Sun Metro’s management continues to provide their board (city council) with goals that they miss.
According to their numbers their cost per trip (passenger trip) in 2015 was $3.13. They set a goal of $3.00 for 2016.
Their results show that 2016’s cost per trip actually turned out to be $3.44.
Going into 2017 they told their board that their goal was $3.25 per trip.
Their actual number turned out to be $3.44.
They have done the same thing with the projected number of passengers.
During 2015 they reported 15,954,000 passengers (hard to believe isn’t it?) so they forecast 16,500,000 for 2016.
The 2016 number actually came in below the 2015 number at 14,696,000.
For 2017 they lowered their goal to 15,000,000 passengers and only achieved a number of 13,766,000.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
It is hard to see how they expect to increase rider numbers in a city where there simply are not that many jobs to attract riders, and where the geography and the poor condition of existing streets work against an easy commute. Beyond that, let’s face it. Nothing is done, or has been done, for many, many years to come up with any sort of tourist draw. We have overlooked and bypassed so much or our unique history in favor of desperate attempts to create a place just like every other place, that I fear it now may well be too damn late.
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Brutus, please keep reporting on these Sun Metro ridership short falls. And please don’t forget about that interesting and lengthly exchange of reader comments, which took place on your blog under the trolley/street car topic about a month ago.
The QUESTION when you have all these missed ridership projections, is WHO is paying to make up the dollar difference when you have shortfalls? Is it the Sun Metro riders? Or is it a transfer from the City’s General Fund?
As I recall ‘passenger fares’ only generate around 25 to 30 percent of a transit system’s revenue stream. So that difference has to come from some place. Will it be from higher transit fares? Or from additional state or Federal help? Or from funds generated else where by the city? Basically, will it require some ‘slight of hand’ accounting tricks?
Please, please keep reporting on this Sun Metro ridership issue!
And please keep an eye on the trolley ridership numbers when this thing becomes operational.
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Miss your budgets that badly in the private sector and see how long you last in your job.
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The bus service here essentially stops cold in early evening. You cannot go to an event Dwntwn and return by bus. Students with evening classes cannot travel by bus. The Brio system stops at 6 pm on Saturday and does not run on Sunday. This eliminates a large group of potential users, including me.
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