The Antiplanner is in Washington, DC, today attending a conference on mileage-based user fees. When my plane landed in DC at 3:50 pm, I turned my cell phone on and got a voice mail that Lars Larson wanted to interview me on his radio show about yesterday’s transit numbers. We arranged to have the interview begin at 4:20.
That put me in a dilemma. I had a meeting in the city at 5:30 and wanted to drop my luggage off at my hotel in Roslyn. If I waited to the the radio show before leaving the airport, I’d be late for my meeting. So I hustled to take the subway to Arlington and hoped I’d arrive before 4:20, as cell service doesn’t extend underground.
Roslyn is five station stops from National Airport. As I’m thinking about the irony that I’m depending on public transit to get to an interview where I expect to be critical of public transit, our train pulls into the third stop, which is the Pentagon. People stand up to get off the train, but the doors don’t open. The crowd of people outside the train who want to get on grows, but the doors don’t open. I’m afraid I’m going to miss my interview, and the doors won’t open. Finally, the driver makes an incomprehensible announcement and the train leaves–and the doors never opened. I no longer felt that riding transit to criticize transit was so ironic.
I got off at Arlington, the stop before Roslyn, knowing I’ll have a longer walk to the hotel but it will all be above ground. I tell Lars that New York City subways accounted for 92 percent of the growth in transit ridership, while ridership actually declined in Portland, the mecca for ridiculous transit investments.
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It turns out to be worse than I thought. A closer look at the data this evening reveals that, when both New York City subways and New York MTA buses are counted, the growth in New York City transit ridership was greater than the national growth. When the Long Island Railroad and Metro North are included, ridership outside of New York City fell by 8 million trips.
Rail and bus ridership both declined in Houston and Philadelphia. Declines in bus ridership outweighed gains in rail ridership in Dallas and Charlotte. Rail ridership itself declined in Albuquerque, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Sacramento, and on the San Francisco BART system, among other places. (Download APTA’s data, which are still somewhat preliminary, to see how your favorite transit system fared.)
This chart is similar to yesterday’s, but compares auto and transit passenger miles instead of vehicle miles and transit trips.
Rail and bus ridership grew in Seattle and a few other cities, but the point is that–contrary to what APTA would like people to believe–construction of expensive transit projects with federal funds is not guaranteed to boost transit ridership. For what it’s worth, New York City transit was the only major transit system in the country that covered more than half its operating costs out of fares in 2012; the average elsewhere was less than 30 percent. The lesson the Antiplanner takes from the APTA data is that less federal funding, not more, will be most conducive to increased transit ridership.
Cue planner with misleading graph packed full of “facts” that “refutes” everything you just posted.
“When my plane landed in DC”
Surprised you didn’t take the week-long Amtrak option. Tomorrow I will rogue plant a giant sequoia seedling to offset your flying carbon footprint. Amen.
Did someone say, “Cue planner with misleading graph packed full of “facts” that “refutes” everything you just posted”?
Why hello planner who lives in suburbia while bashing suburbia, drives for pleasure while bashing driving in general, lives in a very low walkability score neighborhood while talking up walkability, promotes transit while never using it, squeals about sustainability and green while ignoring it in his own life, and acts like an academic big shot when he couldn’t finish his master’s degree?
Why, hello Dan.
Why don’t you guys wait for an actual argument/conversations with planners? I know it’s easier to win the argument when the entire conversation happens in your head, but today’s preemptive attacks makes you both look like dolts.
When they factor in the number of trips, do they halve the results when you take into consideration return trips. After all, if you’re using a train, its one trip to the destination, second trip to return home, plus lunch and back for people who go out at work. So these trips should be cut nearly in half.
Cue planner with misleading graph packed full of “facts” that “refutes” everything you just posted.
Cue harrumphing. Cue having to make something up because sad. Cue unable to show how it is misleading, and unable to show ideologically pure “facts”.
Cue everyone’s surprised expression at continuing to declare misleading.
DS
When they factor in the number of trips, do they halve the results when you take into consideration return trips.
Then you’ll have to halve the number of vehicle trips as well. That is: the definition of a “trip” is from origin to destination, not origin-destination-return to origin.
DS
bennett:
Because comments like the following don’t look at all doltish. A bit selective in your criticism, no? Oh well, it’s all fun and games. My comments are made while chuckling.
Frank, turn that frown upside down! Had I changed the text after I found the link, you’d have nothing to whine about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111one!!
I understand Frank. I would just suggest that you publicly argue with your real life planner opponents and not the ones in your head.
It also hurts your case that the Dolt King quickly rode in on your coat tales.
Cue boo hoo.
DS
I see the substantive comments keep on coming from our planner friends.
Arlington **Cemetery** metro stop.
Cue projection.
DS
Just another example of Day Staley “forging partnerships between diverse stakeholders.”
Cue dejected dissemble for Internet Performance Art.
DS
Maybe you should have another glass of merlot and pound the exclaimation key some more. The first step is admitting you have a problem.
New York City continues to be the tail that wags the public transit dog. Maybe NTD or APTA should report a separate series of statistics for non-NYC transit providers. The differences in results among them seem large enough to warrant this.
Then you’ll have to halve the number of vehicle trips as well. That is: the definition of a “trip” is from origin to destination, not origin-destination-return to origin.
But it also means that transit providers will have to start factoring transfers into their estimates of transit ridership. Currently these are counted as additional boardings, then publicly reported as “transit trips” or “transit riders”, when both descriptions are misleading.
The first step is admitting you have a problem.
Cue facepalm.
DS
It would help if the Antiplanner read his own data. According to the data he supplied, so far this year BART ridership has gone up 1.24%, and has not declined as he states. SEPTA ridership in Philadelphia has gone up 0.27%, and has not declined. Los Angeles and Miami have had impressive increases in ridership.
True, some cities have had ridership declines. But I bet Buffalo has also had a decline in driving trips. Why? Because it is a depressing city with a high unemployment rate.
Some how I doubt you guys want to pay $1-$2 for every mile that you drive any time soon! :$