Source
Falling transit ridership poses an ‘emergency’ for cities, experts fear
March 24, 2018 By Faiz Siddiqui/WaPo
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Transit ridership fell in 31 of 35 major metropolitan areas in the United States last year, including the seven cities that serve the majority of riders, with losses largely stemming from buses but punctuated by reliability issues on systems such as Metro, according to an annual overview of public transit usage.
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The rationalizations are a bit 'old hat' at this point but not the data.
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The data also showed 2017 was the lowest year of overall transit ridership since 2005, and bus ridership alone fell 5 percent.
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I can appreciate Jarrett Walker.
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“I think it needs to be considered an emergency,” said Jarrett Walker, a transit planner... “When we don’t share space efficiently, we get in each other’s way. And that is a problem for the livelihood, the viability, the livability and the economy of a city . . . . It means more traffic, more congestion.”
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Bus ridership in Denver fell (again) 4.4% last year so it is experiencing the same misery as most places. RTD is likely in better shape than most places, especially when you consider funding meaning at least it's still growing. Still, the challenges/solutions are confounding but neither inexpensive or easy.
I'm looking forward, actually counting on Denveright to provide not only a vision but a basis for determining priorities.