When it comes to Houston's light rail, Randal O'Toole says you're doing it wrong. Planners are trumpeting high ridership numbers, but O'Toole says the numbers show an overall decline in Houston's transit ridership.
According to O'Toole, "Light rail construction began in 2001, and ridership immediately dropped in 2002. By 2005, the first full year of light-rail operation, it had fallen 7.5 percent. While it recovered to its 2001 level in 2006, if it had grown by 4 percent per year, it would have been 21 percent greater. Ridership fell again in 2007, a year in which many other transit agencies saw increases due to high fuel prices."
Read the full story: The Definition of Failure: Houston’s Light Rail
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello