Connecticut’s bus and rail services saw ridership increase by 2.7 million in 2006, proving that the state’s mass transit efforts are paying off, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Sunday.
The largest increase was in the state’s bus service, which had 1.5 million new riders last year on daily fixed routes, a 5 percent jump. The New Haven line of the Metro-North rail service had more than 1 million additional passengers in 2006, also a 5 percent increase. And Shore Line East rail ridership increased by 35,000, or 8 percent.
The new numbers are included in the state Department of Transportation’s annual bus and rail ridership report.
Rell attributed the increases to the state’s efforts to expand service, enhance amenities and educate the public and businesses about the value of transit services. She also said higher fuel prices have played a role.
“More and more Connecticut commuters are hearing our message: Please take your cars off the road and hop on a train or a bus,” Rell said in a statement. “That’s the best way to unclog our highways and parkways.”
Rell also said increasing transit ridership helps expand the economy by making Connecticut a better place to do business.
DOT Commissioner Ralph J. Carpenter said the governor and the legislature have made a major commitment to fund improvements to public transportation. He said new buses and rail cars will be coming on line in the near future.
“We invite more of the state’s citizens to join the move toward mass transit as the best means of getting to and from work,” he said.
Metro-North’s New Haven line carried nearly 35 million passengers in 2006 and continues to be one of the busiest commuter lines in the country. Nearly half its riders are rush-hour commuters to Manhattan.
Fifty-one percent of New Haven line riders are commuting from Manhattan and the Bronx to suburban employment centers in Connecticut and New York, transportation officials said.
The largest increase in bus ridership came in urban fixed-route service, which saw 5 percent more riders in 2006 compared with the previous year. Commuter express bus services-including routes into Hartford, the New Haven-Hartford express service and the I-Bus between Stamford and White Plains, N.Y., increased about 2 percent.
In her budget proposal, Rell is calling for weekend service on Shore Line East and millions of dollars in other transportation improvements across the state.
Rell wants to spend $5 million for rail station improvements and 24 new rail cars, including 12 for Metro-North and 12 for Shore Line East.