BY TERRY HILLIG • thillig@post-dispatch.com 618-659-2075
Posted: Sunday, March 4, 2012 12:15 am
MADISON COUNTY • A strong resurgence in ridership has Madison County Transit stepping up service on local bus routes and express routes to downtown St. Louis.
MCT spokesman S.J. Morrison said ridership had increased over previous-year levels for 14 consecutive months. He said January ridership was 200,524, a record number for that month and a 21 percent increase compared to January 2011.
"On the express runs, we were seeing overloads," Morrison said. On Feb. 13, MCT added two morning trips on the #16X Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Express and an afternoon trip on the #14X Highland-Troy Express routes. They are the latest of several service adjustments made in response to increased demand.
More than 1,800 commuters take MCT express buses to work in St. Louis each weekday. The system's four express routes serve 14 Madison County communities.
Morrison said an improving economy, rising gasoline prices and the restoration by Metro in 2010 of many previously eliminated transit services all played a role in the increases. Metro is the agency providing transit services for St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County.
Recent months have seen overall MCT ridership return to near record levels, including the system's second-highest monthly ridership of 235,726 in September 2011. Morrison said current trends, if they continue, would result in a record yearly ridership this year.
Morrison said MCT ridership peaked at 243,187 in October 2008 after several months of record-high gasoline prices. Fuel prices fell in late 2008 as the nation's economy collapsed, but MCT ridership remained high through the winter of 2008-09.
In March 2009, Metro made significant cuts to its bus and MetroLink light rail services. Many MCT passengers transfer to MetroBus or MetroLink lines, so the Metro cuts were soon reflected in MCT boardings.
Meanwhile, the impact of the national recession was working its way through the regional economy with numerous jobs lost. By spring 2009, the combined impact of unemployment and the Metro cuts was substantial, Morrison said. MCT had 28,000 fewer boardings in July 2009 than in July 2008, a drop of nearly 15 percent.
Metro restored most of its service cuts after St. Louis County voters approved a half-cent transit sales tax in April 2010. MCT boardings began to increase steadily that summer, Morrison said.
MCT has initiated or expanded local service in areas of growing demand. One route was extended to Amsted Rail Co. in Granite City, which added hundreds of jobs last year. All-day service is now provided to Gateway Commerce Center, where thousands work in warehouses and distribution centers. Beginning in January, MCT has provided evening service to the busy stores and restaurants around the intersection of Interstate 55-70 and Illinois Route 157 in Collinsville.
Metro ridership has also been increasing. The transit agency recorded an 8.1 percent ridership increase for the period from July 1 through Dec. 31 compared to the same months in 2010.
Nationally, public transportation ridership was 2 percent higher during the third quarter of 2011 than in the third quarter of 2010. Those figures are the most recent available.
The Madison County Transit District was created by the Illinois Legislature in 1980 to develop and operate public transportation in the county. It is funded by passenger fares, a quarter-cent sales tax collected in 16 townships and state and federal grants and subsidies.