Transit ridership declines 4% nationwide
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Public transit ridership fell nearly 4 percent in the U.S. last year after a record-breaking 2008, and advocates' hopes for a rebound this year are clouded by a continuing series of fare increases and deep service cuts across the nation.
The American Public Transportation Association reported this month that Americans took more than 10 billion trips on transit in 2009, the fourth straight year that threshold was exceeded. It blamed the decline on high unemployment, the recession and lower gasoline prices.
But APTA President William Millar said the small decrease was a sign of public transit's strength. Ridership has climbed 31 percent in the last 15 years, outpacing population growth and the increase in car travel over that time.
With gasoline prices expected to pass $3 a gallon this spring and summer, transit would be poised for more growth. Instead, in many places, it is shriveling.
Systems in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, New Jersey, Louisville, Ky., Orange County, Calif., and Fort Worth, Texas, are among those cutting service or proposing to do so.
New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is weighing bus and subway cuts to close a $380 million deficit. Chicago Transit Authority implemented changes Feb. 7 that reduce frequency of trips and service hours.
New Jersey Transit plans to raise fares 25 percent, eliminate 32 commuter trains and add 5 to 20 minutes to the spacing between bus trips. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority might cut 30 percent of its routes.
The Metro system in the nation's capital is considering fare increases and cuts to bus and rail service to fill a $189 million budget shortfall.
And in St. Louis, officials say if county voters reject a half-cent sales tax increase for transit next month, service will be cut in half.
Two studies last year spotlighted the financial crisis faced by public transit.
Transportation for America, a nationwide coalition of hundreds of housing, business, environment, public health, transportation, government and development groups and officials, reported that nearly 90 percent of transit agencies in the U.S. had raised fares or cut service in the preceding year.
First Published March 15, 2010 12:00 am
