Save The Trail Petition

Purple Line Ridership Announced

MTA Ridership Data:

Raise More Questions Than Answers

The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) has released ridership data that is impossible to interprete or validate. 

It provides no data on the number of riders estimated to be entering the Purple Line or disembarking at the various points along the way.  

Mike Madden, Director of MTA's Purple Line Project, has stated that most potential riders are interested in short rides,  but since MTA's data is not broken down by station, there is no way to evaluate potential ridership.  The data gives the misleading impression that the ridership estimates are for rides from New Carrollton to Bethesda and back.

The minimal data that MTA has provided raises serious questions regarding the time that would be saved by using the Purple Line.

For example, it reveals that it would be quicker to ride the existing Metro from Silver Spring to College Park than it  would be to ride the Purple Line.

It takes 21 minutes with Metro and would take 25 minutes with the most expensive light rail option.  (See Silver Spring Penguin, "State Takes Best Guess at Purple Line Ridership."

See the Blogs at left for more information.

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