Manchester, England reports that 1/5 of the passengers using the first phase of its Metrolink rapid transit system switched from cars to public transit. The system reportedly removed 2.5 million car journeys from the roads annually and reduced traffic volumes on adjacent roads by up to 8%.

Since inception, ridership on the south LRT line in Calgary, Alberta has climbed from 38,000 to 40,000 passengers per weekday. 20% of these riders were former automobile users. On Calgary's northeast line, ridership has increased from 23,000 to 28,000 weekday passengers. Again, about 20% of these previously commuted by car. The northwest line carries about 24,000 passengers each weekday. Market research surveys indicate strong support among both transit users and non-users for further rapid transit investments.

Ridership on LRT in Denver, Colorado jumped from 16,206 boardings per day to 32,000 in the weeks following the opening of an 8.7 mile extension in the Southwest Corridor. Park-and-Ride lots are overflowing, with the Littleton/Mineral lot exceeding capacity. In September 1999, an average of 232 cars used the lot daily. In September, 2000, the daily tally reached a staggering 1,246 vehicles, indicating the light rail system was having a significant effect in persuading commuters to leave their cars.

Over a 16-year period, journeys to Downtown by transit in Portland, Oregon were shown to increase by 3.2 percent for residents living on along the rail rapid transit corridor, indicating a switch to transit. Weekday ridership on Portland's East Side rapid transit lines has grown from 15,600 in 1987 to 23,400 in 1997 or, on average, about 4.5 percent annually.

The BART/SFO extension to the rapid transit system in San Francisco, California is expected to eliminate around 10,000 auto trips to the airport daily.

Sources:
British House of Commons Report on Light Rapid Transit Systems, May 2000;
Hubbell, Colquhoun, Bolder & Morrall - "Light Rail Transit in Calgary"
Data supplied by R. Rynerson, RTD-Denver;
Dueker and Bianco - "Light Rail Transit Impacts in Portland"
Mass Transit magazine, Sept./Oct. 2000.