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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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority