G.E. Equipped PCCs/transit ridership

[HRBran99 at aol.com]

In a message dated 07/19/2000 2:29:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
j_swindler at hotmail.com writes:

<< In 1998, Americans took an 
 estimated 8.7 billion trips using public transportation, an increase of 4.6 
 percent more than the previous year. Ridership has increased by 16 percent 
 since 1995, an average of 4 percent each year. >>

One must also note the way that transit trips are now reported. For instance, 
Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority takes into account 
transfers from one route to another and reports the second or third ride as a 
single trip. In reality this is not the case. If I board a bus in Seminole 
County, pay a single fare and request a transfer, that is an actual trip by 
transit. However, when I transfer to a second route in Orange County and 
present my transfer to the operator it is again counted as a single trip. It 
is not a new trip, but merely a continuation of the original trip via a 
different route. No fare was collected for the transfer. This, however, is 
reported to the US Government as two trips, not one, as it actually was. I 
believe most of the increase is coming from new reporting methods and not 
from new riders. This, of course, looks great on paper and really great when 
reported to the media. But, sadly, it is only the old 'smoke and mirrors' 
routine. Believe me in the vast majority of medium and small US cities, only 
those who must use public transit are using it. The large US cities, to some 
extent, do show increases. Nothing, however, short of a major event which 
takes away the automobile, is going to get the majority of the American 
people out of their personal transportation choice. Fortunately, we have a 
rich history of public transit modes and methods to discuss.

HrB