Houston's METRO exceeds ridership projections on new North Line

Ridership on the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County's (METRO) North Line extension during the first month of operation surpassed projections by 62 percent.

The Houston agency launched the 5.3-mile North Line on Dec. 21. During January, the line averaged 4,200 weekday boardings — 1,600 more than what was forecasted to be the average daily ridership by the end of fiscal-year 2014, METRO officials said in a press release.

"Though these are early numbers, they’re a good indication of how well the extension has been received by the community," said Tom Lambert, interim METRO president and chief executive officer. "It's providing better connectivity and improving the customer experience on many fronts."

Ridership on Main Street's Red Line surpassed 100 million boardings in 2013, four years ahead of projections, agency officials said.