(The following story by George Mattar appeared on the Bucks County Courier Times website on December 22.)
PHILADELPHIA — Last summer, gas was teetering at the $4-plus-per-gallon mark. After all the talk in years past of people trading in their gas guzzling SUVs, it finally came true and SEPTA realized record ridership levels.
Today, a gallon of gas is averaging about $1.70 per gallon and even lower if you look hard enough, yet ridership remains strong and is even growing, said Richard Maloney, director of public affairs for SEPTA.
“Ridership is still increasing slightly,” Maloney said Tuesday.
“Plenty of people are under the assumption that ridership has decreased because gas is cheaper. Maybe they were so fed up with high gas prices, once they started riding our trains, buses and trolleys, they decided to stick with us.”
SEPTA keeps monthly records, and from November 2007 to November 2008 ridership increased 2.1 percent, which translates to about 18,000 more riders this past November in contrast to a year ago, Maloney said.
Maloney said there also are seasonal effects on ridership.
“There are many who would rather drive their car than stand out in the rain or snow to wait for a bus,” he said. “Despite this, we have not seen any decline in ridership. In fact, suburban transit ridership is up 5.2 percent in contrast to 2007.”