[PRCo] Re: Patronage of the Rail Lines (Was: Pittsburgh 7-Charles Street abandonment)

[Kenneth Josephson]

I wonder way Mr. Wendell Cox ( a consultant some of our list members are
familar with) never discusses this when he's out there giving his
"objective" reasons to oppose light rail? I will be the first to say don't
build a line where it won't draw passengers. Mr. Cox, however, seems to
ignore the success stories.

Ken J.

Ed Tennyson wrote:

>      To my knowledge, Routes  35, 36 and 37, now 42-S and 42-L  never
> lost passen- gers after Worfld War II when they carried 24,000 weekday
> passengers in 1953 after the interurbans were gone. Mid-day may have
> lost riders, offset by more com- muters in the peaks.
> (Riders were lost when buses replaced route 42/38 during reconstruction,
> but they came back when rail service was restored     Just before the
> Sixth Avenue Subway opened, ridership was still 24,000 but bus rdership
> had gne way down over the years.
> After the "T" got running right about 1988, ridership grew to 36,000 in
> 1991, but was sharply curtailed by a strike, then the shut down of the
> Overbrook Line in 1993. It is back to 24,000 again without Overbrook but
> it had been 24,000  with Overbrook before the subway
> If I remember anywthing wrong, I am sure you will remind me. I think I
> have it right.
> E d   T e n n y s o n