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STL ridership on the rise as federal transportation bill remains uncertain

Metro’s ridership continues to rise across the board as federal funding for public transit remains uncertain.  Metro ridership is up for the first six months of Fiscal Year 2012 (July 2011-December 2011). System-wide, ridership on MetroLink, MetroBus, and Metro Call-A-Ride increased eight percent over the same period in the previous year.

Metro recorded 23,371,166 boardings from July 2011 through December 2011. During the same time period in Fiscal Year 2011, Metro recorded 21,610,892 boardings. MetroBus saw the largest ridership increase among the three transit services provided by Metro. In the first six months of Fiscal Year 2012, MetroBus ridership was up 11.1 percent. In December 2011 alone, MetroBus was up 18.3 percent over the previous December.

According o National Association of Public Transportation Advocates (NAPTA), media outlets in Washington are reporting that the House of Representatives has decided not to make changes to dedicated public transit funding. They also report that the House will move forward with a shorter term bill. It is not clear what the funding levels might be in this dynamic process or what other changes to the bill might be considered.

The key will be to keep the pressure on to ensure that public transit has a dedicated funding source. Please continue to contact your Congressman and let the m know the importance of transit to this region.


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