Great news from Amtrak, for people who breathe, today and tomorrow: Amtrak set a new annual ridership record of 28,716,857 passengers for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, an increase of 5.7% over the previous year. The strong performance is evidence that the demand for passenger rail service is rising and that more Americans are choosing Amtrak — a greener and more convenient travel mode.
Since FY 2000, Amtrak ridership is up nearly 37 percent. AMTRAK Sets Ridership Record
Amtrak is 17 percent more energy efficient than either commercial airlines or automobiles. Amtrak has been consistently reducing its consumption of diesel fuel, thanks to improved operating practices and conservation measures.
Passenger rail-driven improvements have helped increase rail line capacity, which benefits freight trains that use the same tracks. Freight rail has a fuel consumption rate 11.5 times more energy efficient on a BTU per ton mile basis than trucks. A freight locomotive moving a ton of freight at an average of 235 miles per gallon in 1980 today moves more than 414 miles per gallon – a fuel efficiency improvement of more than 75 percent.
At the same time, MTS San Diego reported,
Trolley ridership drops substantially - Bad economy, high unemployment cited as likely causes for decline
By Robert J. Hawkins, October 13, 2010 at 7:36 p.m., updated October 14, 2010 at 7:46 a.m.
Trolley ridership
2008: 37,620,994
2009: 36,928,284
2010: 30,468,981
Total MTS ridership
2008: 90,652,960
2009: 92,072,445
2010: 82,759,217
....the Trolley has lost 6.5 million passengers.
While expressing reservations about their own numbers, Metropolitan Transit System officials say familiar suspects are behind this 17.5 percent ridership loss in fiscal 2010, which ended June 30: a bad economy, high unemployment, cutbacks in state funding, relatively stable gas prices.
“I really believe it is a reflection of the economy,” says county Supervisor Ron Roberts, a member of the MTS board of directors. “It is a concern, but I do not believe it is a rejection of the trolley by riders.”
The agency also raised rates last year and made some cutbacks in services to meet its budget. Almost no corner of the MTS system — city buses, express buses, trolleys — escaped the effects of a failed economy and double-digit unemployment. The whole system lost just more than 10 percent of its riders last year, according to the agency’s annual report.
Gee, what a surprise: rates go up and ridership goes down! Seems pretty simple to me. For the most part, I'm betting at least bus riders do so because they don't have the money to own a car. They are, in effect, trapped customers. So, MTS raises the rates, on those who can afford it the least, and their ridership goes down, what a surprise. Look at the year-over-year statistics: MTS is going backwards, and at a significant rate. At what point do they realize this, and take serious action? Let's hope it's soon.
