The number of people riding public transportation in Michigan has increased dramatically in the first quarter of 2008, with double-digit ridership increases being reported by many of the state’s metropolitan communities.
“The increases from month to month have been significant, with Battle Creek, Flint, Saginaw and Kalamazoo registering double digit increases in February, 2008 over a year ago,” stated Michigan Public Transit Association Executive Director Clark Harder.
The total number of passengers boarding Michigan’s public transit agency buses is recorded for every bus operating on every route, both urban and rural, line-haul and demand response (dial-a-ride). These numbers are recorded statewide by the more than 70 agencies that operate public transportation in every county of the state.
“In 2006 Michigan’s public transportation agencies provided over 92 million individual rides, which represented an 8.7% increase over 2005, roughly three times the national increase in transit ridership for the same period,” Harder said. While final statistics on 2007 are not yet available, monthly ridership numbers suggested a similar increase would be recorded for 2007 over 2006.
In the first quarter of 2008, riders have increased in Detroit’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) by an average of 200,000 per month over 2007 figures. In several small urban communities the level has increased by 20% and higher from the same time a year ago. The increases have not been occurring just in urban areas, though, as many rural communities and counties have also seen significant increases in their demand-response, or dial-a-ride, type operations.
“We attribute the increases to a couple of significant factors. First, the price of gasoline is clearly causing many people to park their vehicles and try public transportation for the first time. Second, transit systems are constantly reviewing and refining their routes to better serve the demand and this reflects in an increase in usage,” Harder said.
The increasing ridership on public transportation doesn’t come without complications,
however.
“Just like with individual autos, the price of fuel has soared for public transit vehicles. Transit agencies are feeling the pinch of the significantly greater demand and costs, while public transit federal and state funding remains basically flat. When more people ride, it does boost the farebox revenue. However, just because more people ride, it still doesn’t allow transit agencies to significantly defray their costs, which outpace the farebox,” Harder stated.
There are 19 urbanized public transit agencies serving Michigan communities and 58 rural agencies serving townships, small cities and counties.
In March, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced that Americans
took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation in 2007, the highest level in 50 years, representing a 2.1% increase over the previous year.