So how many people are really riding WES
According to the Trimet 'news release' WES has a weekly ridership average of 2090. So per day (5 days in a week) that would be 418/dy. There are 16 trips each day which means on average WES is hauling 26 riders per trip. Would you call that a 'success'?
2 comments:
"WES Commuter Rail ridership set a new record this past quarter, September through November, with weekly ridership jumping 17 percent compared to the same time period in 2012. WES averaged 2,090 per weekday reaching a total of 131,620 rides for the quarter."
Proof that when numbers don't give you the results you want, use percentages.
So there's actually 58 riders per train, which actually for a bus would be really damn good numbers. But for a one-car WES train that has 84 seats that's a paltry 69% load factor. For a two-car train your load factor goes down to 35%.
Remember, a two-car WES train has a total of SIX diesel engines running with the two 1000 series cars, and FOUR diesel engines if you use the 2001 car; and requires a crew of two. Whereas, 58 riders on a single 40' bus has one diesel engine and one driver (albeit, is a standing room only bus, but SRO buses don't seem to be a concern for TriMet on the 94 line.) Plus due to the weight of the WES train the fuel economy of even a single-car WES train is worse than two buses.
WES is or was an ideal application for a Highway Bus e.g., Prevost H3-45
Lesson learned: Too much incompetence, too much money, too little to do.
Probably should consider thinning the managerial heard.
Post a Comment