Ben Wear got the numbers, finally
Quote:
What a difference $3 can make.
Specifically, the distinction between MetroRail's free first-week rides and the cost of a one-way ticket in the second week was ridership that fell from an average of almost 2,900 boardings a day to about 1,000 daily boardings when people had to pay. That's about half of what Capital Metro has projected ridership will average in the first year of the Red Line, and it equates to about 500 people using the commuter line to get to and from work.
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My prediction, reluctantly given to Roger Cauvin, was that ridership would be 500-1000 boardings/day after things settle down (before they start cancelling express buses). I don't think the second week is 'settled down', by the way; I expect further drops next week.
For reference, the 2000 light rail line was projected to have somewhere in the high 30,000s to low 40,000s after settling out. We can now never build that line, thanks to this 500-person carrying commuter line that doesn't serve Austin.