BY SCOTT SHENK
A record-setting year went out with a bang for the Virginia Railway Express, but a repeat performance in 2012 could be difficult.
During a year in which more commuters than ever rode the trains, VRE closed out 2011 with three of the top five ridership days in the commuter rail system’s history.
On three different days in December, VRE had more than 20,000 riders and nearly topped 21,000, according to CEO Dale Zehner’s January report.
In fiscal 2011, VRE’s total ridership numbers topped 2.3 million, up 10.3 percent over the previous fiscal year.
“Now that ridership numbers are in for the entire calendar year, we know that the trend of continuing ridership was sustained,” Zehner wrote in his report.
“VRE first broke the 20,000 trip barrier on February 16, 2011,” he noted. “Since then, all of the top ridership days were over 20,000, with some approaching 22,000.”
While 2012 has started off on the right foot—Jan. 10 cracked VRE’s list of the top 10 ridership days—there are some challenges facing the commuter train system this year.
The cut in federal transit benefits for commuters is one thing. Mass-transit commuters’ federal pre-tax benefit this month dropped from $230 a month to $125.
A drop in state and federal funding is another potential issue.
Then there is VRE’s plan to raise fares by 3 percent. While that is another negative for VRE commuters, in the past such increases haven’t led to rider defections.
But Zehner doesn’t seem too worried.
“As we begin 2012,” Zehner wrote in his report, “ridership trends continue to show very positive numbers. We remain optimistic that federal cuts in the transit benefit, as well as reductions in federal and state funding, won’t have a significant impact on VRE ridership.”
Scott Shenk: 540/374-5436
sshenk@freelancestar.com
