Metro Report Details Lower Than Expected Ridership

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Metro says train ridership was nearly 5 percent below the agency's expectations in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

The Washington Examiner reports that track work and service changes appear to be pushing riders to other modes of transportation. That's according to a Metro report obtained by the paper.

Metro has also said publicly that rate hikes that took effect in July and a reduction in federal transit benefits have also resulted in fewer riders.

Average weekday ridership dropped 2.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier. Weekend ridership dropped even more, falling by 6.4 percent on Saturdays and 5.7 percent on Sundays. Metro typically does track work on weekends when ridership is already down.

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