Worth it? Phoenix Light Rail Passenger Statistics in First Year

First-year ridership on Phoenix Metro’s light rail was above projections, according to Valley Metro, which owns and operates the light rail line. Now, what does all this mean? That damn train will finally pay for itself, you say? Wait there. It was never designed to pay for itself with the fees it charges. Its construction cost $ 70 million per mile. It couldn’t possibly pay for itself. We all contribute our taxes, both local and federal. (By the way, thank you all for your financial tax contribution).

The projection for midweek passenger numbers at the beginning of the year was 26,000, with the actual number reaching nearly 35,000, representing an increase of nearly 34%. The number of passengers on Saturday was projected at 20,800 passengers; the real was 27,662, which represented an increase of 33%. This is good news for the light rail management outlook. Now, the important thing is to increase the number of passengers and make it worthwhile.

While there are many naysayers, it has been built and is here to stay. We have to get over it. He lived in San Jose, California when his light rail was built a few years ago. First there were many complainants, and then the number of passengers exceeded projections. Now many students who were starting jockeys are now working adults. They have a different and practical view of the situation. Many prefer to travel with their eyes on iPhones, listening to iPods, rather than cursing how many fools are clogging freeway lanes (like them!).

You choose, which one are you?