News

APTA Announces Record Transit Ridership in 2011 – Metro Transit in St. Louis is among those experiencing strong growth

Dianne Williams
Director of Communications
314-982-1440

According to a new report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in 2011, public transit experienced the second strongest ridership year since 1957. (APTA announcement attached.)

APTA reported large bus systems like MetroBus in St. Louis grew by 0.4 percent nationally. Columbus, Ohio at 10.1 percent showed the strongest bus ridership growth in the nation while St. Louis at 10 percent experienced the second largest growth, and Orlando, Florida at 8.4 percent, the third strongest bus ridership growth in the nation.

“Demand-response” transportation ridership on systems like Metro’s Call‑A‑Ride paratransit service increased 3.2 percent nationwide. Locally, the demand for Call‑A‑Ride service surpassed the national average with an increase of 4.2 percent over the previous year.

MetroLink ridership was up 2.4 percent compared to the national average of 4.9 percent. However, in January, the most recent MetroLink results available, this region’s light rail system experienced an 8.3 percent increase over MetroLink ridership in January of last year.

“With nearly 43 million boardings on Metro Transit last fiscal year, it is clear that the public transportation option remains a popular one for this region,” said Ray Friem, Metro’s Chief Operating Officer, Transit Services. “In the coming year, we will continue to work to make public transit an attractive option for an even larger segment of our community.”