BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
Soaring gasoline prices are driving hordes of people to mass transit in many U.S. cities, but people in the region may not be quite as ready to give up their cars.
Weekend and holiday ridership on the South Shore is up 6.6 percent so far this year as compared with 2007, but overall ridership is down 0.6 percent, according to Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District figures.
"We're not seeing a major increase because our numbers were up so much two years ago," said John Parsons, NICTD director of marketing and planning.
The South Shore saw its greatest surge in ridership in 2006, when the Dan Ryan reconstruction was at its peak. Ridership increased 10.7 percent that year, making it one of the nation's fastest growing commuter railroads.
Last year, South Shore ridership increased 1 percent, so that means those passengers have stuck around, Parsons said.
In Illinois, Metra train ridership the first three months of this year was up 5 percent compared with the same time last year, according to Meg Reile, a Metra spokeswoman.
There is no doubt high gasoline prices are part of the reason for the increased ridership, Reile said. But so is a new policy of free rides for seniors and the Edens Expressway construction project, she said.
Nationally, ridership on public transportation was up 3 percent the first three months of this year, compared with the same time last year, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
For the South Shore, the question now is how record-high gasoline prices will affect weekend ridership to summertime events in Chicago, Parsons said.
In the past, a slowing economy also has decreased South Shore ridership, Parsons added.
"Can they afford to go to those events in Chicago when they have to feed the gasoline tank all week?" Parsons said.
Bus ridership in the region since gasoline prices took off earlier this year presents a mixed picture.
In East Chicago, bus ridership surged 24 percent from March to April, according to figures from the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. In May, East Chicago Transit ridership remained 16 percent higher than it was in March.
However, through the first five months of this year, overall ridership was down 1.6 percent compared with that period last year.
East Chicago Transit Director Francisco Rosado Jr. said this year's month-to-month trend of more riders should continue.
"I'm sure that gasoline prices have a lot to do with it," Rosado said. "We're also a free service. That makes us even a little more attractive."
Hammond Transit has seen about a 13 percent increase in ridership from March to May, according to Director Keith Matasovsky. But May ridership still was down 5,000 riders compared with that time last year.
That's because the bus company faced numerous equipment breakdowns that led to cancellations and other service disruptions late last year and earlier this year, Matasovsky said. Many people stopped taking the bus because of those problems.
The figures cited by Matasovsky did not include ridership on three special routes run for the School City of Hammond. Those routes were discontinued April 13.
Increased ridership not only increases fare collections, but it also makes bus companies eligible for increased state and federal aid, Matasovsky said.
In Illinois, Pace suburban bus service ridership was up 2.1 percent in the first five months of this year compared with last year, according to spokesman Patrick Wilmot.
"As gas prices have spiked, we have seen clear spikes in ridership," Wilmot said.