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Days after announcing that subway ridership was at its highest levels since 1965, NYC Transit has revealed that in January ridership declined for the first time in years. Over the weekend, the MTA reported a 3.9 percent subway ridership increase in 2008, compared to the previous year. Now the AP has learned that in the first month of 2009, average weekday subway ridership plummeted 2 percent, compared to January '08. Transit officials insist they're not bipolar, and blame the abrupt decline on the increasing numbers of unemployed people who simply have nowhere to take the subway to. The news is doubly foreboding because it means less revenue for the MTA and a justification to cut back on service. Also worrying transit officials is the downward spiral in real-estate tax revenues, which are $75 million below already lowered projections. We could go on with the depressing news, but wouldn't you rather watch this video of a really freaky dust storm in Australia?
Actually, Subway Ridership Down
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We'll be ok if we can make it back to Coney alive.
You know, the dust storm video didn't really take my mind off things, as it depicts a journey that ends in utter darkness.
there's no reason the unemployed need to ride the trains.
But wait... since MTA officials live in opposite-land, doesn't lower ridership mean service improvements?
idiots!
So instead of 1950 levels, we're at 1951 levels.
Of course ridership was down in January; it's not exactly tourist season and the cold weather encourages people to use taxis more often or even stay in (or within their neighborhood) during the weekend.
It's down compared to January of last year, not down from December.
Unfortunately the simple solution for simple minded MTA Management is a Fare Hike to combat low ridership.
Get ready for $3 rides, $5 Access-A-Rides, and $110 monthly's!
"worrying transit officials is the downward spiral in real-estate tax revenues"
this is partly bloomberg's fault and why he's a crappy mayor. he positioned nyc's economy to be too reliant on real estate tax revenue. reckless over-development and recklessly rezoning the city has meant we've lost countless manufacturing businesses and jobs which was always a solid tax base. now he's going to bail out the condos developers and buy back their empty units and throw more money at his rich friends who don't deserve it.
surplus one year, deficit the next, ridership up one day down the next—they are just a bunch of crooks. Transit officials are not as worried about the increase in bums on the trains-aggressively panhandling, harassing, and defecating all over the goddamn place. Raise the fucking fares already-get it over with. Enough dicking around. Fuck the MTA
That dust storm video was nuts! I however doubt I would drive so fearlessly towards something that looked like that though.
Please re-read the article. Ridership is NOT "lowest number of commuters since January 1950." Last year ridership reached its highest level *since* 1950, but has since declined.
Jack -
The decrease in ridership is compared year over year (i.e. Jan 2008 v. Jan 2009), not month to month (December to January), so unless this January is especially frigid compared to last year, dips in temperature probably wouldn't have an appreciable difference in ridership.
We did have one of the coldest January in years. The holiday season is over, it's cold outside, not in tourist season etc. So, I wonder how much of the drop has to do with employment.
Yeah, the Wall Street layoffs certainly have contributed the to the lower numbers, but I still think the bad weather plus the mindset that we should be a little more frugal with money = staying at home/local at night or on the weekend.
first question is whether ridership dips every january. second question is whether unemployment has anything to do with it. (i'd guess that european tourism is down with recession over there and the pretty sharp decline of the euro and pound vs. the dollar in past few months.)
Does a 2% drop really count as a "plummet"?
i thought the same thing... i hate how over exaggerated language has become.
i used to ride the train twice a day and several times on weekends.
now im unemployed so I ride it maybe once a week.
Plenty of unemployed people ride the trains.
They're called homeless, beggar crazies.