Why has public transit ridership declined in the United States?. (July 2022)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Why has public transit ridership declined in the United States?. (July 2022)
- Main Title:
- Why has public transit ridership declined in the United States?
- Authors:
- Erhardt, Gregory D.
Hoque, Jawad Mahmud
Goyal, Vedant
Berrebi, Simon
Brakewood, Candace
Watkins, Kari E. - Abstract:
- Graphical abstract: Highlights: Between 2012 and 2018, bus ridership in the US declined 15% and rail ridership declined 3%. We identify the factors responsible and quantify the contribution of each. Expanded transit service and land-use changes would have led to higher ridership but were offset by other factors. Ride-hailing is the biggest contributor to transit ridership decline. Higher fares, incomes, teleworking and car ownership, and lower gas prices also contribute. Abstract: Between 2012 and 2018, bus ridership in the United States declined 15% and rail ridership declined 3%. These losses are widespread and in contrast to trends in other countries. Using data from 215 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we identify the factors responsible for this decline and quantify the contribution of each. We show that expanded transit service and land-use changes increased ridership 4.7% on bus and 10.7% on rail. However, losses due to other factors exceed these gains. Ride-hailing is the biggest contributor to transit ridership decline over this period, reducing bus ridership by 10%. Ride-hailing's effect on rail varies by metropolitan area size: it has little effect on rail ridership in the largest metropolitan areas but decreases rail ridership 10% in mid-sized metropolitan areas. Lower gas prices and higher fares contribute to lower transit ridership, as do higher incomes, more teleworking and higher car ownership. By providing a clearGraphical abstract: Highlights: Between 2012 and 2018, bus ridership in the US declined 15% and rail ridership declined 3%. We identify the factors responsible and quantify the contribution of each. Expanded transit service and land-use changes would have led to higher ridership but were offset by other factors. Ride-hailing is the biggest contributor to transit ridership decline. Higher fares, incomes, teleworking and car ownership, and lower gas prices also contribute. Abstract: Between 2012 and 2018, bus ridership in the United States declined 15% and rail ridership declined 3%. These losses are widespread and in contrast to trends in other countries. Using data from 215 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we identify the factors responsible for this decline and quantify the contribution of each. We show that expanded transit service and land-use changes increased ridership 4.7% on bus and 10.7% on rail. However, losses due to other factors exceed these gains. Ride-hailing is the biggest contributor to transit ridership decline over this period, reducing bus ridership by 10%. Ride-hailing's effect on rail varies by metropolitan area size: it has little effect on rail ridership in the largest metropolitan areas but decreases rail ridership 10% in mid-sized metropolitan areas. Lower gas prices and higher fares contribute to lower transit ridership, as do higher incomes, more teleworking and higher car ownership. By providing a clear understanding of the causes of transit ridership decline, our research provides the foundation on which communities can craft an effective response to the problem. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Transportation research. Volume 161(2022)
- Journal:
- Transportation research
- Issue:
- Volume 161(2022)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 161, Issue 2022 (2022)
- Year:
- 2022
- Volume:
- 161
- Issue:
- 2022
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2022-0161-2022-0000
- Page Start:
- 68
- Page End:
- 87
- Publication Date:
- 2022-07
- Subjects:
- Transit -- Bus -- Rail -- Ride-hail -- TNC
Transportation -- Research -- Periodicals
388.011 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564 ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.tra.2022.04.006 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0965-8564
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 9026.274604
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British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
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