public transportation sees vibrant 2017 use

As a means of getting from one place to the other, public transportation remains a viable option nationally with more than 10.1 billion individual rider trips recorded in 2017.

Those numbers, according to the American Public Transportation Association, show continued popular use of bus and subway services, with commuter rail in particular seeing an increase in eighteen different urban transit systems nationally.

“Public transit remains a critical part of any community’s transportation network,” said Paul Skoutelas, the president of the APTA.

In a statement, Skoutelas added: “Public transportation organizations are revamping their services and experimenting with pilot projects to be more time and cost-competitive, and more consumer-focused, to meet the needs of today’s riders and the growing population.”

The report notes two trends in the West: a 64 percent increase in commuter rail ridership in Denver, due to the opening of a new rail line; and an increase of 6.2 percent in bus ridership in Phoenix, the largest such increase in the country last year.

The APTA has been pushing for increased federal funding for transportation infrastructure projects nationally. It has additionally been critical of President Trump’s infrastructure proposals, which call for a reduction in funding for Capital Investment Grants as well as Transportation Investment Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants.

By Garry Boulard