Ridership on Metro Transit down
Posted Dec 1, 2010 12:23:58 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HRM’s Metro Transit is reporting a decrease in ridership so far in 2010. It’s down four and a half per cent over last year. Transit Spokesperson Lori Patterson tells News 95.7 it may have something to do with the current state of the economy.
“Fewer people working and fewer people commuting as a result,” she says. “And we have noticed that across the transit industry in Canada, that other transit systems of our size are also experiencing a similar downturn in ridership.”
But Patterson is quick to say the decrease does not mean doom-and-gloom, saying it was more or less expected.
“[Ridership is] down this year, but what we’re really seeing is it’s kind of plateauing. We’ve introduced a lot new services, we’ve actually enjoyed ridership increases over the past few years. And it’s looking like it’s just leveling off at this point.”
Revenues at Metro Transit, however, are up slightly. Patterson says that is likely due to the fare increase earlier this year, although she admits that also may have something to do with the dip in ridership numbers.
