Almost 85 Million More Trips Taken Than 2007 First Quarter

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced today that Americans took 2.6 billion trips on public transportation in the first three months of 2008. This is almost 85 million more trips than last year for the same time period.

"There's no doubt that the high gas prices are motivating people to change their travel behavior," said APTA president William W. Millar. "More and more people have decided that taking public transportation is the quickest way to beat the high gas prices."

Last year 10.3 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation - the highest number of trips taken in fifty years. In the first quarter of 2008, public transportation continued to climb and rose by 3.3 percent. In contrast, the Federal Highway Administration has reported that the vehicle miles traveled on our nation's roads declined by 2.3 percent in the first quarter.

Light rail (modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys) had the highest percentage of ridership increase among all modes, with a double digit 10.3 percent increase for the first quarter. Light rail systems showed double digit increases in the following areas: Baltimore (16.8%); Minneapolis (16.4%); St. Louis (15.6%); and San Francisco (12.2%). New Orleans' light rail system is recovering from Hurricane Katrina with a 476% increase in ridership.

Commuter rail posted the second largest ridership increase at 5.7 percent. The six commuter rail systems with double digit ridership growth rate in the first three months of 2008 were located in the following areas: Seattle (27.9%); Harrisburg, PA (17%); Oakland, CA (15.8%); Stockton, CA (13.9%); Pompano Beach, FL (12.9%); and Philadelphia (10.4%).

Heavy rail (subways and elevated trains) ridership increased by 4.4 percent. The heavy rail systems with the highest increases in ridership for the 2008 first quarter were in the following cities: Staten Island, NY (12.3%); Boston (8.8%); Jersey City, NJ (6.5%); Los Angeles (5.4%); New York City (5%); Baltimore (4.9%); and San Francisco (4.5%).

Bus ridership saw an increase of 2 percent nationwide. Bus travel in all size communities saw ridership increases; communities with a population of less than 100,000 had a 7.8% increase. The highest increases at the largest bus agencies occurred in the following cities: San Antonio (10.6%); Denver (9.4%); San Diego (6.8%); Minneapolis (6.7%); Seattle (6.2%), and Phoenix (5.4%).