O.C. Metrolink ridership up with gas prices
May 8th, 2008, 3:53 pm · 4 Comments · posted by John Gittelsohn
Ridership on the Metrolink trains that run through Orange County jumped 5 percent in the first quarter of this year, an increase attributed to higher gas prices.
The average number of daily weekday riders climbed 5.1 percent to 15,216 people during January through March, when prices had just begun their recent surge. The big bump could be expected in April and May, when average fuel prices broke historic records above the $3.50 barrier.
“Certainly one of the main reasons people take Metrolink is to save money on gas,” said Joel Zlotnik, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority.
Bus ridership was little changed, Zlotnik said, probably because train riders take longer-distance trips and are more likely to be able to afford to choose between driving and riding the rails.
Survey from 2007 found the average income of a Metrolink rider was $72,232 compared to an average income of $31,800 among bus riders. Zlotnik said the OCTA plans to survey riders to determine why they are using mass transit.
Here’s the data on Metrolink ridership in the first quarter.
| First quarter | Inland Empire-Orange Line | 91 Line | Rail 2 Rail | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 4,610 | 2,153 | 1,295 | 14,484 |
| 2008 | 4,743 | 2,283 | 1,420 | 15,216 |
| Change | 2.89% | 6.04% | 9.65% | 5.05% |
In case you’re trying to make up your mind whether to ride the rails, CLICK HERE to learn about Metrolink.
And CLICK HERE to see the latest gas prices in your neighborhood.
More stories on the high cost of gasoline:
- Crude breaks $120 a barrel barrier
- Money: And you thought gas was expensive … try diesel
- Californians used 4.5% less gas in January$4 for a gallon of gas? Ouch!
May 10th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Isn’t it true that these numbers are intentionally misleading?
Metrolink counts each boarding as a rider. So a commuter who gets on the train to work in the morning and again in the afternoon or evening is counted as two riders.
And Orange County has three interconnecting lines that serve it. So a commuter could take the 91 line from Riverside to a job in Tustin, for example, and take two trains in the morning and two in the afternoon and thus be counted in these numbers four times.
And the 91 line goes from Riverside to Downtown Los Angeles. So are all those riders counted even if they are just passing through Orange County?
So, to give a realistic impression of how many total Orange County commuters these trains serve, you would have to cut the numbers in half and then reduce them by at least another few percentage points to account for connecting service and possibly more for those who don’t set foot in Orange County.
Then look at the two commuting nightmares that these passengers experienced this week (Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning and afternoon - up to 4 hour delays) and then the one from last week (Tuesday afternoon - up to 2 hour delay). And it’s only getting worse.
When you can’t rely 100% on your commuting choice, many people will fall back on their automobiles as the preferred method of commuting.
Metrolink, by its own account in its board meeting minutes, says that it continues to lose 25% of its passengers a year.
So, even with gas prices so high, it can barely maintain its current passenger levels.
And will Mr. Zlotnik tell the passengers and taxpayers what will happen to the fares when OCTA starts running 30 minute service from 5 a.m. to midnight weekdays between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel? Train riders pay about 45% of the total operating budget for Metrolink. When all the man-hours and fuel for operating all those virtually empty trains hits the operating budget, the train riders are going to feel raped when they see the fare increases that are coming.
And since Metrolink bases its fares on the operating budget of its whole system, passengers from all the counties who never ride the Orange County line will be paying for this wasteful and greenhouse gas emitting service.
Metrolink has been promoting its green-ness lately. I have even come to question how it figures that it is green. Its trains are burning fuel all the time, running empty trains to staging areas, running to the yards during off-peak times, in addition to the scheduled trains. And when the trains are sitting anywhere during peak times, the engines are running. For whatever reason, unlike an automobile, you don’t turn a train off when it’s parked. And nearly the same amount of fuel is burned for running a full train and an empty or virtually empty train. Where are the numbers for how much fuel is being burned per passenger mile? One has to suspect that the numbers are not good because, for an agency that depends on PR (public relations) spin, it’s been completely quiet on this subject.
If what I suspect is true, the train-riding public and the taxpayers are being hood-winked.
So come on OCTA and Metrolink. Give us the unvarnished truth and stop with all the spin about great things are.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
One more comment on the green-ness aspect of Metrolink.
I forgot to mention that OCTA is already running dozens of virtually empty trains on the weekends. And Metrolink train riders have already felt the effect of that profligate spending on costly fuel and overtime in the supplemental fare increases over the past two years. Those fare increases have supported the doubling and quadrupling of weekend service on the main east-west and north-south lines. Service that is barely used and heavily discounted with half-rate and three-quarter-rate fares to attract even the meager ridership that weekend service currently serves.
And all weekday train riders in the entire system pay for increased weekend service while weekday service has remained stagnant and the trains have become standing room only between many stations. And relief for the backbone daily commuters is still years away because of poor planning that has resulted in a six to seven year gap between new equipment coming on line.
June 1st, 2008 at 10:38 pm
metrolink is receiving 14 new locomotives according to their monthly newletter. I believe these locomotives will be able to turn on and off instead of idling when sitting around.
I love the metrolink.. though I don’t commute to and from work on it, I ride it about once a month on weekends to LA.
I wish they had more trains running later out to LA and back. I’d like to be able to metrolink it into LA afterwork for a social event, dinner, drink, etc.. and then hop on it back and get back home around 11pm or so.
or be able to go to the hollywood bowl, get on the Red Line and then back home on the metrolink on both weekends and weekdays.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
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