PORTLAND, Ore. -- MAX train rides were up nearly 20 percent in some cases, compared to February 2009, as TriMet reported its first ridership increase in over a year.
There were 7.9 million trips aboard MAX trains, TriMet buses and Westside Express Service trains in February, according to TriMet spokesperson Mary Fetsch.
Overall, that represents a 1.4 percent increase in rides from the year before, and Fetsch said most of the increases came aboard MAX lines. Bus rides were down nearly 10 percent during rush hour, though that number may be skewed by the decline in bus routes over the last year, Fetsch said.
MAX rides were almost 20 percent higher, on average, than a year ago. Weekly ridership was up 19 percent to 754,300 trips. Weekday trips saw an 18 percent bump to 119,800 trips. Weekend trips grew 22 percent, to 155,300. Rush hour riders were up too, 12.3 percent, to 35,500.
Fetsch noted that last month's rides seemed in-line with numbers prior to the gas price run-up of 2008, when ridership spiked. The drastic rise in gasoline prices resulted in affected the data for 2009. The steady rise in joblessness across metro Portland for most of 2009 also contributed to last year's steady ridership declines, she added.
