As Gas Prices Fall, Transit Still Popular

Commuters crowd platforms at the Rosslyn Metro station during peak hours. For the four months ending in October, Metrorail ridership in the Washington region was up 5 percent over the same period last year, an official says. (By Dominic Bracco Ii -- The Washington Post)
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Last year, Metro carried a record number of riders, and the numbers seem to indicate "they're still here," he said. "I think it's great."

Harder to figure out, he said, is how the continuing economic turmoil is going to affect ridership. Significant layoffs could hurt ridership by spring, but in the short term, ridership is expected to be strong. In the run-up to the presidential inauguration, hotel employees and other service industry workers are expected to rely on the bus and subway to get to and from their jobs.

Gas prices tend to affect the riders who have the longest commutes, such as those who use commuter rail. But Virginia and Maryland commuter rail services say ridership is strong. Ridership on the MARC system for October was up 7.5 percent overall compared with the same period last year, officials said. Average daily ridership for the month was 33,575.

Average daily ridership on Virginia Railway Express, which runs trains between Manassas and Fredericksburg and Union Station, for the four months ending in October was 15,709, up 12 percent from the same period last year, said Jennifer Straub, deputy chief executive officer.

In Loudoun County, ridership on county-run commuter buses "is still trending significantly ahead of last year," county transit chief Nancy Gourley said. In October, the average daily ridership was 3,643, up 25 percent from the year before. Data for the first 13 days of November, the latest available, also show a more than 25 percent increase from the previous year, she said.

Transit ridership tends to drop in November and December because of the holidays, so January is typically the "next time people change their habits," she said.

But Loudoun officials are budgeting that ridership will grow 15 percent next year. "When people change their habits, they often stick with them," Gourley said.

That also seems to be the case with ride-sharing postings on the regional Commuter Connections bulletin board on the Internet. Nick Ramfos, chief of Commuter Connections, said ride-sharing postings rose sharply in September -- a 107 percent increase over the previous September-- because the Web-based service started a ride-matching system. In October, postings were up 42 percent over the previous October, consistent with similar increases in July and August.

Some people might go back to driving if prices keep falling, he said. "But people are contacting us, and that hasn't let up," he said.

And for area residents, there is always that other factor that makes alternatives to driving more attractive.

"Traffic is still out there," Ramfos said.

Staff writer Jonathan Mummolo and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.