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Public Transit Ridership in the United States

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[quote user="John WR"] [quote user="Sam1"]The point I was attempting to make is that of those numbers a significant percentage, albeit not a majority, have no other options.  If they had another option, the overall percentage of people in the Metroplex who chose to use public transit could be even less.  [/quote] First of all, if some of the no car transit riders were to get cars they may well choose to drive their cars.  But is there any reason to believe that the proportion of people without cars is going to change?  As long as the proportion of no car people is stable it should produce a stable number of transit riders.   Since the lightrail is relatively new and so many riders have other transportation perhaps over time the number of people using it will increase.  One thing is clear:  The large majority of light rail riders have cars but still choose to ride the light rail.  [/quote] Although public transit plays a more significant role in major metropolitan areas than middle size cities and rural areas, as per the APTA numbers, no where, with the possible exception of NYC, does the majority of the population use it. From my perspective this is a key takeaway from the analytics.   Given the large capital costs incurred by DART, as an example, for its light rail system, as well as the significant operating costs, policy makers would be well advised to take a hard look at what systems, i.e. commuter rail, light rail, rapid bus technology, or good old fashion buses are the best solution for the country's growing need for better mobility, especially in congested urban areas.
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