Rail Ridership Down As SmartBenefits Run Out
Many Metrorail riders now run out of SmartBenefits mid-month, and they may stop riding.
Since the federal transit benefit maximum dropped from $240 to $130 per month, about 25% of regular Metrorail commuters are running out of SmartBenefits to pay their fare before the month is over. By month’s end, trips paid for with SmartBenefits are now crashing by 40% over last year. Though a variety of factors explain recent decreases in Metrorail ridership, the transit benefit is a strong explanation as to why the losses are concentrated in the second half of the month. In fact, the biggest influence on ridership over the past year may be the cut in the federal transit benefit, and ridership might even be up by about 2% otherwise.
If we look at trips per day over the span of the month, and only at trips over 7 miles paid for with SmartBenefits, we see the drop closely coinciding with when riders run out of SmartBenefits. (Shorter trips can be fully funded by the current benefit amount of $130 per month.)
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