It’s a social thing, ya’ll

As we head into a holiday weekend and I begin to pack for a fun-filled trip with the family, I find myself thinking of some of the big light rail news from this past week. (Shocking, right?) Most of the big news has a direct relationship with fun…

Basically, the large Metro ridership numbers that came out recently, and the confirmation of the extended weekend hours for the light rail on Friday and Saturday nights speaks volumes about the many different ways people are using the system. With a nearly 50% increase in Saturday ridership and a nearly 93% increase of Sunday ridership over early projections, one might come to the conclusion that recreational use for light rail is much higher than many people anticipated.

While I am not sure how they came up with the early projections, I am pretty sure that people are enjoying baseball games, concerts, restaurants, Mill Avenue, Central Phoenix, the arts district, and the First Friday Art Walk among many other things along this 20 mile stretch of a “city within cities.”

Convenience, cost, and a new way of life are but a few of the many reasons for the early success of our light rail system. Without a doubt, ( in my opinion) we will see a drop off in summer ridership numbers, and people will finally be able to say “I told ya’ so” when this happens. However, the many business owners we talk to, the students, the workers that use the system to commute or to find a great spot for lunch will more than likely be long time users. Next year at this time, I am looking forward to gauging the activity to see what kind of ridership still exists.

For now, have fun, be safe, and keep “rockin’ the rail life.”

Sorry about the ya’ll in the title… MrsRailLife is from Texas. 🙂