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In an effort to better understand travel patterns and their customers, MTA Metro-North Railroad conducted an origin and destination study in spring and fall 2007.

Among the recently released findings: Of the 93,000 passengers who responded, 75,500 take Metro-North into Manhattan each weekday — and 86 percent of them have an automobile they could use to commute. Seventy-three percent of those who take the train to visit the Big Apple on weekends have automobiles they could use. In addition, long-distance commuters drive as far as 75 miles to get to the nearest outlying Metro-North station, then complete their trip into Manhattan on a train.

And passengers are taking the train to destinations other than Manhattan. More than 2,000 travel to White Plains, N.Y.; 1,675, to Stamford, Conn.; and 751, to Greenwich, Conn. Many car-owning customers also use Metro-North to travel within the suburbs, such as from New Haven to Stamford.

The information gathered from the survey will help Metro-North better determine the evolving uses and users of its commuter-rail system, enabling the agency to plan for major capital programs, understand the developing markets, schedule trains, and expand stations and parking facilities.