High gas prices give Los Angeles Metro 400,000 more riders

[marmar]

from the Daily Breeze:



High gas prices give Metro 400,000 more riders
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/13/2008 06:44:57 AM PDT


Skyrocketing gas prices prompted 400,000 more people to ride commuter trains this May compared to last, but over the same period, bus ridership was down by nearly 2 million, Metro officials said Thursday.

More than 7.6 million passengers rode commuter trains in May, up 6 percent over last May, when 7.2 million riders were recorded, said Metro spokesman Marc Littman.

"I think it's finally reached the tipping point," Littman said. "We're never going to go back to the days of cheap gas."

However, 80 percent of Metro passengers take buses, and bus ridership in May was down more than 5 percent compared to the same time period last year, from 36.1 million last May to 34.16 million this May.

Littman attributed the decline in bus riders to last July's fare increase for both bus and train tickets.

"Commuters are more likely to go for the rail because it's fast and cheap," Littman said. "On the bus side, people are making fewer discretionary trips."

Last year, the price of a day pass jumped 40 percent, from $3 to $5, which caused commuters to reconsider buying a day pass that would allow them to hop on a bus to take short trips to run errands all day long, preferring instead to pay $1.25 apiece for tickets to go to work and return home, Littman said.

Rail lines, which span wider distances, are less likely to be used for short trips and were less affected by the same fare increase, he said. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_9574653?IADID=Search-www.dailybreeze.com-www.dailybreeze.com