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Metro Transit’s ridership surge is echoed nationally
Transit ridership is increasing not only in King County, but also
nationally. This week, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
announced that Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public
transportation nationwide in 2006 – the most in 49 years.
“Here in King County, we are part of a national trend where more people are looking for more travel options,” said Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond. “Last year, the combination of more local jobs and higher gas prices were two big reasons we saw more people riding Metro, but improved transit connections were also a factor. People are looking for ways to drive less, both to save money and protect the environment.” APTA reports that over the past decade, public transportation’s growth rate outpaced many other indicators. Public transit ridership use is up 30 percent since 1995. That is more than double the national population growth rate (12 percent), and higher than the growth rate for the vehicle miles traveled on U.S. highways (24 percent) during the same period. In 2006, public transit ridership grew 2.9 percent over 2005. “Funding from the voter-approved Transit Now initiative will allow us to meet this increasing demand for transit service by adding more buses on popular routes and moving ahead to bring RapidRide – our own brand of bus rapid transit – to five heavily congested corridors in King County,” said Desmond.
In January, APTA released a study that shows public transportation use saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year nationally, and can reduce people’s individual household expenses by $6,200 - more than the average household pays for food in a year. The study, "Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings in the U.S.: Reducing Dependence on Oil" finds that: • Public transportation usage reduces U.S. gasoline consumption by 1.4 billion gallons each year - or the equivalent of 108 million cars filling up, almost 300,000 each day. These savings result from the efficiency of carrying multiple passengers in each vehicle; the reduction in traffic congestion from fewer automobiles on the roads; and the varied sources of energy for public transportation. If twice as many Americans had the choice of taking public transportation, these gasoline savings would at least double to 2.8 billion gallons each year; and • Households that are likely to use public transportation on a given day save more than $6,200 every year, compared to a household with no access to public transportation service. These households have two workers, one car and are within three-quarters of a mile of public transportation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average U.S. household spends $5,781 on food. |
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