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    1. Home

    81 Million Reasons Metro Is on Right Track

    Oct. 26, 2015
    Related To: Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro)

    Metro's total ridership continued to increase following the addition of two new light-rail lines and the launch of the New Bus Network which create a comprehensive transit system for the region.

    For the third consecutive year, Metro topped more than 80 million boardings on its fixed route system.  There were 81,760,532 boardings to close out FY2015, which runs from Oct. 2014 to Sept. 2015.  That is an increase of 0.8 percent, up 679,495 boardings from FY2014.

    Metro Rail Ridership Sees Significant Jump

    In September, the Green and Purple Lines had a total of 193,871 boardings, demonstrating a steady climb from the May opening of the two rail lines.

    Rail ridership along the Red Line saw the biggest growth with a year-to-year increase of 15.2 percent. The extension of the Red Line, as well as the opening of the Purple and Green Lines brought more options to commuters and translated into 15,251,412 rail boardings for FY2015.

    Commuter Service Sees Gains

    More customers also took advantage of Park & Ride services in FY2015 with 8,395,814 boardings, up 0.6 percent.

    Local bus boardings were just under 58,000,000, a dip of 3.3 percent from the previous year.  The complete overhaul of local bus routes in August has provided a different yardstick by which to measure future boardings and ridership. 
     
    Metro has already seen signs of gain from the new network's broader scope.  Expanded weekend service has led to a 12 percent jump in riders on Saturday and a 28 percent increase in ridership on Sunday, when local bus and light rail are combined.

    "This is certainly a good start and we fully expect even greater numbers after two years when we anticipate a significant increase in ridership," said Metro Chairman Gilbert Garcia.

    "This fiscal year starts a new benchmark that will be about the entire system, both local bus and rail," said Metro President and CEO Tom Lambert. 

    Other Highlights

    Metro has extended its paper transfer pilot program until Dec. 31.  Paper transfers allow passengers to complete a one-way trip or provide a connection to the local (fixed-route) system.

    Metro also extended its current HOV/HOT Lane pilot program until Nov. 30.  The program increases operating hours of HOV/HOT Lanes along the IH-45 South (Gulf), US-59 Southwest, US-290 Northwest, IH-45 North and US-59 North (Eastex) corridors.