Annual Ridership

Metra provided nearly 81.3 million rides in 2012, which is 0.6% favorable to the budgeted forecast of 80.8 million rides. However, when compared to 2011, 2012 experienced a -1.7% decrease in ridership. The year 2012 featured a series of events that impacted commuter rail ridership in the six-county Northeastern Illinois region, including relatively stable gas prices, employment, and office occupancy. Other major factors included the elimination of the Seniors Ride Free Program in late 2011, the NATO Summit activities held between May 18 and May 21, the extreme heat during the summer months, the changes to special event days in Downtown Chicago, the completion of area roadway construction projects, and changes to Metra’s ticket and fare policies. This report identifies the recent trends in commuter rail ridership in the region and the underlying influences behind Metra ridership for 2012.

The 81.3 million passenger trips reported in 2012 was -1.7% lower compared to 2011 and the sixth highest ridership in Metra’s history. Since reaching a low of 56.5 million passenger trips in 1983, the year prior to Metra’s first year of existence, commuter rail ridership has increased by 44%, averaging 1.5% growth per year. The following chart shows annual system ridership (including free rides) from 1983 through 2012.

For the full report including a graphical representation, click here.

Annual Ridership by Line
Only two rail lines experienced increases in ridership (reported plus free trips) in 2012 compared to 2011. The Union Pacific-West Line’s ridership increased by 0.8%, and the North Central Service Line’s ridership increased by 0.3%. The remaining Metra lines saw decreases in ridership in 2012 when compared to 2011: -0.2% on the Union Pacific-Northwest Line, -1.1% on the SouthWest Service Line, -1.2% on the Rock Island District Line, -1.3% on the BNSF Line, -1.7% on the Milwaukee District-North Line, -2.7% on the Milwaukee District-West Line, -3.4% on the Heritage Corridor Line, -3.6% on the Metra Electric District Line, and -4.1% on the Union Pacific-North Line.

On-Time Performance
As shown in the chart below, system reliability over the past several years has tracked at a very high level, usually exceeding 95%. On-time performance of all trains averaged 95.8% in 2012. (Due to changes to the calculation methodology, on-time performance figures from May 2011 onward are not exactly comparable to prior months' figures.) Nonetheless, 2012 freight train interference accounted for 11.6% of Metra delays, as compared to 12.5% in 2011. Metra experienced 631 weather delays in 2012, compared to the annual average of 1,210 weather delays between 2007 and 2011. The 2007- 2011 average reflects the high amount of weather delays caused by the Groundhog Day Blizzard that took place on February 1-2, 2011, which alone resulted in over 850 delays.

Metra’s on-time performance in July of 2012 was impacted by the month’s extremely high temperatures during which 11 days had temperatures exceeding 95 degrees Fahrenheit. When ambient temperatures exceed 95 degrees, Metra is required to implement speed reductions which impact on-time performance. On-time-performance was also impacted by the BNSF crane failure that occurred in August. Service on the BNSF line was significantly disrupted during this incident.

Passenger Miles & Average Trip Length
Each year, Metra calculates the number of passenger miles traveled and the average trip length by line. In 2012, the total number of passenger miles increased by 1.1% when compared to 2011. As shown in the chart below, the average trip length remained virtually unchanged from 2011 to 2012 at 22.55 miles. (Free trips and the South Shore are not included.)

Average Fare
Each year, Metra calculates the average fare paid by fare-paying passengers. (The average fare calculation does not include free trips.) In 2012, the average fare increased 22% compared to 2011 as a result of the 25.1% average fare increase approved in November 2011.

Ridership by Service Period
The average daily passenger loads for each service period in 2012 indicate that Metra provided over 1.6 million rides per week. The peak period/peak direction remained Metra’s largest market, with about 69% of all trips taken in this service period. The charts below display the shares of the average weekly passenger loads for 2002 and 2012. Off-peak period ridership in 2012 significantly increased by 39% over the ten-year period, while peak period ridership has decreased by 2% over the same time period. The largest percentage growth in off-peak ridership has occurred in the reverse commute service periods (64%), and on Sundays (57%) and Saturdays (39%).

Type of Tickets
Metra offers a wide array of ticket types including monthly, ten-ride, one-way, and weekend tickets. In addition, one-way tickets can be purchased on-board the train from the conductor or at a station from a ticket agent. The table below shows total ticket sales by type from 2010 through 2012. The number of monthly tickets bought in 2012 slightly increased by 0.5% compared to 2011. Station one-way ticket sales and conductor one-way ticket sales in 2012 both increased by 9.8% and 0.7%, respectively. While ten-ride ticket sales were slightly down -0.7% for 2012, weekend ticket sales increased by 15.7%. Much of the increase in ticket sales can be explained by the increase in reduced-fare ticket sales, given the changes in the Senior Ride Free Program as of September 1, 2011.