High Gas Price Boosts MTA LA Ridership

The United Transportation Union reports that Los Angeles' MTA has seen an increase in riders since the rise in gas prices. From the story:

From January through March, ridership rose more than 11% on Metro trains and 7% on buses compared with the same period last year, the MTA said.

Citing past experience and statistics, the agency linked the increases to high gas prices, MTA spokesman Dave Sotero said.

"It does correlate with the increasing gas prices. We've seen that over several occasions," he said. "We're making an assumption that ridership gains are parallel with rising gas prices."

The MTA also has anecdotal evidence, he said: Metro parking lots are filling up earlier, and traffic on the MTA's website rose by 10% in March.

A $3 MTA day pass allows unlimited rides on Metro buses and rail lines. "When the price for a single gallon of gasoline equals that of a day pass, it becomes much more affordable for people," Sotero said of public transit in Los Angeles.