Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Ridership On Buses Grow While Elevated Lines See Empty Trains

Metropolis, BR. Oct 21st, 2014.
Metropolis Transit's Route 79 Elevated Is Seeing More And More Empty Trains As Riders Flock to Buses.
Metropolis's elevated railway is one of the fastest ways to scale downtown and the southside of Metropolis but in the case of the 79 line, not many people are riding. A straight three years of sharp ridership declines had led to some trip on the 79 to run completely empty trains. Meanwhile right below the 79, the 74 & 74X buses are packed with passengers. Metropolis Transit is seeking to balance this out but has no idea yet on how. A lot of the Ocean Avenue businesses has also noticed the spike in bus ridership. Signs saying "Please Wait for The Bus Outside" has been popping up in windows of bodegas, liquor stores, and pizzerias that sit in front of bus stops because the crowds are using the stores as shelter from the cold weather.


Longer Buses Were Needed After Regular Buses Would Crowd
Recently, Metropolis Transit combated the problem of crowed buses by reassigning articulated bending buses to help alleviate the crowds that have been waiting for the bus. It helped to some degree but than even more riders flocked away from the elevated. The 79 is currently seeing it's lowest drop of ridership since the line was converted from a trolley line in 1991. It's possible the lack of elevators might explain the drop in ridership but if it hasn't drop like this before, Metropolis Transit asks why. The 74 & 74X buses currently run from 5:30 AM to 2:30 AM everyday of the week with the 79 elevated running bus service from 1:30 AM to 5:30 AM during the nights.

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