The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has released its annual report on public transit ridership. Although more Americans are taking public transit, the trend doesn't hold in every city.
Keith Lang reports on the annual transit ridership report, released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). The report finds that Americans took 10.8 billion trips on public transit in 2014—the highest total in 58 years and up from 10.7 billion in 2013.
"In 2014, people took a record 10.8 billion trips on public transportation -- the highest annual ridership number in 58 years," APTA CEO Phillip Washington said in a statement announcing the report. "Some public transit systems experienced all-time record high ridership last year. This record ridership didn't just happen in large cities. It also happened in small and medium size communities."
In fact the report's findings are a mixed bag. According to the press releases, "[some] of the public transit agencies reporting record ridership system-wide were located in the following cities: Albany, NY; Boston, MA; Canton, OH; Columbus, OH; Denver, CO; Indianapolis, IN; Madison, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Olympia, WA; Orlando, FL; St. Petersburg, FL; Riverside, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Spokane, WA; Tampa, FL; and Wenatchee, WA."
However, Kritsti King reports that the report finds transit ridership down in Washington, D.C. " WMATA, which runs Metrobus and Metrorail, saw combined ridership in 2014 compared to 2013 down 0.67 percent."
Laing goes on to place the report in the context of ongoing debate about federal funding of transportation projects.
Last year's report led with optimism about the record number of transit riders but then met cautious responses to the implications of the report's data.
Read the full story: Transit group touts 10.8B rides in 2014
Report: Transit Ridership Dropped in First Half of 2015
Fears that low gas prices and increasing vehicle miles traveled would negatively affect transit ridership might have come true in the first half of the year, according to data provided by the American Public Transportation Association.
L.A. Transit Surpasses 1M Weekday Riders for First Time Since Pandemic
Rail and bus ridership in the Los Angeles metropolitan area is recovering at a faster rate than the national average.
Chicago Transit Recovery Trails Behind Other Major US Cities
Sluggish ridership rates and staffing shortages are dampening recovery. Looming budget gaps could make things even worse.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Atlanta City Council unanimously backs $3.5 billion Beltline light rail project
The resolution was drafted after Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens pulled support for the Atlanta Streetcar extension last year.
SEPTA to bring nearby frequent transit to over 1 million new riders as part of decade-long plan
The agency's Accelerate plan will also bring frequent transit to twice the amount of jobs that are currently located near it.
NYC plants over 18,000 trees, the most new foliage in a decade
Many of the trees were planted in communities vulnerable to extreme heat.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello