased ridership.

Indianapolis, Ind. - Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation
January – Increased 19.09 percent

Kansas City, Mo. - Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
January – Increased 16.76 percent
February – Increased 21.12 percent

Los Angeles, Calif. - Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
January - Rail increased 3 percent; Bus increased 1 percent

Muncie, Ind. - Muncie Indiana Transit System
January – Increased 5.21 percent
February – Increased 17.4 percent

Nashville, Tenn. - Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority & Regional Transportation Authority
January – Increased 16.7 percent; anticipate hitting a combined MTA/RTA milestone of 10 million passenger trips this fiscal year which ends June 30.

Oakland, - Calif. - Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority
January – Increased 7 percent

Olympia, Wash. – Intercity Transit
January – Increased 4 percent
February – Increased 11.6 percent
2011 was the highest ridership for the system in 31 years