METRO Light Rail: Changing Transit Markets in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area

This article describes the METRO Light Rail project in Phoenix, Arizona, focusing on how the transit markets are changing there. The 20-mile CP/EV light rail project was the first modern fixed guideway transit project built and operated in the Phoenix metropolitan area. To address the significant growth in population over the last decade and the resulting congestion, the corridor was centered on the central core of the region replacing one of the most productive local routes in the system. Ridership has been continuously increasing over previous years surpassing all previous projections during the project development phase. The introduction of light rail services to the region has brought about a change in the way transit system is used in the region. The following key observations point towards this changing trend. Trip purposes other than work form the biggest proportion of light rail riders. According to the 2010 on-board survey, home-based other and home-based university trip purposes had the highest share of trips on light rail. Light rail attracts an almost equal share of riders with zero, one or more than one vehicle available in their households. While local bus services are skewed towards riders with no vehicles available (48%), express/RAPID services are at the other end of the spectrum serving more than 95% of the riders with at least one car available. Light rail share for individuals with zero, one, or more than one vehicle in the household was 36%, 31% and 32% respectively. Light rail attracts the highest share of riders accessing the transit system by bikes. According to the 2010 on-board survey, approximately 7% of rail passengers surveyed accessed the system on bikes, which is the highest share among all transit modes available. While downtown Phoenix and North Central Avenue are the largest employment destinations in the region, the presence of ASU’s largest campus in Tempe, makes it the most popular destination along the light rail corridor. College Students form the biggest share of light rail users. Light rail appeared to generate a disproportionate growth in transit passenger trips. Transit passenger trips grew 37% between 2007 and 2010 in districts served by light rail while those in areas not served by light rail grew by only 10%. Weekend ridership is growing due to light rail. Sunday ridership jumped 20% between 2007 and 2011 while increasing 15% and 6% during the 2005-2007 and 2009-2011 time periods respectively. The author concludes that light rail has affected the way people travel in the Phoenix region and have also presented some unique challenges to address. These include accessibility to adjacent land uses, enhancing bus interface as well as provide demand responsive services to name a few. As part of Proposition 400, METRO is responsible for planning and development of 37 additional miles of HCT/LRT in the region. As light rail ridership grows and more extensions and/or corridors are added to the system, there is a need to acknowledge these changing trends and enhance the ridership experience for the transit patron.