Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ridership topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CapMetro reports strong ridership recovery, rapid growth in pickup zones and slower express recovery
Summary
CapMetro staff told the board July 28 that system ridership has recovered faster than many peers since 2021, that bus and rail are close to targets and that pickup (on‑demand) service is growing rapidly while express commuter services lag pre‑pandemic levels.
CapMetro staff presented a ridership overview July 28 that emphasized automated data collection, strong recovery on core services and rapid growth in pickup (on‑demand) zones, while noting commuter express services remain below pre‑COVID levels.
VP Mukherjee described the agency's data pipeline — automatic passenger counters (APC), automatic vehicle location (AVL), nightly downloads and a data‑cleaning process — and said that ridership recovery has outpaced peer agencies by about 9% since 2021. "Year to date, we have about 97% on our bus and 99% on rail," she said, noting seasonal and calendar factors can affect comparisons.
Two new Metro Rapid corridors (Pleasant Valley and Expo Center) remain in initial service as Small Starts‑funded projects; early month‑to‑month numbers show positive trends, stronger on Pleasant Valley. Pickup service launched new zones (Dove Springs, Decker) and, Mukherjee said, is growing "exponentially" in ridership in some zones, providing richer origin‑destination data than fixed routes.
Board members pressed staff on several points: whether special‑event spikes (soccer matches) are separated from baseline rail counts (staff said they have manual cleaning processes and can produce baseline vs. event‑adjusted reports) and whether express commuter ridership will return as people resume pre‑pandemic commute patterns (staff said commuter ridership is significantly lower and return‑to‑work patterns will determine recovery timing).
Context and next steps: Staff said the final round of public engagement for Transit Plan 2035 will begin in August, with integration planning between bus routes and the future light‑rail program. Board members asked for follow‑up briefings on zone‑level pickup performance and event‑adjusted ridership baselines.
