11/13/2022 0 Comments Wrta bus 15![]() ![]() Presented with the statistics, WRTA Advisory Board members nevertheless seemed more concerned about bus performance than the decline in ridership among peer agencies. The mean temperature was a half-degree colder than normal, but the amount of snowfall - 46.6 inches - was actually half an inch lower than average, according to the National Weather Service. ![]() He said it was snowier and colder, with notable snowfalls on weekdays, compared with the previous year.īut the winter weather overall wasn’t that far from normal, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Nocera. The schedule cuts alone decreased ridership by 3 to 4 percent, according to the presentation. It was the only transit authority in the state to raise fares last year, according to Nick Burnham, associate transportation planner at the CMRPC and the author of the presentation. Most notably, the decline came after the WRTA raised fares between 15 and 25 percent on July 1 and cut service in late June 2017 to overcome a nearly $1 million deficit. The Greater Peoria, Illinois, Mass Transit District was down 3 percent, while at the other end of the spectrum the Greensboro, North Carolina, Transit Authority was down 9 percent.Īuthorities with the WRTA and the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission attributed the ridership decline to several factors. Nationwide, RTAs were down an average of 5 percent.īut nationally among its peers in size and population served, the WRTA leads the pack in the downward trend. Regional and national ridership at RTAs were also down.Īccording to numbers reported to the National Transit Database, RTAs in New England recorded an average decline of 4 percent during this period. Statewide, the average change in ridership among the RTAs was a 3 percent decrease. Meanwhile, the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority and MetroWest Regional Transit Authority have had more riders this year than last, with a 1 percent and an 11 percent increase in ridership, respectively. The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, which had schedule cuts in the fall, had a 5 percent decrease in ridership. The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority had a 6 percent decrease in ridership, the next highest decrease. The WRTA was the only one of 13 RTAs in Massachusetts examined to experience a double-digit decrease during this time period. The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. WORCESTER - Ridership is down 13 percent at the Worcester Regional Transit Authority so far this year, more than at peer RTAs across the state and nation, according to a presentation to the WRTA Advisory Board last week.Īuthorities attributed the decline to last year’s fare increase and service cuts, a decline in ridership across the U.S., and a particularly rough winter.įixed route bus ridership at the WRTA was down 13 percent in the first three quarters of fiscal 2018 compared with the same period last year, with 2,348,690 riders in fiscal 2018 compared with 2,714,334 in fiscal 2017. ![]()
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