September 2014
Note: the graphs in the previous
Metrolink ridership update post contained a data entry error on my part.
The trends and conclusions are the same; however, please do not use or
compare with that data.
I’m updating my look at Metrolink
ridership every three months, as they update ridership data published on
their website. Here’s the breakdown of data by stations.
Here’s the update of the rolling 12-month averages, broken down by line.
These numbers are bad any way you look at
it. The lines that had been performing decently well and even gaining
ridership (Orange County, Orange County – Inland Empire, and 91 Lines)
have slipped a little recently. The lines that were already struggling
(Riverside, San Bernardino, Antelope Valley, and Ventura Lines) have
gotten worse, if anything.
Here’s a look at the top 10 and bottom 10
stations for ridership gained (or lost) over the period from June 2010
to June 2014 (all based on rolling 12-month averages).
Since June 2010, 42 of the 54 stations
(excluding LA Union Station) have lost ridership. Twelve stations have
lost more than 20% of their ridership in the last 4 years. With the
exception of Pomona Downtown, every station that’s gained ridership is
either in Orange County or on the 91/OC-IE Lines.
The drop in ridership is troubling, as is
the seeming lack of concern about it. I haven’t seen it mentioned in
the media. I don’t know the cause, though the steady stream of equipment
failures and missed trains that you read about in the @MetrolinkDiary
Twitter feed can’t be helping – the first step to running any transit
service is to run reliably. If the region is going to invest more money
in regional rail, we need to understand what’s going wrong, and how the
service can be improved to better serve riders.
http://letsgola.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/metrolink-ridership-update-june-2014/