Metrorail Ridership Trends in the Washington Metropolitan Region

This paper describes how the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the second busiest heavy rail transit system in the country. The system serves 3.5 million people over a 1,500 square-mile service area. Ridership on Metrorail has continued to rise steadily since service started in 1976, driven by system expansion and regional growth. The 2007 Metrorail Passenger Survey, released in October 2007, further shed insights on the Metrorail growth trends and the effects of transit investments on a growing region. Some of the key findings include significant growth at stations in the downtown area and in the revitalizing neighborhoods, increasing social and recreational trips on Metrorail in the evening, and an increasing number of passengers accessing the system by walk, bicycle and bus. This paper presents the characteristics and emerging trends of the Metrorail transit market and identifies the drivers of ridership growth in the Washington metropolitan region.