Metro bus system ridership has big jump in 2012

CINCINNATI - Last year was a busy one for Greater Cincinnati’s Metro bus system, which had a 4.2 percent increase in ridership compared to 2011.

The jump in ridership is significantly higher than the national average increase for bus systems, Metro officials said.

Metro provided nearly 17.4 million passenger trips in 2012. Including Access service for people with disabilities, the system provided almost 17.6 million rides total.

Large increases occurred in Metro’s university pass program ridership. It had a 24 percent increase in ridership at the University of Cincinnati and a 19 percent increase at Cincinnati State in 2012, compared to the previous year.

Other routes that had increases included Metro’s newest route, Rt. 38X Glenway Crossing-Uptown Express, which saw ridership jump by 18 percent in December 2012 compared to the same month in 2011.

Nationally, public transportation ridership increased by 2.6 percent during the first three quarters of 2011, according to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association.

More than 7.9 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation during the first three quarters of 2012.

Metro is a non-profit, tax-funded public service of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, providing about 17 million rides per year.