PUBLIC TRANSPORT RIDERSHIP ON RISE
(ENS) - In 2000, public transportation ridership went up by 3.5
percent compared to the previous year, according to statistics from
the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). A total of 9.4
billion rides were taken on the nation’s trains and buses last year,
the highest number of trips in more than 40 years.
Last year, public transportation grew four times faster than the US
population (0.9 percent), faster than domestic air travel (2.6
percent) and car use, which was flat. In the past five years, the
number of trips taken on public transportation grew by 21 percent,
growing faster than the US population (4.8 percent), highway use (11
percent), and domestic air travel (19 percent).
“Americans are taking public transportation because they know it is a
smart choice, “ said William Millar, president of APTA, a national
nonprofit group. “Easy to use quality public transportation provides
access, freedom and mobility to help people do what is important to
them.”
Modes of transportation showing the largest percentage increases in
ridership for 2000 were heavy rail such as subways, 7.6 percent;
demand response or paratransit, 5.9 percent; light rail, 5.3 percent;
and commuter rail, 5.2 percent. Ridership increases were seen from
coast to coast, in large cities, suburban communities and in small
towns.
Examples of ridership gain include: San Francisco BART heavy rail
system, up 7.6 percent; San Jose light rail system, up 34 percent;
Denver light rail system, up 40.6 percent.
APTA attributes the continued growth in public transportation
ridership to the economy, expansion of service with new lines and
extensions, higher levels of investment by federal, state and local
sources, and enhanced customer services by the nation’s transit
systems.
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