Bus Ridership Peaks in 2008

For the first time ever, annual bus ridership almost has reached the 60 million mark for total passenger boardings on Valley Metro between July 2007 and June 2008. This is 3.14% higher than the 58 million passengers carried in 2007 (between July 2006 and June 2007).
While gas prices have increased significantly in 2008, so has bus service. The system has added new regional express bus routes, extended local routes and added city circulator service in Phoenix and Tempe. Also seeing a bump in usage are more bikes on buses, which increased by 12% in the past year.

“Public transportation is becoming more of a realistic option for more people,” said David A. Boggs, Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority executive director. “Ridership on bus and rail services is trending upwards for the entire country, so we look forward to METRO’s start-up in December.”

According to a statement released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Americans took 140 million more trips on public transportation in the second quarter of this year compared to 2007. Of all modes, light rail had the biggest increase in ridership at 12.3%, with bus service at 5.1%. Valley Metro experienced an 11.7% increase in bus passengers during the second quarter of 2008.

Although, with increased capacity comes increased operations costs. According to APTA, 65% of transit systems in the nation report that they have insufficient revenue to operate additional service.

Ridership for Valley Metro member cities and towns reflect increases in their local communities, which contributes to the overall increase experienced by the regional bus system. With the start-up of METRO light rail on December 29, 2008, it is anticipated that there will be greater demand for bus service as people make connections between services to reach destinations in the Valley.