Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Transit ridership rose 6 percent during July

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Transit ridership rose 6 percent during July
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


If you're a transit rider who feels as though the bus or light-rail vehicle you travel in has been more popular lately, you're not alone.

The pinch at the gas pump, though easing somewhat lately, appears to have nudged more commuters into public transportation, said Port Authority spokesman David Whipkey.

The Port Authority yesterday released July ridership numbers that show an increase of more than 6 percent over July 2007.

On an average weekday in July, the Port Authority carried more than 233,500 riders on its bus, rail, incline and ACCESS services. Average weekday ridership in July 2007 was 220,133. In total, the Port Authority provided nearly 6 million transit rides in July, almost 500,000 more than in July 2007.

Mr. Whipkey said it's the first time the Port Authority has been able to compare ridership numbers with data collected after the June 2007 service cuts and price increases, when ridership dipped an estimated 3 percent.

"We're finally able to get an apples-to-apples comparison," he said. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08232/905306-147.stm