More Metro "Startling Facts"
For a little Saturday humor, check out this Metro press release:
WARNING: You Could Be Startled by These Facts
March 3, 2005The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County has come a long way since its founding in 1979. Not only does METRO provide bus, light rail and shuttle services, but it contributes to the Houston community's economic strength, street revitalization and environmental health. A brochure of "Startling Facts," to be published this spring, outlines the many ways METRO benefits the Greater Houston Area and its residents. Here are a few:
* METRO's service area covers 1,285 square miles, reaching most of Harris County and more than 3.5 million residents;
* System-wide boardings were 91.9 million in fiscal year 2004. This translates into 500 million passenger miles;
* METRO has a system-wide seating capacity of 66,000;
* METRO moves about 320,000 people each workday;
* METRO has approximately 10,734 active bus stops. Of those, 2,453 have shelters, trash bins and/or seats;
* METRO has more than 1,500 buses in its active fleet, including 118 METROLift vehicles;
* METRO's Fluids Analysis Program saves the Authority up to $500,000 annually in fewer oil and transmission fluid changes;
* During FY2004, METRO bus, rail and METROLift operators drove a total of 57 million miles;
* Highest single-day METRORail ridership was 42,448 on Sept. 2, 2004;
* Houston's METRORail has more riders per mile than similar rail systems;
* METRORail has the best on-time performance record versus similar rail systems; for example, in September 2004, METRORail was on schedule 99.3 percent of the time;
* By riding METRO's services, commuters reduce the equivalent of 70 percent of their vehicle's air emissions;
* METRO's free ride-matching database has made nearly 7,300 vanpool and carpool matches since its debut in February 2004;
* In the last two years, METRO garnered about $160 million in federal funds for transit projects, creating thousands of jobs for area residents;
* METRO's HOV network is so efficient that it would take as many as 24 freeway lanes to accommodate the same number of rush-hour passengers.
Startling? Nah, it reads like a Lucas Wall "Move It!" column.
But this isn't a complete list of Metro's "Startling Facts," so I thought I would help out by providing some facts that were mysteriously left off the list:
* METRORail has had 79 crashes (a world class record!), into cars, wheelchairs and pedestrians;
*METRORail can be stopped by falling trees, power line snafus, water on the tracks and major events;
*METRO has a declining ridership problem;
*METRO likes to discontinue bus routes (called "service improvements"), in spite of citizens begging for the routes to remain;
*METRO likes to close Park and Rides;
*METRO has pulled security guards from Park and Rides;
*METRO has cut back on downtown trolley service and wonders why ridership has fallen off;
*METRO is $93 million in debt;
*METROrail runs on an honor system with random fare checks;
*METRO can't get a working "smart card" system;
*METRO has the power of eminent domain
That's better! Feel free to add more in the forum.
UPDATE (03-06-2005) Tom Bazan emails that using Metro's figures, 2004 ridership has again dropped from 2003's numbers. Metro says, "System-wide boardings were 91.9 million in fiscal year 2004." Bazan forwards this Metro financial report that shows in 2003 (second to last page in the document) boardings were 93.7 million, for a decline of two percent. We know Metro has been working hard to feed bodies into the light rail, but it's obviously not working. Which would explain why Metro is spending $250,000 to study its declining ridership problem.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/05/05 06:49 PM | Print |
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