Metro News Release
For immediate release: May 17, 2012
Metrorail ridership survey continues through June
Metro has distributed more than 175,000 survey cards to rail passengers so far and will continue to survey riders through June. More than 400,000 survey cards will be distributed in all.
The questionnaires are being distributed at a handful of stations each day. By the end of the survey period, forms will have been distributed at all 86 Metrorail stations.
Customers may receive multiple surveys at different stations or times of day, and are asked to complete a survey card each time, even if they have already filled one out. The survey seeks information about the rider’s current trip, such as where the rider received the card, where the rider is exiting and how the rider got to the station.
Riders may return the survey to collection boxes in stations, by mail or online using the information provided on the survey form. Randomly selected participants will win pre-loaded SmarTrip cards throughout survey period.
The Metrorail passenger survey provides critical information about Metrorail ridership that is used for operations analysis and planning. Survey data provides Metro with information not available anywhere else, such as ridership by jurisdiction, trip purpose, and transfer location.
Metro last conducted the rail passenger survey in 2007. The survey found that:
- 27 percent of passengers lived in the District of Columbia, 40 percent lived in Maryland, 29 percent lived in Virginia and the remaining 4 percent resided elsewhere.
- 33 percent of passengers walked and 22 percent took buses to Metrorail stations during the morning peak period.
- 20 percent of trips were made by riders who don’t own cars
For more information, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions, please see the PlanItMetro blog post: http://planitmetro.com.
News release issued at 10:48 am, May 17, 2012.