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Transit ridership moves upward in 2005

Rail service creates big increase, and bus ridership is fairly steady

Twin Cities area transit customers boarded Metro Transit buses and light-rail trains 69.7 million times in 2005, an additional 4.7 million rides over 2004. The increase was slightly more than 7.2 percent.

Bus rides on regular routes — the heart of the system — grew 1.5 percent to 59.5 million. But overall bus ridership for the year was 61.8 million, down a half-percent (or 275,000 rides), according to Metro Transit officials. Areas where bus ridership was lost include shuttle service at the airport — where trains now do most of the trips between the two terminals — and on contract routes, where less service was purchased from Metro Transit by the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority.

Rail rides reached 7.9 million last year, 170 percent higher than 2004, when only a portion of the line was open for five months and the entire line was open starting in early December.

Outlook for 2006 is good

Customers took 5.7 million transit rides in December 2005, 5.5 percent, or 296,000 rides, more than December 2004. Bus ridership in December was up 3.5 percent, or 165,000 rides higher than the 4.8 million rides recorded in December 2004. Rail ridership jumped 22 percent, an additional 130,000 rides, from December 2004.

“The increase in ridership later in the year makes us very optimistic about meeting our ridership goal for 2006,” said Brian Lamb, general manager of Metro Transit. “More people are discovering the cost benefits and stress reduction of getting out from behind the wheel of a single-occupancy vehicle.” Metro Transit has set a 2006 ridership goal of 71 million.

Ridership jumps on contracted and “opt-out” services

The Council also contracts with private providers for a small share of transit service in the region. Ridership on contracted regular-route service rose 19 percent, from 1.75 million rides in 2004 to just over 2 million in 2005.

Several communities in the seven-county area opted out of the transit taxing district in the early 1980s and run their own transit services. Combined ridership on the opt-out providers was up 10 percent, from just under 3.6 million in 2004 to just over 3.9 million in 2005. Ridership for small urban providers decreased slightly and for rural transit providers increased about 2 percent.

Ridership on the Northstar Commuter Coach was up 26 percent, and ridership in the Council’s Van-Go! program rose 14 percent.