Public transit ridership continues to gradually rise in Virginia, according to a new state transportation report.
Statewide, the number of transit riders increased by 2 percent in June over the same time last year, said Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation spokesman Corey Hill.
“Overall, ridership is holding up very well. One of the key facts that we always like to point out, June 2009 compared to June 2008, the price of gas dropped 35 percent yet ridership increased, despite some dramatic decreases in the price of fuel,” said Hill.
Virginia Railway Express saw big gains in both ridership and on-time performance in the past year. VRE ridership increased in June by 6 percent to 349,000 riders, while their on-time performance rating also increased by 21 percent, according to the DRPT report
Hill said that once people have up their cars and tried transit last year, during a time of record gas prices, they stuck with it.
The ridership numbers for the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, operators of the OmniRide commuter and OmniLink buses in Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park, only saw a 1 percent increase in ridership over the past year.
In 2008, the commuter bus service was scrambling to find more room aboard buses as many drivers, weary from the price at the pump, turned to commuter buses to get to work.
Bus services in Fairfax and Alexandria lost riders. The Fairfax Connector reported a 14 percent drop in passengers last year.
Among the bus agencies that gained ridership: Culpeper and Fredericksburg, according to the statewide report.
The agency tabulates the data from 58 state transit operators and 46 private “human service” firms.
Northern Virginia accounts for 79 percent of the state’s transit ridership, followed by Hampton Roads and Richmond with a combined 15.9 percent.
Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
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