MBTA set ridership record in October

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) ridership reached a record high of 36 million passenger trips in October, Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials (MassDOT) announced yesterday.

The month's ridership increased 3 percent compared with October 2012. Average daily ridership during the month rose by 4.3 percent, totaling 1.38 million passenger trips per weekday, according to MassDOT's blog.

"As with the month overall, this is the highest weekday ridership recorded since the MBTA was created in 1964," the blog stated.

MBTA reported ridership gains on almost all modes, with particularly big increases for subway and bus ridership, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott said in the blog.

The ridership increases may have had something to do with Major League Baseball's World Series in October. The Boston Red Sox played in and won the series.
 
"Whether it's commuting to work or traveling to a Sox game, more and more people are relying on the MBTA," said Scott. "This is why investing in public transportation is a critically important part of growing the economy."