Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2009
METRO TRANSIT RIDERSHIP HITS 27-YEAR HIGH
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – (Jan. 29) – Metro Transit announced today that customers boarded buses and trains nearly 82 million times in 2008. That’s the highest annual ridership for the state’s largest transit provider since 1981.
Metro Transit ridership for the year was up 4.8 million over 2007, an increase of 6.1 percent. It continues a positive growth trend that has developed in recent years.
“Ridership has grown by 17.4 percent in the past four years,” said General Manager Brian J. Lamb. “That’s a testament to the growing demand for transit service in the region and to the quality that people are experiencing when using our services.”
Growth was recorded on express routes – up 7.4 percent over 2007 to 9.7 million rides – as well as on urban local routes, which grew by 7 percent to 60 million.
For the first time, Lamb said, the Hiawatha light-rail line surpassed 10 million rides for the year, up 12 percent over 2007. During weekday rush hours, commuters boarded trains an average of 37,000 times.
Part of Metro Transit’s 2008 growth came from employer- and school-based fare programs, which increased by 27 percent to 12.7 million rides. Commuters at 215 companies who offer the Metropass unlimited-ride fare card took 8 million trips on buses and trains; University of Minnesota students using U-Passes and students at participating colleges and trade schools using the Go-To College Pass added 4.7 million rides.
Lamb said that Metro Transit employees have maintained their commitment to quality while serving the largest number of people in decades. “In our latest onboard survey, 90 percent of bus customers and 95 percent of people who ride the train said they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the riding experience,” Lamb said.
Lamb also credited technology enhancements made in 2008 with making transit more accessible to Twin Cities residents who are looking for options that are easy on the wallet and the environment.
For example, customers used the interactive trip planner at metrotransit.org to create 5.6 million itineraries last year, an increase of 40 percent over 2007. Another innovation, the NexTrip real-time bus tracker, which can be accessed online, by phone and by mobile device, had peak-period usage of about 55,000 sessions per hour in December.
In addition, each month nearly 5,000 people are visiting metrotransit.org to buy or add value to a Go-To Card, a reusable card that offers instant fare payment for bus and train rides.
Ridership on transit services throughout the metropolitan area in 2008 grew by 6.5 percent to nearly 95 million rides. The Metropolitan Council, which oversees regional transit, reported that more than 13 million rides were taken on contracted routes. Metro Mobility, the region’s transportation service for people with disabilities, grew by 12 percent to 1.5 million rides.
Metro Transit is a service of the Metropolitan Council.
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(Editors: For information contact Bruce Howard, director of marketing, at 612-349-7694 or at bruce.howard@metc.state.mn.us.)
