Transit Briefs: Amtrak Virginia, LACMTA, NJT, MWAA
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
NJT celebrates “Earth Week” by unveiling its first-ever sustainability plan. (NJT Image)
Amtrak Virginia and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) experience double-digit ridership growth in March. Also, New Jersey Transit (NJT) releases its first sustainability plan; and Brookville Equipment Corporation receives a Notice to Proceed on a $16.4 million contract from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
Amtrak Virginia
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) on April 23 reported marking a “record” increase in ridership last month. During March, 123,658 passengers traveled on the state-supported Amtrak Virginia service—a 21% gain over March 2023, which saw 102,087 passengers. It was the highest ridership for the month of March since Virginia’s state-supported service began in 2009, according to VPRA.
All four Amtrak Virginia corridors saw double-digit increases year-over-year with Richmond seeing the greatest increase of 32.5% (see chart below). The Norfolk corridor carried the most passengers, 45,185.
“With the school spring break season leading up to Easter, spring travel began early this year,” VPRA said. “Five weekends in the month of March also contributed to the record ridership.”
Currently, Amtrak Virginia offers three daily roundtrips between Norfolk and Washington, D.C.; two daily roundtrips between both Roanoke and Washington, and Newport News and Washington; and one daily roundtrip between Richmond and the nation’s capital. Plans to expand the service are under way through VPRA’s Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative.
“As our ridership continues to set records, Virginia is fast becoming an example of how state-supported passenger rail service can be a formidable part of a state’s transportation mix,” VPRA Executive Director DJ Stadtler said.
March 2024 marked the 16th consecutive month of year-over-year ridership growth at LACMTA, according to an April 23 agency report. Total system ridership was up 9.4% last month compared to March 2023 with nearly 26 million boardings. Average weekday rail ridership saw a 6.4% increase in boardings over March 2023, surpassing 200,000 boardings for the second time since the beginning of the pandemic, LACMTA said. Total rail boardings in March were 5,717,630 with 4,311,720 trips taken on weekdays, LACMTA reported.
In March 2024, the agency recorded a total of 25,880,698 boardings on its bus and rail services. An average of 955,918 rides were taken each weekday, with Saturday boardings averaging 606,255 and Sunday boardings averaging 555,029. LACMTA said its total bus and rail ridership combined in March was at 81.5% of its March 2019 pre-pandemic level. Total March weekend ridership was 89.2% and weekday ridership was 79.5% of its March 2019 level.
Leisure Travelers
According to LACMTA, weekends continue to show the strongest ridership recovery as leisure travelers are turning to the agency for travel to activities throughout the county. In March, average boardings on bus and rail combined on Saturdays reached 85.5% of pre-pandemic March 2019 levels and on Sundays reached 93.7% of March 2019 levels.
Weekend activities last month such as the Concacaf Soccer Championship, LA Wine and Food Festival, 96th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars), plus LAFC boosted weekend ridership, the agency noted.
Fare Programs
LACMTA said it continues to provide programs that make riding more affordable. Its reduced-price transit pass programs include the student GoPass pilot program that offers free transit passes to K-12 and community college students, and the Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) program that provides free rides and reduced fares to low-income customers.
In March, the GoPass Pilot Program saw 1,985,314 total boardings, up 12% from March 2023’s 1,771.640. The LIFE Program experienced an 18% year-over-year increase in March ridership with 1,484,150 boardings vs. 1,260,155 in March 2023.
Ridership Calculations
LACMTA reported that it has updated monthly ridership numbers dating back to April 2022 “to correct a data validation error” that inaccurately counted ridership at an average of 5% lower than actual ridership on LACMTA’s light rail lines (A, E, L, C and K). “This error did not affect bus and heavy rail ridership numbers and occurred when manual adjustments were made to LACMTA’s Automatic Passenger Counting system to account for non-transit activity, such as security personnel, custodians, and supervisors helping to clear and clean the trains at the end of the line,” the agency said. “During this manual process, some transit passengers were undercounted. LACMTA has corrected its data validation procedures to account for this error and has added additional validations to avoid such an error occurring again. This error had no effect on LACMTA’s operations or finances. LACMTA discovered this error through a public discussion on Reddit and thanks a devoted transit enthusiast for identifying this issue.”
NJT
After two years of development, NJT has published its first Sustainability Plan (see above) detailing the steps and processes for delivering “sustainable, resilient and equitable public transportation.” In accordance with the agency’s 10-Year Strategic Plan, “NJT2030”, the Sustainability Plan “prioritizes environmental responsibility while also highlighting deliverable benefits to customers in the communities it serves,” according to NJT. It includes themes on energy, air quality, resilience, waste, and water. A “living document,” it will be revised and updated periodically.
According to NJT, the plan supports its commitment to a “clean energy future” through:
- “Advancing sustainable practices, environmental stewardship, and resiliency.
- “Modernizing and expanding the transit network through capital investments.
- “Increasing efficiency through operational strategies.
- “Linking projects and programs that encompass sustainability.
- “Establishing agency goals, strategies, and actions.”
“What better way to celebrate Earth Week than by unveiling NJT’s first-ever Sustainability Plan, which serves as a blueprint for integrating sustainability into all aspects of our operations,” NJT President and CEO Kevin S. Corbett said. “This demonstrates that transit is clearly the best way to reduce New Jersey’s carbon footprint today and will be even more so in the future.”
MWAA / Brookville Equipment Corporation
Brookville Equipment Corporation on April 23 reported receiving a Notice to Proceed from MWAA to rehabilitate and upgrade the existing “mobile lounge” and “plane mate” vehicles at Washington Dulles International Airport under a $16.4 million contract.
Brookville Equipment Corporation on April 23 reported receiving a Notice to Proceed from MWAA to rehabilitate and upgrade the existing “mobile lounge” and “plane mate” vehicles at Washington Dulles International Airport under a $16.4 million contract.
The supplier will rebuild, redesign, and update the interior; rebuild the drive train; and upgrade to a Tier 4 engine a prototype of each vehicle. When complete, MWAA will have the option of revamping the rest of the fleet (18 mobile lounges and 29 plane mates) for an estimated $143 million, not to exceed $160 million, over six years.
The “mobile lounge” and “plane mate” vehicles are used to transport passengers from the main terminal area to Concourse D, which is not connected to the AeroTrain. “In the 1960s, Washington Dulles International Airport came up with the concept of the ‘mobile lounge,’ in the peak of the jet age, by saving passengers time by eliminating walking long distances from the ticketing gate to the jet ramp,” according to Brookville Equipment Corporation. The “plane mates” are said to be “an evolution of the concept” and were produced in Pennsylvania in the 1970’s and 80’s.
“We are so excited to have the opportunity to rehabilitate these vehicles and bring them back to life, after being a critical part of the operations at Dulles International,” Brookville Equipment Corporation Executive Vice President Joel McNeil said. “We plan to reimagine the functionality of these vehicles, with anticipation they will be in operation for decades into the future.”
“Mobile lounges and plane mates are important parts of Dulles International Airport’s operations,” said Richard Golinowski, Vice President and Airport Manager at Dulles International Airport. “They provide flexibility and increased capacity to move passengers around the airport while offering unique views during the ride. Built in the ’60s, it’s time for a major overhaul of these iconic vehicles. We look forward to following the two prototypes through refurbishment.”
