Public Transit Ridership Rises as Gas Prices Soar

Soaring gasoline prices are pushing more commuters to use public transportation, say officials at L.A. County’s two biggest rail and bus operators.

Ridership on the Red Line subway jumped nearly 12% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. Boardings increased about 8% on the Green Line and 3% on the Blue Line, said Marc Littman, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the rail services.

Ridership on the three lines rose along with gas prices this winter, increasing 9% each month from January through March. “It’s a pretty big jump,” Littman said. “We attribute it to the surge in gas prices.”

Bus boardings also rose 9% each month over the quarter, an increase that Littman said was particularly dramatic in light of the season’s rainy weather, which typically keeps riders away. Year over year, however, bus ridership was up less than 1%, and might not be as reflective of fuel prices as train patronage, Littman said.

The only service that did not show a jump in ridership was the MTA’s troubled Gold Line, which has been criticized as slow and was partly closed at one point during the rainy season.

Some commuters from outlying areas, whose drives to work are typically longer and more expensive than those of bus or light-rail riders, also appear to be turning to mass transit, partly because of increasing gasoline prices.

Denise Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Metrolink, said ridership increased by 7% for the first quarter of 2005 over the same period last year.

“People start to question their commute,” Tyrrell said. “And traffic is so unbearable -- that’s a lot of your life out there.”

-- Sharon Bernstein

and Nicholas Shields