New 2009 MTA Annual Report Released

Buried deep in the MTA website in the news section, and not on the main page of the website like many transit agencies do, MTA recently posted its 2009 Annual Report. Considerably short at 24 pages (Septa released its last week and covers 88 pages of information), the Annual Report doesn't leave us with a whole lot of information. In fact, I'm a little confused over some differences in numbers.

The Annual Report lists the Metro Subway as having 45,497 average weekday riders, slightly down from 2008. Light Rail posted 28,152 average weekday riders, an increase from last year. I thought this was a bit low from some of the APTA statistics I've seen so far this year, so I check it out.

APTA, in each of it's reporting quarters in 2009 never listed the Metro Subway below 50,900 average weekday riders and the Light Rail was never below 34,600. What accounts for this massive difference? I can only assume that both MTA and APTA have their own statistics recorders, but are they really off by a few thousand riders, and who has the right stats here?

It's good to take a look at to see the breakdown of funding, on time performance, and distribution of service. I am disappointed to see that MARC on-time performance remains at 87%, and I find it hard to believe that Light Rail on time performance is at 99%. Maybe I'm wrong and it does come on schedule, but it's still slower than it should be in downtown.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 5, 2010 at 11:34 AM

    Good find. Baltimore keeps trying with its mass transit but never seems to get it quit right. It seems more concerned with getting suburban folks and tourists around town. Even the Charm City Circulator misses the boat by not extending into the east side residential neighborhoods. Don't even get me started on the free water taxi that almost nobody uses and does not allow bicycles to ride along.

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