The renaming of the New England Medical Center (NEMC) station on the Orange Line will catch the eye of innumerable T riders, as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) saw a dramatic increase in ridership last year.
According to statistics released recently by the MBTA, 353,132,600 passengers rode the subway, commuter rail, MBTA buses or ferries in 2007. That was much higher than in 2006, when approximately 334,840,000 million passengers rode.
The 2007 figure marks the second-highest ridership since 1980, and represents a nearly 20-million-passenger increase from 2006. The highest ridership was in 2001, but figures plummeted after Sept. 11.
In March 2008, the MBTA had 1.3 million riders, a 5.6-percent jump from March 2007.
In a press release issued early last month, the MBTA attributed its rise in passengers to the spike in oil costs. Though the MBTA has been raising fares, many commuters decide to accommodate these hikes because the cost of gasoline has risen simultaneously to nearly $4.00 per gallon, the release said.
This trend can be seen even in the MBTA-owned parking lots. Though the MBTA is the largest owner of parking spaces in New England, it is finding that its lots are increasingly full. "Some of our lots max out," MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas told the Daily.
There are a couple of different factors that may have contributed to the rise in T passengers last year. For example, 2007 was the first full year in which the new Silver Line was included.
Additionally, while previous passenger counts were primarily estimates, the full implementation of the Charlie Card system this year has allowed the MBTA to track the exact number of passengers on all modes of mass transit.
Grabauskas said neither of these factors could account for the dramatic spike in ridership, though. "It does not contribute enough to the increase," he said.
With fewer commuters on the road and more on the T, MBTA buses and trains are more crowded than ever before. There are no plans in the works to add more trains or buses to the system, though, because the MBTA has accumulated a massive debt.
"I'm just struggling as hard as I can to maintain the service I've already got," Grabauskas said. The MBTA debt was listed at approximately $5 billion.
According to statistics released recently by the MBTA, 353,132,600 passengers rode the subway, commuter rail, MBTA buses or ferries in 2007. That was much higher than in 2006, when approximately 334,840,000 million passengers rode.
The 2007 figure marks the second-highest ridership since 1980, and represents a nearly 20-million-passenger increase from 2006. The highest ridership was in 2001, but figures plummeted after Sept. 11.
In March 2008, the MBTA had 1.3 million riders, a 5.6-percent jump from March 2007.
In a press release issued early last month, the MBTA attributed its rise in passengers to the spike in oil costs. Though the MBTA has been raising fares, many commuters decide to accommodate these hikes because the cost of gasoline has risen simultaneously to nearly $4.00 per gallon, the release said.
This trend can be seen even in the MBTA-owned parking lots. Though the MBTA is the largest owner of parking spaces in New England, it is finding that its lots are increasingly full. "Some of our lots max out," MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas told the Daily.
There are a couple of different factors that may have contributed to the rise in T passengers last year. For example, 2007 was the first full year in which the new Silver Line was included.
Additionally, while previous passenger counts were primarily estimates, the full implementation of the Charlie Card system this year has allowed the MBTA to track the exact number of passengers on all modes of mass transit.
Grabauskas said neither of these factors could account for the dramatic spike in ridership, though. "It does not contribute enough to the increase," he said.
With fewer commuters on the road and more on the T, MBTA buses and trains are more crowded than ever before. There are no plans in the works to add more trains or buses to the system, though, because the MBTA has accumulated a massive debt.
"I'm just struggling as hard as I can to maintain the service I've already got," Grabauskas said. The MBTA debt was listed at approximately $5 billion.
