advertisement

---

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) reported double-digit ridership increases for its MAX and WES rail services in March.

WES commuter-rail weekly ridership rose 23.6 percent to 7,600 riders compared with March 2010. WES weekday and rush-hour trips also increased 23.6 percent last month. On the MAX Green line, weekday trips averaged 21,700, a 13.6 percent climb; while weekend trips averaged 24,100, a 2.6 percent increase.

MAX light-rail ridership registered mixed results last month, with weekly trips remaining flat at 769,900 riders; weekday trips rising 1.4 percent to 123,000 riders; rush-hour trips increasing 3.1 percent to 36,400 riders; and weekend trips falling 5.1 percent to 154,900 riders.

When factoring in bus service, TriMet’s total March ridership of 8.6 million trips fell 1.4 percent compared with March 2010. However, for the first time in five months, rush-hour trips for all modes increased, reaching 100,520 trips in March, TriMet officials said in a prepared statement.