METRO Ridership Continues To Grow

[editor]

This came in the e-mail this morning.

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METRO RIDERSHIP CONTINUES TO RISE

AGENCY POSTS SIXTH STRAIGHT MONTH OF GROWTH

More people are riding METRO buses and rail more often.

METRO ridership is on the rise for a sixth consecutive month, recording a 5.2 percent increase to 6,357,131 boardings in January 2012 compared to 6,043,280 in January 2011.

“Thanks to our focus on smart service and service changes to improve the system, we have been able to take advantage of the improving economy to deliver first-class transit to our community,” said METRO President & CEO George Greanias.

Upward METRO Ridership Trend Continues for Sixth Consecutive Month

Local bus and Park & Ride - January, 2011: 5,277,229

Local bus and Park & Ride - January, 2012: 5,455,106

MetroRAIL - January, 2011: 766,051

MetroRAIL - January, 2012: 902,025

METRORail ridership posted a 17.7 percent increase to 902,025 boardings compared to the 766,051 recorded in the same month last year. Park & Ride and local bus service jumped to 5,455,106 boardings versus 5,277,229 in January 2011.

The continued growth is due in large part to increased employment in the area and METRO’s ongoing system adjustments to improve efficiency.

Though there is currently no link between the agency’s growth in ridership and rising gas prices, METRO offers many alternatives to move about the city, and welcomes new riders and returning patrons. The latest transit savings report from the American Public Transportation Association shows that riding public transit saves about $9,914 a year.

About METRO

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) is the region’s largest public transit provider, offering safe, reliable and affordable transportation services about 370,000 times per day. Besides operating more than 1,200 buses, METRO is currently expanding its 7.5-mile light-rail line (Red Line), with three new lines under construction. METRO’s services also include:Star Vanpool, METROLift, HOV lanes, HOT lanes, Bikes-on-Buses/Trains program, Park & Ride and road improvement projects.

[samagon]

that is impressive growth for the metrorail, considering it's been here for 8 years now.

[kylejack]

I believe we can thank gas prices.

[ToryGattis]

As far as the rail goes, I suspect it's mainly tied to med center employment growth and using the LRT more and more as a remote parking shuttle. There were also two Texans home games in January, including their first playoff game. The mild/warm January also probably helped.

[Trae]

As far as the rail goes, I suspect it's mainly tied to med center employment growth and using the LRT more and more as a remote parking shuttle. There were also two Texans home games in January, including their first playoff game. The mild/warm January also probably helped.

I doubt the two Texans games matter much. TMC employment growth is probably the biggest reason, but it could also be that people are just more open to using it now (and are getting use to it). Can't wait for the other lines.

[ToryGattis]

I doubt the two Texans games matter much. TMC employment growth is probably the biggest reason, but it could also be that people are just more open to using it now (and are getting use to it). Can't wait for the other lines.

I think you might be surprised. Not just attendees at the 71,500 capacity stadium, but many more just go for the tailgating before the game. Parking is tight. And that playoff game was a *really* big deal. I would not be surprised if a big chunk of that ~135,000 rider increase happened on those two game days.

[kylejack]

Having ridden the rail for several years, it definitely goes way up when gas climbs toward $4.

[mikehouston]

I wouldn't be surprised if 50-70k of that was for the Texans games, but so what? I would expect us to be hosting more January playoff games in the coming years. It is nice to have the rail as an option for major events like NFL / college football games or the Rodeo, even if it is just as a parking shuttle. It helps alleviate congestion around the stadium, and helps some of us avoid paying $20 or whatever for parking.

As Houston continues to grow, aside from our playoff appearances, I'd only expect us to be landing more major events where rail might help - like the NBA All-Star game, the Superbowl, NCAA tournament, major rock concerts, and on and on. I'd argue rail has helped us land some of these major events in the first place since people can stay anywhere along the line now and not have to worry with driving / parking, and some of our major hotels like the Hilton downtown were certainly designed with this in mind.

[rsb320]

Rodeo will also boost ridership. It's really quite funny to me to see the train at night, chock full of Cowboys & Cowgirls. It looks like they've been corralled in there. I might just hop on there one evening, just for kicks.

[ToryGattis]

I agree it's a great asset for Reliant Park. Just trying to get accurate reasoning behind the increase - tease apart long-term trends from short-term events.

Here's my tongue-in-cheek prediction for the future:

Texans go all the way in the playoffs with the home field advantage, Metro press release headline "Metro is awesome - January rail ridership spikes 30%!" (no mention of Texans, just good Metro management)

Texans fail to make the playoffs the next year (or don't have home field seeding), "Metrorail January ridership drops 30%, Texans at fault"

[ricco67]

I agree it's a great asset for Reliant Park. Just trying to get accurate reasoning behind the increase - tease apart long-term trends from short-term events.

Simply awesome. LOL, I think I'm going to go for that picture.

I've been noticing more and more people riding the rail as a way to get TO their final destinations to avoid the parking hassles, which is the smart way to go.

It has gotten to the point that I actually worry about the Red line's capacity once the other routes reach completion.

As it stands, Robertson, Dynamo, MMP, Reliant, stand to have heavy use during their games, Med center and DT's Ridership has increased faster than projections.

With the rodeo running at capacity now, I kinda' wonder what true capacity of it will be (even with the additional cars due to go on line later this year) and if METRO will be flexible enough to be able to handle the pulses of increase usage during major events.

But like I've said on other threads, someone would make a mint if they built a large garage with retail on the bottom near the stations.

[kylejack]

Rodeo will also boost ridership. It's really quite funny to me to see the train at night, chock full of Cowboys & Cowgirls. It looks like they've been corralled in there. I might just hop on there one evening, just for kicks.

Indeed. This was Saturday.

[samagon]

I bet the highest single day of ridership is still one of the SB weekends when it was in Houston.

I remember riding the train and we were packed in so damn tight I could swear I could feel the exact lace design of the panties on the pretty girl I was standing on top of next to. eventhough it was about 35 degrees outside and she was wearing exactly 3 layers of clothes and long underwear to help keep warm.

[ricco67]

According to the mighty wiki, the ridership that day was 65,005. But there was quite a few hiccup that day, including shutting down the life the line after leeland.

[RedScare]

I think you might be surprised. Not just attendees at the 71,500 capacity stadium, but many more just go for the tailgating before the game. Parking is tight. And that playoff game was a *really* big deal. I would not be surprised if a big chunk of that ~135,000 rider increase happened on those two game days.

A couple of things you missed. One, there was also a January home game in 2011, so only the playoff game was added in 2012. Two, while the Texans do allow non-game attending patrons to attend the tailgating, tailgaters tend to arrive in vehicles (hence the term), and the Texans severely limited non-game attendees this year by requiring the purchase of a tailgating pass. The Texans limit the number of tailgating passes to no more than 4,000 per home game. If anything, the total number of fans attending Reliant dropped this year, not increased.

http://www.houstontexans.com/gameday/tailgating/policy.html

[ToryGattis]

A couple of things you missed. One, there was also a January home game in 2011, so only the playoff game was added in 2012. Two, while the Texans do allow non-game attending patrons to attend the tailgating, tailgaters tend to arrive in vehicles (hence the term), and the Texans severely limited non-game attendees this year by requiring the purchase of a tailgating pass. The Texans limit the number of tailgating passes to no more than 4,000 per home game. If anything, the total number of fans attending Reliant dropped this year, not increased.

http://www.houstonte...ing/policy.html

Last game last year was meaningless, vs. tremendous hype this year both at the end of the season and for the first playoff game in franchise history. They had a graph in the paper with the last 6 months. Most other months weren't close to January's gains, although Nov had a similar spike. The nice walking weather in Jan was probably also a large factor.

[RedScare]

I'm going with METRO's estimate as the final word on this matter.

http://blogs.ridemetro.org/blogs/write_on/archive/2012/01/19/Record-Ridership-on-Texans-Playoff-Game-Day.aspx

10,230 patrons going to the Texans playoff game, and something less than that for the other January game. So, you still have about 120,000 more riders to account for.

[ToryGattis]

Good find. I'll go with the warm weather for most of the rest, with some long-term med center growth thrown in.

[RedScare]

I'll give you the warm weather and then some. Look at these temps.

The temps going across are Max, Average, and Min.

2011

Max Temperature 75 °F 61 °F 39 °F Mean Temperature 67 °F 52 °F 36 °F Min Temperature 59 °F 42 °F 26 °F

2012

Max Temperature 81 °F 70 °F 55 °F Mean Temperature 74 °F 59 °F 43 °F Min Temperature 66 °F 48 °F

30 °F

[mikehouston]

Good find. I'll go with the warm weather for most of the rest, with some long-term med center growth thrown in.

I've never once decided to take or not take public transportation based on the weather - it is more a function of where I am going, parking costs, etc, so I can't imagine that average temps in the upper 50s versus average temps in the upper 60s make a very big difference. Houston in January is generally pretty mild. Even last January when it dipped into the 30s I can't imagine not taking the rail into work if that was my normal routine. Throw on a sweater or a coat and problem solved. It is not as if we have major ice storms or a foot of snow that keep people away from work as in some cities.

[ToryGattis]

I've never once decided to take or not take public transportation based on the weather - it is more a function of where I am going, parking costs, etc, so I can't imagine that average temps in the upper 50s versus average temps in the upper 60s make a very big difference. Houston in January is generally pretty mild. Even last January when it dipped into the 30s I can't imagine not taking the rail into work if that was my normal routine. Throw on a sweater or a coat and problem solved. It is not as if we have major ice storms or a foot of snow that keep people away from work as in some cities.

It's not the commuters, it's the daytime and weekend crowds that decide to take the train and walk around the museum district, Hermann Park, Midtown, Downtown, or elsewhere. Cold and gray might keep you in or take the car - nice and above 55 you start walking/exploring.

[rsb320]

Today, the light rail was free because it's black heritage day. How are riders counted that don't pay?

[kylejack]

Today, the light rail was free because it's black heritage day. How are riders counted that don't pay?

"Bus

Boardings are recorded by automatic passenger counters (APCs) and passenger count cards. METRO has equipped 100% of its fixed-route bus fleet with automatic

passenger counters. The raw data are adjusted for missing data and APC under counting as approved in METRO's NTD alternative sampling methodology. Additionally,

there are several routes for which passenger count cards are used due to the absence of APC equipment in the vehicle (Route 352 Swingle), multiple fares on the same

route (Route 236 Baytown and 244 Monroe), and recording of non-riders (Route 500 Airport Direct, which uses concierge staff to assist with boarding and alighting).

Rail

Boardings are recorded by automatic passenger counters (APCs). METRO has equipped 100% of its fixed-route rail fleet with automatic passenger counters.

The raw data are adjusted for missing data and APC under counting for Special Events as approved in METRO's NTD methodology."

-Metro ridership reports

[samagon]

I'll give you the warm weather and then some. Look at these temps.

The temps going across are Max, Average, and Min.

2011

Max Temperature 75 °F 61 °F 39 °F Mean Temperature 67 °F 52 °F 36 °F Min Temperature 59 °F 42 °F 26 °F

2012

Max Temperature 81 °F 70 °F 55 °F Mean Temperature 74 °F 59 °F 43 °F Min Temperature 66 °F 48 °F

30 °F

is this just for January, just for February, or YTD?

[IHB2]

the Chron article that referenced this Metro press release pointed out that while boardings have increased the last 6 months, the METRO bus/rail system is still down from its 1998 high of 98 million bus boardings.

just dividing the 98 mil by 12 yields a bit over 8 mil/month vs the 6.3 mil for Jan 2012.

that's a decline of over 20%. what explains that decline?

[ToryGattis]

the Chron article that referenced this Metro press release pointed out that while boardings have increased the last 6 months, the METRO bus/rail system is still down from its 1998 high of 98 million bus boardings.

just dividing the 98 mil by 12 yields a bit over 8 mil/month vs the 6.3 mil for Jan 2012.

that's a decline of over 20%. what explains that decline?

Hypothesis: some of the strongest, sustained job growth in the country -> reduced poverty -> poor can afford cars instead of transit

A quote from one of my old blog posts:

"One measurable result: Houston's population in hard-core poverty areas fell by 107,272 (47.8 percent) during the 1990s, one of the largest urban declines, according to the Brookings Institution."

And I suspect the trend continued into the new century.

[IHB2]

interesting.

maybe that helps explain why decisionmakers in this town have shifted METRO's emphasis from public transportation to mass transit since the end of the 90s.

[Texasota]

Houston is in a weird position- parking is so incredibly easy in every single part of town that even those of us who would prefer to use public transportation largely can't justify it. I would be happy to take a bus or train to get around, but I'm a 15 minute walk to my bus stop and I find the bus routes to be ...odd. If I lived in Midtown I would be riding the rail regularly, and if the University line gets built I will be all about that. The University line might actually get me to go to the Galleria every once in a while.

[totheskies]

Parking in the Medical Center has become abysmal. Many more people are getting Q Cards for that sole purpose. But METRO is also working to align more routes into the rail line, so I think we're starting to see the benefit of that.

[ricco67]

Agreed.

Kinda makes me wonder if they are eventually going to shut down the smith lands and build a mega garage.