Interesting Ridership Trend around NY

[jis]

NJ TRANSIT System:  +4.5%
  Rail: +6.1%
  Bus +4.0%
  Light Rail: +2.1%

MTA System: +2.0%
PATH System: +2.1%
SEPTA System: (- 0.8%)
PATCO:  +1.0%
Amtrak Northeast:  +7.3%

Interestingly, it would appear that on an average the more expensive the mode the greater the growth in ridership!

 

[Anderson]

I think it has to do with two things:

1) Amtrak is getting pumped by the airline discontinuations at PHL.

2) Moreover, at least within NJT, I think part of that is being driven by growth in the outer suburbs, where bus rides aren't practical.

The buses, at least, may also be hobbled by already substantial ridership. And of course, there's a chance that the fare increases under Christie had an odd "In for a penny, in for a pound" effect and caused some folks to say "Well, if I'm paying this much as it is, why not go that extra mile and get a better ride?"

 

[jis]

The other oddity is that weekend ridership on NJT Rail which was the hardest hit with fare increases with the discontinuance of RTX fares, has been soaring. Sunday ridership went up by 14.7%!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Seeing as how correlation does not imply causation I would hesitate to declare any sort of Veblen effect in a conventional transportation service.

(edited to fix screwy font size)

 

[jis]

Yeah. I don't know the reason. I am just picking up things that stood out to me from the first quarter ridership analysis from NJT.

Though the last one does make it harder to argue for the return of the RTX fares

One cause that has been suggested by some is the huge hikes in tunnel/bridge tolls in the NY area, specially for discretionary weekend riders.

 

[afigg]

One cause that has been suggested by some is the huge hikes in tunnel/bridge tolls in the NY area, specially for discretionary weekend riders.

Are the ridership percentage increases/decreases in your post for quarter to quarter or over a yearly period?

As for tunnel and bridge tolls, how about the NJ Turnpike? That has gone up as well in the past few years. Add in gas prices, traffic congestion, parking costs and there are a lot of reasons for people to take transit, even if the ticket prices are up.

However, these numbers are just part of a bigger long term national trend. The growth in transit ridership in many cities over the past 5, 10, 15 years has been significant. The NYC region transit ridership increases are not unique to NYC. Common to see reports about BART breaking ridership records.

The DC Metro has been in slow or flat growth mode in recent years and the fare increases have played a role in that. But the service disruptions on weekends and at night for major track work combined with sometimes shaky service are a big factor as well. Once they get past the worse of the weekend service disruptions, open Phase 1 of the Silver Line, and as more development projects are completed around Metro stations, DC Metro will return to steady growth in ridership.