Transit ridership rises nationally, drops in the DC region; Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space, December 10, 2012

By Richard Layman

According to "Use of public transportation jumps" from the Los Angeles Times, transit ridership is increasing nationally, likely in response to tighter household budgets, gasoline price increases, etc., using the most recent data from the American Public Transportation Association.  Ridership is up 2.6% nationally, and a bit less, under 2% in Los Angeles.

But after raising fares last year, WMATA reports ("Metrorail ridership drops 5 percent below agency's target" from the Examiner) that ridership has dropped.  Also see "If not Metro fare increases, what does it take to unite riders?" from the Post's Dr. Gridlock column.

The WMATA system is an odd combination of a local railroad commuter system and subway system and has a fare structure more like railroads, . . .

Click here for the rest of this blog post, which looks briefly at some possible causes for the decline in Metro use--starting with fare increases.