Gas prices drive largest demand yet for Valley Metro

PHOENIX – Demand for all services by Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority increased to the highest levels ever recorded in June as gasoline surpassed $4 a gallon and Maricopa County recorded more high pollution advisories in a single month than it did during all of last year.

Ridership on commuter Express bus routes rose 40 percent year-over-year to top 9,000 boardings in June, while new registrants in Valley Metro’s online carpool partner matchlist grew 380 percent year-over-year. Currently, there are more than 7,100 commuters in the database who are looking to share the ride.

Valley Metro’s website-which allows visitors to map a bus trip, purchase online fare, and find a carpool or vanpool partner-also saw enormous spikes in demand. Page views of www.ValleyMetro.org increased 156 percent year-over-year in June to more than 1.38 million views.

According to a AAA survey, drivers nationwide reported they wouldn’t change their driving habits until gasoline topped $3.25 a gallon. At that time, Valley Metro did see increases in demand but once gas reached $4 a gallon, interest in public transit exceeded previous growth trends.

“Between the end of May and middle of June, demand for all modes of Valley Metro service skyrocketed,” says Susan Tierney, Valley Metro public information officer. “Nearly 2,000 people joined the online carpool matching system, while requests for vanpools are at an all time high, and bus ridership is increasing each month.”

During June, the Valley also experienced six high pollution advisories for dangerous concentrations of ozone and 11 ozone health watches, as declared by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Harmful ground-level ozone usually occurs between April and September. Reducing vehicle emissions by sharing the ride continues to be one of the best ways to take action.

“I figured it would be unlikely I would find someone with my schedule on the carpool match list, but I found two guys in my area who have the same schedule I do, and now we’re each saving about $250 a month,” said Jason Gunning, who commutes from Queen Creek to north Scottsdale. “It worked out famously. I love it.”

To support the increased demand, Valley Metro adds new commuter Express bus routes on July 28 reaching all four corners of the Valley, is developing a web application that will help individuals find open seats in an existing vanpool, and is conducting additional webcasts to help employers promote these multi-modes to staff.

“Never have we seen such demand and we’re pleased to be able to respond in new ways,” Tierney added.

Valley Metro/RPTA is an organization of 14 local governments that provides or funds transit services to citizens in the greater Phoenix metropolitan and surrounding areas. For more information about Valley Metro public transit services, call Transit Information at (602) 253-5000; for callers with TTY (602) 261-8208; or visit the Valley Metro website at www.ValleyMetro.org.