After ten days of extended service to accommodate the estimated 70,000 in attendance for SXSW 2015, Capital Metro reports it had record-breaking ridership on its buses and trains from March 13-22.
Last week, the agency provided the most special event service during any SXSW event, with 1,700 additional hours of service offered. Ridership on MetroRapid and MetroRail topped last year’s event by 15 percent, with both running extended schedules throughout the festival.
MetroRail ran enhanced service on both Saturdays during the event, with an increased midday frequency of every 30 minutes, and special service on March 15. Overall, Capital Metro provided nearly 63,000 total train rides, over 8,000 more than 2014. Ridership peaked on Thursday of the festival, with over 9,000 rides taken in one day alone. Ridership on March 20 was also strong, with close to 8,500 boardings.
Both MetroRapid routes together provided nearly 100,000 rides during the event, with a high of over 13,000 boardings on March 19. This was the first year of service for Route 803 during SXSW, which saw almost 37,000 trips taken. MetroRapid ran until 2:30 a.m. on March 20 and March 21.
Local bus ridership was also strong throughout the 10-day festival. Final ridership numbers will be available mid-April.
“We were very pleased to see so many people taking advantage of our longer hours and more frequent service during this year’s event,” said Capital Metro President and CEO Linda S. Watson. “We wanted to make it convenient for people to get into and out of the city, and also move around the downtown area easily, so they could just relax and enjoy all the activities.”
To meet demand, Capital Metro also provided increased frequency on its MetroAirport service at every 15 minutes, and Night Owls and E-Buses to offer more options for those staying out late.
Additional Stats during SXSW
- Over 11,000 transit passes were sold on the CapMetro App, totaling an estimated $77,500, with 7,700 new downloads.
- Nearly 150,000 people visited the Capital Metro website during SXSW, an increase of 20 percent over the previous month.
- The website’s trip planner saw a 24 percent increase in use over the week prior to the event.
- Capital Metro recently launched real-time information throughout its bus fleet, allowing riders to view the next three available bus trips within 45 minutes using a live minute-by-minute countdown.
