The American Public Transportation Association has posted its second quarter ridership report, showing a 2.0 percent decline in ridership in the second quarter and a 2.9 percent decline in the first half of the year. This isn’t really new information since the FTA issued its version of the data in early August. However, APTA’s numbers provide independent confirmation.
According to both APTA and the FTA, all major forms of transit are declining except commuter rail. So why is commuter rail increasing? A close look at the FTA data show that, between FY2014 and FY2018, commuter rail numbers declined in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, but increased in Seattle, New York, and Denver. The increases in New York and Denver, however, were more than offset by declines in bus ridership.
New York commuter trains (including New Jersey Transit) carried 10.4 million more trips in FY 2018 than 2014. However, New York MTA alone lost 72.6 million bus trips in the same time period. New Jersey Transit lost another 5.5 million. It is unlikely that people substituted commuter train trips for buses, so this suggests that ridership is dropping most in the urban core, which would be consistent with the idea that ride hailing is cutting into transit. Continue reading
