MARTA Shows Increase in Ridership (Atlanta, Reynolds: 2014, month-to-month, neighborhood)

[cqholt]

With national trends of transit usage going down; due to teleworking, ride hailing, etc. MARTA has shown a 1.5% increase in the 6 months since the I-85 bridge collapse.

MARTA’s numbers show that during the three months after the reopening of I-85, the system’s rail line saw an average of 5,571,000 riders a month, a .7 percent over the months before the collapse.

Overall, MARTA ridership is up 1.5 percent

A MARTA spokesperson says the agency is pleased with any increase.

“Why do you think the increase isn’t more?” asked Commuter Dude Jerry Carnes.

“People love their cars,” answered MARTA’s Erik Burton.

Burton points to reports that show public transit ridership is down nationwide.

“We consider it a win here,” says Burton. “While the national trend is going down, we’re at least staying steady or going up.”

MARTA says it took advantage of the increased ridership during the bridge collapse with added trains, buses, and discounts.

11alive.com | Commuter Dude: MARTA ridership up slightly six months after I-85 rebuild

[bu2]

Originally Posted by cqholt

With national trends of transit usage going down; due to teleworking, ride hailing, etc. MARTA has shown a 1.5% increase in the 6 months since the I-85 bridge collapse.

11alive.com | Commuter Dude: MARTA ridership up slightly six months after I-85 rebuild

etc.-employment is up so people can afford to buy a car and quit relying on transit.

That's the biggest reason people drop.

[arjay57]

cq, has there been a more recent breakdown in MARTA's choice vs. captive riders?

[Need4Camaro]

I just wish MARTA could expand to the suburbs.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I just wish MARTA could expand to the suburbs.

So does MARTA.

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by arjay57

cq, has there been a more recent breakdown in MARTA's choice vs. captive riders?

How would you determine that?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by MattCW

How would you determine that?

I guess they do surveys and such.

[cwkimbro]

We should be careful....

Some of this is month-to-month statistical noise and seasonal adjustments be comparing singular months at different times.

You can also see similar articles like this ... Parker: MARTA poised for a ridership spike | Spinning our Wheels ... from the same data. That shows a 2 percent decrease just a few months earlier too.

I think the narrative is correct that I-85 closure drove an increase in usage and there is a small lasting benefit to this in the long-term, but overall ridership had already been trending down and likely still is. It isn't MARTA's fault, it is a national trend to lower gas prices, a better economy, and rising wages. MARTA just isn't immune to that.

Originally Posted by arjay57

cq, has there been a more recent breakdown in MARTA's choice vs. captive riders?

I'm not sure if there is anything more recent, but the ARC did a really large survey of the area's transit users on a scale not done too frequently years back... maybe 5 or 6 years.

It seems like more factoids use to exist after that report.

In MARTA's 2014 annual report they had these tidbits: (https://www.itsmarta.com/pdfs/MARTA-...Report2014.pdf)

Approx. 75,000 people were using MARTA to commute to work. Of those 45,000 did so because they did not have other alternative means of transport.

They claimed 34% of riders used the service for convenience and 60% of all riders were using it to get to work.

What I found particularly interesting is that 2.6% of riders were bus only. 25.7% were rail only. 71.8% were bus & rail riders. Those 71.8% would increase the unlinked trips total count. I was a bit surprised that the bus-only numbers were so low. Maybe it is time to re-think how we use our bus routes, beyond being circulators to get people to the rail stations alone. I knew many and most people used it to get to the rail, but I was still surprised it was that low.

That might have something to do with the anti-bus stigma we have in our region. The buses don't get you where you're going, rather it is a slower way to get to the rail station that will get you where you're going.

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

That might have something to do with the anti-bus stigma we have in our region. The buses don't get you where you're going, rather it is a slower way to get to the rail station that will get you where you're going.

This is the frustrating thing about the bus routes on Moreland Avenue; they all start and stop at the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station. So I can't get on at the bus stop in my neighborhood, near my house, and go north to Little 5 Points or Poncey-Highland, I have to ride a bus (or walk the extra distance) to the MARTA station and then catch a bus from there. It's so inefficient I just don't bother.

The other thing is that waiting at a bus stop in most places in Atlanta means waiting in the dirt and mud on the side of the road with no shelter. Even where MARTA has shelters, they are tiny and almost pointless. If we had some routes with fewer stops, but clearly marked shelters, with breeze card machines so folks could buy their fares before boarding, and with electronic signage to show when the next buses are arriving, I guarantee you that anti-bus stigma would start to evaporate.

[cqholt]

Maybe it is time to re-think how we use our bus routes, beyond being circulators to get people to the rail stations alone. I knew many and most people used it to get to the rail, but I was still surprised it was that low.

Overhauling our bus system, all at once like Houston, would help and hopefully the system would see the same kind of increase that Houston saw. Houston overhauled their bus network saw increases afterwards.
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2016/08/...dership-is-up/