March 12, 2009
METRO ridership continues positive in February
PHOENIX — For February 2009, METRO ridership totals 908,052 boardings, resulting in an average weekday ridership of 35,277, average Saturday ridership of 31,417 and average Sunday and holiday ridership of 19,212.
In January, METRO ridership totaled 911,883 boardings, resulting in an average weekday ridership of 30,617, average Saturday ridership of 31,331 and average Sunday and holiday ridership of 23,815.
METRO forecasted an annual average weekday ridership of 26,000 boardings in its first year. “We hope to exceed that projection by continuing to attract new transit users and maintaining our positive relationship with existing passengers,†said METRO CEO Rick Simonetta.
METRO will continue to monitor ridership and report new totals on a monthly basis; numbers will be available by the middle of the subsequent month. Detailed reports of boardings by station and time of day will be available mid- to late-April for the first quarter 2009 and on a quarterly basis thereafter
Great to see the new line is going above and beyond projections. Interesting switch from Jan -> Feb, it looks like the line might be settling more into a weekday commuter ridership pattern.
Do you know if any numbers are available on the effect the new LRT line has had on the system as a whole? I was interested in how many of these 30K LRT riders are brand new transit riders, or whether they shifted over from nearby bus routes.
Hi Eric, I am also curious about those numbers. Hopefully, the quarterly reports they have promised will give us a better idea and much more detailed information. I was kind of surprised at the drop in Sunday ridership as I had been told they felt the weekends had grown. Recreational use appears strong but the weekly numbers look great. I have a feeling the ASU students have a little to do with weekly numbers as I believe they were still on winter break for much of Jan.