(Source:  Wall Street Journal Blog  – The Juggle)

I just had the fourth day in a row where I stood much of the way on my 40-minute subway ride. I’m 6.5 months pregnant–and it’s obvious–and not a single person offered me a seat. What’s more, sometimes I have had people literally push past me (I’m not as speedy as I used to be) to get the last seat on the train.

It’s not just me. Recently, a woman with a cast from foot-to-knee got on about 15 minutes into my ride. Nobody offered the casted woman a seat. So I did–it was a rare day that I’d snagged an empty seat. She refused because I am pregnant. I took the opportunity to shame my fellow passengers by saying, “It’s pretty bad when the pregnant lady is the only one offering someone with a cast a seat.” Nobody budged.

As a courtesy, I have always offered a seat to pregnant women, older people and anyone who was disabled, on crutches, or the like. It just seems like the human thing to do. (On some Japanese trains, a uniformed “manners squad” patrols cars to make sure that the elderly, disabled and pregnant have seats.)

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(Source: USA TODAY)

The number of people riding buses and trains hit a 52-year high in 2008 as skyrocketing gas prices and a faltering economy pushed riders toward less expensive travel. 

 Public transit ridership last year increased 4% to 10.7 billion rides, according to a report released Monday by the American Public Transportation Association.

PUBLIC TRANSIT: Usage rises from 2007

The outlook is gloomy, though. Ridership growth in the fourth quarter slowed as more commuters lost their jobs and budget shortfalls pushed transit systems to reduce service or raise fares.

The number of rides from October through December increased 2% to 2.7 billion compared with the same period a year earlier.

Unemployment reached a 25-year high of 8% in February, the government reported Friday.

The more it rises, the more ridership will shrink, says William Millar, the association’s president.

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 (Source: Reuters) 

(Source: Washington Post)

Increased Subsidy Might Mean a Boost in Ridership on Longest Rail Commutes, Officials Say

Good news for transit riders: Starting on Sunday, the monthly transit benefit allowance increases to $230 from the current $120, thanks to the recently enacted economic stimulus package.

Click here to read the entire article

(Source: Bostonglobe.com)

In the half-month since the Senate nearly slashed mass transit from the stimulus bill, yet more locales broke ridership records from coast to coast. The New York City subway system moved 1.62 billion people last year, the most since 1950. Combined with buses, the city moved 2.37 billion people, the most since 1965. The Metro-North rail that services the suburbs outside New York carried a record 84 million passengers.

In the Pacific Northwest, the Amtrak Cascades line from Portland to Seattle set a new record with a 14.4 percent increase. In the South, ridership for the Piedmonttrain between Charlotte and Raleigh was up 30.8 percent last year.

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(Source: NYTimes.com)

Plummeting tax and fare revenues that have been depressed further by the ailing economy could increase the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget deficit this year by $650 million, according to a new estimate made public on Monday. If the doomsday forecast is borne out, the authority’s deficit this year could grow to nearly $2 billion.

Subway ridership fell 2 percent in January compared with last year.

The authority has already proposed a steep increase in fares and deep service cuts if it does not get a state bailout. But if its finances worsen significantly, it could be forced to take even more drastic measures.

“This is obviously breathtaking,” Gary Dellaverson, the authority’s chief financial officer, said as he presented the projections to a meeting of the authority board’s finance committee.

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Source: New York Press

The New York Times reports that MTA ridership on both subways and buses is up: “Despite a slumping economy, New York City Transit recorded a total of 2.37 billion rides across the city’s subways and buses in 2008, a 3.1 percent increase from 2007 and the highest figure since 1965.”

That “despite” beginning the lede sentence makes very little sense. OF COURSE ridership would be up in a weakened economy: PUBLIC transportation should be the most affordable, efficient way to get from one point to another. Who can afford taxis or car insurance and parking? Are we supposed to be walking the length of the island. It should actually read: DESPITE massive service delays and inconveniences, MTA ridership is up. In fact,some people think the subway should be FREE!