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Transit ridership continues to grow

Metro Transit ridership reaches 25-year high

Metro Transit closed 2007 with 77 million rides, the highest annual ridership total since 1982. That means that every minute of every day last year, 146 people hopped on a Metro Transit bus or train.

The 2007 ridership tally was 3.4 million rides, or 4.7 percent, higher than 2006.

“Ridership growth in 2007 is not a one-year phenomenon,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “Ridership is up 10.4 percent over the past two years.”

A closer look at the numbers

The agency recorded increases in all major service categories in 2007: express rides up 4.8 percent; urban local rides, up 4.6 percent; and rail rides, up 1.5 percent.

Metro Transit saw a 12.2% increase in rides taken with a Metropass, a transit pass that employers provide, often picking up all or part of the cost for their employees.

“Business leaders understand the importance of transit in battling congestion, and they see the benefits when employees have a relaxed, reliable commute,” Lamb said. There were 7.2 million Metropass rides in 2007.

U-Pass rides by students at the University of Minnesota were up 9.1% to 4.3 million.  

Customers like Go-To Cards

Lamb reported that customers have responded favorably to the agency’s new Go-To Card fare payment system, with 26 percent of all rides in December taken by holders of these “smart cards,” which carry rechargeable, stored value and allow for quick boarding.

Lamb also cited reliability improvements that made transit service more attractive to new customers. On-time performance for buses was 89 percent, up 1 percent over 2006. Trains ran on schedule 97 percent of the time.

“Clearly external conditions contributed, such as higher gas prices, growing freeway congestion and – in the last five months – the loss of the I-35W bridge,” Lamb said. “Nonetheless, while ridership surged upward when gas prices increased, those new customers stayed with us when prices dropped. They appreciated the reliability and received a positive commuting experience.”

Metro Transit has set a 2008 ridership goal of 78 million.