LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Nearly 17% Increase in Blue Line Riders Reported
More than 11 million people last year rode the Blue Line trolley, which runs between Los Angeles and Long Beach--an increase of almost 17% over the previous year, transit officials announced Monday.
The $877-million Blue Line light rail system has been open since July 14, 1990. When construction started in 1985, officials estimated that 35,000 passengers would board the Blue Line daily. Before the Blue Line opened, that estimate was lowered to between 5,000 and 7,000.
Last year, 11.3 million rode the Blue Line, or about 35,000 daily during weekdays, and between 19,000 and 24,000 on weekends. In 1991, 9.7 million boarded the Blue Line.
“We knew that when commuters, students and shoppers learned how convenient and reliable Blue Line trains are, they would climb aboard,” Alan F. Pegg, general manager of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more pleased.”
Officials believe that ridership on the Blue Line will increase by about 4,000 daily when the Red Line subway opens Jan. 30.
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