Worth it? Phoenix light rail ridership statistics in the first year

Ridership in the first year of Phoenix Metro light rail operation was above projections, according to Valley Metro, owner and manager of the light rail line. Now what does all this mean? That damn train will finally pay for itself, you say? Wait there. It was never designed to pay for itself with the fees it collects. It cost $70 million per mile to build. It couldn’t possibly pay for itself. We all contribute our taxes, both local and federal. (By the way, thank you all for your financial tax contribution).

Weekday ridership at the beginning of the year was projected at 26,000, and the actual number reached almost 35,000, an increase of almost 34%. Saturday’s ridership was projected at just under 20,800; the real was 27,662, which represented an increase of 33%. This is good news for light rail management prospects. Now, the important thing is to increase the number of passengers and make it all worthwhile.

While there are plenty of naysayers, it has been built and is here to stay. We have to get over it. I lived in San Jose, California when their light rail was built a few years ago. First there were a lot of complaints, and then the number of passengers exceeded projections. Now, many students who were initial passengers are now working adults. They have a different and practical vision of the situation. Many would rather travel with their eyes on iPhones, listening to iPods, rather than curse how many chumps are clogging up highway lanes (just like them!).

You choose, which one are you?

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