Light rail ridership went up slightly in February, driven by an apparent increase in the number of commuters using the 20-mile system.
The estimated daily average of boardings in February was 32,430, higher than January's estimate of 29,415. Helping the system out was about 5,000 extra riders each weekday, according to a Metro news release (see below for text).
The crowds on Saturdays were about the same, but holiday and Sunday ridership saw a few thousand less ride
Declaring that "special events are drivers of ridership," Metro Light Rail CEO Rick Simonetta today announced extended hours for the April 3 and 4 Tempe Music Festival.
Instead of the last train leaving at 11 p.m., as usual, east- or westbound riders can depart from the 3rd Street and Mill Avenue platform in Tempe up to 12:30 a.m. on the festival nights.
Kid Rock and Three Doors Down headline the festival.
If you go, keep your eyes peeled for Cindy McCain, who was reportedly caught on
We heard back from Rick Simonetta, CEO for Metro Light Rail, this week in response to our questions about the six-month-old system's ticket-inspection processes.
Or rather, the near-absence of any such processes.
As we reported, Metro says that going by data from its random ticket inspectors, the light-rail system has a "fare evasion rate" of much less than 1 percent. Simonetta had referred to that low rate back in a February newspaper article. Yet Metro officials know with certainty the ra
People who plan on attending July 4 events in Phoenix or Tempe can buy their light rail passes now, allowing them to avoid long lines at fare boxes to validate tickets.
Buying before the July 1 fare increase (an all-day pass is going to $3.50) will also let riders save a buck.
While the convenience can only be a benefit for Independence Day riders, we're pretty sure the real reason for this promotion has to do tricking passengers into actually paying for their rides.
It was a sluggish summer for Metro light rail, but ridership is ramping up again thanks to a new semester at Arizona State University. Officials estimate the trains were boarded 882,328 times in August, which was far more than in either June or July.
Traffic on the rail dropped from a high of more than one million estimated boardings in April to the system's low-water mark of 750,551 in July. Officials had expected the heat and lack of tourists and students would mean fewer riders, nat
