[KB0679]

Originally Posted by Doady

Little Rock's transit system gets around 2.6 million boardings per year. 2.6 million! That's less than 4 boardings per capita. Transit mode share was 0.57% in 2010. Compare that to other urban areas with 700,000 people, Winnipeg and Quebec, which each get around 70 million transit boardings (100 boardings per capita) and mode shares of 11-13%.

As I said in another thread, if the USA wants to revitalize its downtowns and stop the suburbanization of its inner cities, it needs to get more people onto transit. How can you stop suburbanization in the outskirts when you can't even stop suburbanization in the centre? If people rely too much on their cars, it will be reflected in the built form, even the built form of the inner city. You need to get more people onto buses, reduce the demand for parking.

Transit ridership of other similar-sized cities in US in 2019:

Akron: 5.0 million
Des Moines: 4.4 million
Greensboro: 3.4 million
Oklahoma City: 3.0 million
Knoxville: 2.8 million
Columbia: 2.7 million

As long as it's easy and cheap to drive and park, nobody with options is riding the bus in smaller cities, especially in the South.