Here are the latest ridership numbers across the Metro system.
The average weekday ridership for the Blue Line (92,006 boardings) and the new Expo Line (19,776) were the highest ever. The Orange Line had its second-best average to date (27,513) and the Green Line its third-best month ever (45,536).
Below are the July numbers, which on the rail side are tabulated over the prior several months and then crunched to come up with the monthly numbers:
Bus – Directly Operated
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 1,074,951 | 1,048,258 | 1,050,267 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 723,663 | 728,213 | 725,903 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 552,120 | 547,722 | 538,147 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 29,827,005 | 29,213,674 | 28,700,221 |
Directly operated bus ridership includes Orange and Silver Line ridership.
Bus – Contract
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 45,836 | 41,327 | 42,870 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 26,702 | 24,266 | 24,838 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 20,881 | 18,727 | 18,660 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 1,244,551 | 1,122,490 | 1,135,790 |
Bus – Systemwide
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 1,120,787 | 1,089,585 | 1,093,137 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 750,365 | 752,479 | 750,741 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 573,001 | 566,449 | 556,807 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 31,071,556 | 30,336,164 | 29,836,011 |
Directly operated bus ridership includes Orange and Silver Line ridership.
Orange Line
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 27,513 | 22,977 | 21,694 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 17,776 | 14,187 | 13,880 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 13,601 | 11,420 | 10,666 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 758,307 | 630,899 | 586,118 |
Silver Line
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 11,449 | 9,730 | 7,487 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 4,441 | 3,825 | 2,811 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 3,168 | 2,517 | 1,919 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 293,763 | 249,158 | 185,553 |
Rail Ridership Estimates
Red/Purple Line
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 154,025 | 159,302 | 150,435 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 90,817 | 100,728 | 101,190 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 79,423 | 80,785 | 82,843 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 4,223,540 | 4,389,998 | 4,128,552 |
Blue Line
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 92,006 | 82,189 | 81,126 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 65,686 | 57,645 | 52,018 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 54,087 | 47,924 | 49,006 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 2,595,229 | 2,312,624 | 2,237,870 |
Blue Line estimates do not include Expo boardings.
Expo Line
| Aug. 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 19,776 | ||
| Average Saturday Boardings | 12,569 | ||
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 10,722 | ||
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 548,009 |
Green Line
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 45,536 | 43,373 | 41,172 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 27,291 | 23,058 | 23,094 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 16,143 | 18,901 | 17,910 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 1,221,076 | 1,165,424 | 1,087,718 |
Gold Line
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 42,125 | 39,598 | 35,247 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 21,050 | 24,460 | 24,269 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 17,075 | 20,868 | 21,157 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 1,121,376 | 1,092,062 | 978,287 |
Rail Systemwide Ridership Estimates
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 353,469 | 324,462 | 307,980 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 217,413 | 205,890 | 200,571 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 177,450 | 168,478 | 170,915 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 9,709,229 | 8,960,107 | 8,432,426 |
Includes Expo Line ridership.
Systemwide Ridership Estimates
| Aug. 2012 | Aug. 2011 | Aug. 2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekday Boardings | 1,474,255 | 1,414,047 | 1,401,117 |
| Average Saturday Boardings | 967,778 | 958,370 | 951,312 |
| Average Sunday and Holiday Boardings | 750,451 | 734,927 | 727,723 |
| Total Calendar Month Boardings | 40,780,785 | 39,296,271 | 38,268,437 |
Scott: That’s a good question regarding the subway (Red/Purple Line) ridership. Based on my research of long-term ridership trends, it looks there was an unusual spike in subway ridership last summer, with two of the top four ridership months in subway history, but that spike wasn’t repeated this summer. This could be a result of fluctuations in fuel prices, but it is strange that the subway ridership seems to be more volatile than the overall MTA system, which included light rail and bus.
When I review the monthly estimates I see a lot of unusual “noise” in the MTA rail ridership. Remember that these really are estimates, since Metro has an open gate policy at rail stations. I assume that Metro is trying to revise their estimation methodology as they close the gates throughout the system. My guess is that a lot of the noise will continue to occur until the system is fully closed, and Metro can be more confident about their ridership counts.