By Philip Newman
“The continued investment in new subway cars and buses is not going unnoticed by our customers, who are responding by increased usage of our system,” said Howard Roberts Jr., president of the New York City Transit Authority, which operates buses and subways. The 1.56 billion riders who took subways last year accounted for more than two-thirds of the transit system's passengers in 2007, the Transit Authority said. It was the most riders on the subways since 1951. The buses and subways together carried 2.3 billion riders last year, the most since 1969. “There is more and more pressure on our streets and roadways from private automobiles,” Roberts said. “Increased use of mass transit helps relieve some of that pressure by reducing the amount of automobile traffic as well as cutting air pollution.” The 738 million riders of the bus system amounted to a 0.5 percent drop in ridership in the bus system, although patronage on a number of lines increased. Among bus lines on which ridership rose were the M60, which serves LaGuardia Airport as well as the Q3 and B15, both of which serve JFK. The M60, which begins on Manhattan's Upper West Side and runs through Astoria en route to LaGuardia, reported a 5.5 percent increase in riders last year. Ridership on the Q3, running from Jamaica to JFK, was up 4.8 percent and passenger traffic on the B15, operating between Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and JFK, was up 3 percent.The BX5, operating between Pelham Bay Park and Hunts Point in the Bronx had the highest percentage increase of nearly 11 percent. Why did the ridership on buses suffer a tiny drop in 2007? “There could be a variety of reasons,” said Gene Russianoff, attorney for the transit activist agency Straphangers Campaign. “But surveys have indicated that the lowest income transit riders use buses and it could be that they were watching their spending a bit more over this past year.” As for the subway system, the L trains, which operate between 14th Street in Manhattan and Canarsi showed the highest increase in ridership at 8 percent. Transit officials attributed much of the higher ridership to a strong New York City economy that included record numbers of tourists and to the convenience and discounts from MetroCards. Although the basic fare is $2, as result of discounts and free transfers, the average bus and subway fare was $1.29, the Transit Authority said. Fares on buses and subway trains as well as commuter rail roads and bridge and tunnel tolls are scheduled to go up March 2. The basic fare will remain at $2, although certain unlimited ride MetroCards will cost more.Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext 136.
