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The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) reported January ridership of 8.2 million trips on trains and buses, which represents a 1.3 percent increase compared with January 2010.

Rush-hour ridership has increased for the past 11 consecutive months, TriMet officials said in a prepared statement.

WES commuter-rail ridership has registered double-digit growth for 20 straight months, including a 17.4 percent increase in January. Since the service opened in February 2009, ridership has risen 37 percent to more than 1 million rides.

“WES ridership continues to increase and has now reached a significant milestone,” said TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane. “As the state’s first commuter-rail line, its popularity continues to grow.”

The MAX light-rail system in January posted gains in rush-hour trips (3.2 percent), weekday trips (2 percent) and weekly trips (0.7 percent). Weekend trips dropped 5.1 percent.