MTA Ridership

The comparison of Metro bus and Metro Rail ridership figures presented in your article, “Approval of Prop. A Would Chart a New Course for Transportation” (Oct. 18), needs some clarification. While the figure used for bus ridership was the sum of all 200 Metro bus lines, the projection for rail ridership pertained to only one of Metro Rail’s three lines. When the system’s North Hollywood subway segment opens less than two years from now, total Metro Rail ridership will be 200,000 boardings a day. That’s nearly 20% of current bus usage, a significant figure that cannot be dismissed as “just a fraction of the bus system’s boardings.”

A comprehensive 1996 rider survey showed 30% of Metro Rail’s riders have annual household incomes of $15,000 or less, and the majority (66%) of all riders are Hispanic, black or Asian. Further, among Metro Rail’s three operating lines, the Metro Blue Line (serving communities that include Watts, Lynwood and Willowbrook) is so heavily used that MTA is searching for ways to expand its capacity. All stations have connecting bus service.

WARREN MORSE

Deputy Executive Officer

Marketing/Customer Relations

MTA, Los Angeles