METRO Posts Historic Jump In Ridership For November

[editor]

METRO POSTS HISTORIC JUMP IN RIDERSHIP FOR NOVEMBER

METRO announced this week that it recorded a 15.1 percent increase in bus ridership for November 2005 compared to same month last year -- one of the largest single month increases in the authority’s history and the fourth consecutive month METRO has seen a jump in ridership.

For November 2005, METRO posted 7,247,100 boardings on its buses, compared to 6,295,000 in November 2004. The increase was seen in local, express and Park & Ride services.

On METRORail, ridership jumped even higher -- -- 19.2 percent compared to November 2004, with 908,000 boardings as compared to 761,700 boardings in November 2004.

“Increasing ridership is No. 1 in our list of corporate goals and this is proof that we’re getting it right,“ said Frank Wilson, METRO President and CEO. “These numbers show not only that the system is working, but that we’re continuing to provide a service that is responsive to the community’s needs.”

Wilson attributes November’s increase to several factors including a continued fine-tuning of METRO’s system, which includes transferring buses from poorly performing routes to those with higher ridership, and a spike in gasoline prices. The relocation of Hurricane Katrina evacuees to homes along METRO’s bus routes also added to the increase.

Wilson noted that METRO would continue to aggressively implement strategies and initiatives aimed at attracting more riders. He added, however, that high gasoline prices and other factors outside METRO’s control would not always contribute so favorably to METRO ridership.