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Post by rubbertoe on Apr 26, 2012 6:37:30 GMT -8
The March 2012 quarterly update:  March 2012 sees a new ridership high of 43,136. The 41,804 average for the first 3 months compares to 34,107 for the 2011 first quarter. RT |
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Post by jamesinclair on Apr 27, 2012 0:40:15 GMT -8
Doubling ridership is quite nice.
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Post by jdrcrasher on Apr 27, 2012 14:26:39 GMT -8
^ Agreed. The opening of the GLEE debbie downs it a bit, but still doubling ridership in 4 years is nice.  |
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Post by jeisenbe on May 7, 2012 11:07:55 GMT -8
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Post by rubbertoe on May 7, 2012 12:39:15 GMT -8
Uh Oh, Well, as long as all the media who were chasing after the Octomom don't come after me I guess it will be OK  RT |
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Post by jamesinclair on May 7, 2012 14:57:33 GMT -8
Sorry about that rubbertoe. I used the image in my blog, and did give credit to you and this very page. Hope thats ok with you. If not, I can remove it and ask streetsblog to do the same.
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Post by rubbertoe on May 7, 2012 15:07:02 GMT -8
Sorry about that rubbertoe. I used the image in my blog, and did give credit to you and this very page. Hope thats ok with you. If not, I can remove it and ask streetsblog to do the same. No, no it's absolutely OK! The more we can spread ridership information around the better. Feel free to use any/all of the ridership data anywhere that you like. I was just kidding about being chased by the media, though I wouldn't wish that on anyone... RT |
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Post by jamesinclair on May 7, 2012 16:45:29 GMT -8
No, no it's absolutely OK! The more we can spread ridership information around the better. Feel free to use any/all of the ridership data anywhere that you like. I was just kidding about being chased by the media, though I wouldn't wish that on anyone... RT Thanks, they're certainly valuable charts. Also, I believe the post may have resulted in some new people being exposed to this forum as well. |
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Post by spokker on May 7, 2012 16:56:23 GMT -8
IMHO, bottom line is the gas price effect on transit is overstated and other factors are understated. Having written a thesis on the subject using Metrolink data, as well as surveying a variety of different papers on the subject, this is how I feel as well. The effect is gas prices only seems to matter during very specific and temporary periods of time. In the long-run, drivers can adjust to high gas prices by purchasing electric or hybrid cars. In the very long-run they can adjust where they live and work. I have a hunch that the best way to increase ridership is to simply add more service. Here's a great literature review of all the factors that affect ridership: www.vtpi.org/tranelas.pdfTable 15 on page 18 has a list of recommended elasticity for the different factors that affect ridership based on studies reviewed from around the world. |
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Post by spokker on May 7, 2012 17:02:41 GMT -8
rubbertoe, when I used your data to estimate the cross-price elasticity of Metro Rail ridership with respect to gas prices, my results were similar but slightly higher than the 2006 CBO study. Mine were likely higher because you gave me data from 2007 and beyond.
Elasticities are different for each line though. From least to most responsive:
1. Blue Line
2. Red Line
3. Green Line
4. Gold Line
And elasticities are different for different years. 2007 and 2008 are, of course, years in which the ridership elasticity is high. But it's insignificant, basically zero, in 2009.
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Post by rubbertoe on Jul 19, 2012 6:11:21 GMT -8
June numbers are out, time for the quarterly graph update:  The 47,025 in June is a record, and it looks like 50,000 in July is a definite possibility. My March prediction of 50,000 riders in June was just missed  . The quarter average from April-June was 44,270 versus a year ago level of 38,073. Late night service is set to being on the weekends later this month (July). But if the late night service runs from 1:00am to 2:00am, then it may not show up in the "weekday" numbers that I track. I used to keep the printouts of the ridership page, but stopped doing that several years ago, so I don't have any easy way to come up with Saturday/Sunday charts. My idea was that the lines were basically designed for work commutes, and that any added benefit of them running during weekends was ancillary to their primary purpose. Icing on the cake, so to speak... RT |
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Post by macross287 on Jul 19, 2012 20:33:20 GMT -8
Watching the Gold Line slowly becoming one Metro's star lines over the course of 2 years has been amazing. With plans to include the Gold Line into "The more trains more often" program some time later this year ridership will only keep skyrocketing upward. Who knows the Gold Line it might catch up to the Blue Line before it is extended to Azusa =).
Thanks for documenting this rubbertoe
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Post by tonyw79sfv on Jul 19, 2012 22:03:41 GMT -8
The Gold Line did have a slow start, even three years after its opening, the Orange Line BRT opened and for a few months the Orange Line had more riders than the Gold Line, then the GLEE opened and it's been uphill since. So the Gold Line in its nearly 9 years of operation beat the Orange and Green Line ridership.
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Post by matthewb on Jul 20, 2012 8:10:32 GMT -8
That's amazing, doubled ridership in 2.5 years. The DT connector and purple line extension are going to be huge, as those projects will really get the network effect to kick in.
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Post by jamesinclair on Jul 22, 2012 0:34:28 GMT -8
Late night service is set to being on the weekends later this month (July). But if the late night service runs from 1:00am to 2:00am, then it may not show up in the "weekday" numbers that I track. Id assume that the saturday 1am-2am trips would be counted as Friday, as most transit systems count the service day instead of the calendar day. IE: if you buy a transit pass based on calendar days (not 24 hours or whatever) most systems let you ride until close of service, even if its after midnight. In their system, its still part of the day. |
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regen
Junior Member
Posts: 63
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Post by regen on Jul 22, 2012 22:48:15 GMT -8
Late night service is set to being on the weekends later this month (July). But if the late night service runs from 1:00am to 2:00am, then it may not show up in the "weekday" numbers that I track. Id assume that the saturday 1am-2am trips would be counted as Friday, as most transit systems count the service day instead of the calendar day. IE: if you buy a transit pass based on calendar days (not 24 hours or whatever) most systems let you ride until close of service, even if its after midnight. In their system, its still part of the day. When Metro first initiated its day pass several years ago, the day pass was valid until 5 A.M. the next day, but more recently, Metro changed that to 3 A.M. Metro's timetables also follow a similar approach, where post-midnight trips are part of the earlier day's schedule, although I am not aware of any line where post-midnight trips until the end of service vary between weekdays and weekends, nor for 24-hour bus lines. Now that Metro is instituting late night rail on Friday and Saturday nights, this may also change for some bus lines. |
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Post by rubbertoe on Nov 15, 2012 14:35:10 GMT -8
September quarterly update:  The quarterly average was 43,269 versus the 2011 quarter of 40,145. Looks like we will have to wait until the summer of 2013 for the 50,000 celebration. Still, up a nice 7% for the quarter. RT |
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Post by rubbertoe on May 11, 2013 5:40:21 GMT -8
March 2013 quarterly update:  The December 2012 quarter saw average ridership of 42,296 versus the previous year level of 38,096. And the March 2013 quarter saw average ridership of 43,044 versus the prior years 41,804. While the Gold Line ridership continues to increase, we are probably only a couple quarters away from the point where ridership will start leveling off versus the prior year. Hitting the 50,000 mark sometime this summer may be a bit of a reach. We can only hope that, as with the Blue Line, they can wring some operational efficiencies out and decrease the running time on the EE extension. As we have seen on other lines, every little bit of an improvement helps. RT |
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. The quarter average from April-June was 44,270 versus a year ago level of 38,073.