2008 GO Ridership Figures

[canarob]

As I mentioned in another thread, GO's 2008-09 Annual Report did not break down ridership by line for 2008. I emailed GO and they sent me the numbers. Not surprisingly, the biggest increase was on the Barrie line.

In brackets I've included the increase when compared to 2007 and 2001 (I couldn't find anything older). The 2001 numbers include the bus services that were transferred to YRT.

Barrie: 3,084,900 (18.49%, 167.44%)
Stouffville: 3,299,100 (10.43%, 138.29%)
Richmond Hill: 2,269,200 (7.05%, 27.88%)
Georgetown: 4,315,800 (8.83%, 42.44%)
Milton: 6,707,600 (6.14%, 40.72%)
Lakeshore East: 12,040,200 (5.80%, 15.45%)
Lakeshore West: 14,766,700 (5.08%, 18.43%)

Train & Related subtotal: 46,483,500 (7.03%, 32.79%)
GO Bus subtotal: 8,199,100 (8.50%, -1.61%)
Total: 54,682,600 (7.25%, 26.17%)


2001 Figures

Barrie: 1,153,500
Stouffville: 1,384,500
Richmond Hill: 1,774,500
Georgetown: 3,030,000
Milton: 4,766,500
Lakeshore East: 10,428,500
Lakeshore West: 12,468,500

Train & Related subtotal: 35,006,000
GO Bus subtotal (includes Langstaff, etc): 8,333,610
Total: 43,339,610

 

[nfitz]

Not surprisingly, the biggest increase was on the Barrie line.

Biggest increase in percentage terms, but Barrie remained the second-lowest used line.

The increase in passengers on each line from 2007 to 2008 is (if I can do math):

Barrie 416,301
Stouffville 284,847
Richmond Hill 140,095
Georgetown 323,755
Milton 366,515
Lakeshore East 625,524
Lakeshore West 680,370

and from 2003 to 2008 is:

Barrie 1,139,818
Stouffville 1,138,306
Richmond Hill 486,359
Georgetown 914,050
Milton 1,268,858
Lakeshore East 1,508,185
Lakeshore West 2,081,621

So the biggest increase in number of passengers is Lakeshore West followed by Lakeshore East. If loadings remain constant, it is these lines that should have seen the most additional trains added.

Barrie's growth is certainly impressive though!

 

[Long Island Mike]

2008 GO Ridership stats...How about an average weekday?

Canarob: Does GO have data for their lines for an average weekday?
The ridership PER DAY is what would interest me...LI MIKE

 

[doady]

Lakeshore West 52,230
Milton 22,353
Georgetown 15,649
Bradford 8,952
Richmond Hill 7,950
Stouffeville 10,058
Lakeshore East 42,852

http://www.dmg.utoronto.ca/pdf/tts/2006/validation2006.pdf

 

[Long Island Mike]

Golden Horseshoe transit statistics...Good information!

Doady: Thanks for the reply and information-for the entire region.
Mass Transit is well-used in the region-good to see! LI MIKE

 

[Chuck]

The Richmond Hill numbers emphasize why the subway needs to be pushed north. If 60% of the Richmond Hill line's riders come from York, that translates to under 5,000 people per day. If 40% of Finch station's 93,000 riders live in York Region, that's 37,000 commuters per day. It's quite clear which option is more preferable.

 

[kettal]

The Richmond Hill numbers emphasize why the subway needs to be pushed north. If 60% of the Richmond Hill line's riders come from York, that translates to under 5,000 people per day. If 40% of Finch station's 93,000 riders live in York Region, that's 37,000 commuters per day. It's quite clear which option is more preferable.

actually it emphasizes why the RH go service needs to be less anemic.

 

[Justin10000]

The Richmond Hill numbers emphasize why the subway needs to be pushed north. If 60% of the Richmond Hill line's riders come from York, that translates to under 5,000 people per day. If 40% of Finch station's 93,000 riders live in York Region, that's 37,000 commuters per day. It's quite clear which option is more preferable.

Yeah.

Improved Richmond Hill service.

 

[Platform 27]

Richmond Hill has had some of the most anemic growth over the last few years in part because it's more or less at a capacity ceiling already. There have consistently been four train trips per rush hour for the last several years and zero parking expansion at the various stations, so that 6% growth is largely coming from those arriving at the station via kiss-and-ride/transit/walking.

That growth means the less-desirable train trips are now being packed a little tighter, as are the off-peak buses that are included in those figures. However, there simply can't be significant growth without a fifth train, and, chicken-and-egg-style, there can't really be a fifth train without significantly more park+ride capacity (this is, sadly, York Region we're talking about). I also imagine GO hasn't added a train in part because there still isn't a layover yard at the end of the line and all trains still need to be deadheaded up and back from Willowbrook--Richmond Hill is last line on the system to lack one of these.

Both more parking and a 6-train layover will be delivered by the Gormley expansion, which ought to be the next new station ready to go next after Barrie Allandale. That should kick the numbers up a fair bit. In the long term, though, the line just doesn't have geography working for it quite as well as the Barrie line.

 

[jwill]

In that vein it would be interesting to see how ridership growth is related to parking growth along each line. Or how total ridership compares to total parking capacity per line. Is that data around somewhere?

 

[Platform 27]

In that vein it would be interesting to see how ridership growth is related to parking growth along each line. Or how total ridership compares to total parking capacity per line. Is that data around somewhere?

GO has supplied parking figures for each station on its website, but I know I've noticed a few occasions where they either haven't been updated or are a straightforward error (e.g. Hamilton GO being said to have "no parking" when there are something like two dozen GO reserved spaces there.) Pegging down dates when parking jumped from x to y also could be difficult... most expansions have occurred without major press releases and ribbon cutting and the like.

 

[Fresh Start]

The Richmond Hill numbers emphasize why the subway needs to be pushed north. If 60% of the Richmond Hill line's riders come from York, that translates to under 5,000 people per day. If 40% of Finch station's 93,000 riders live in York Region, that's 37,000 commuters per day. It's quite clear which option is more preferable.

Oh dear. Finch Stn's numbers are being artificially propped up by the number of bus routes from York Region which terminate there. If the routes were rerouted elsewhere or intercepted by another high-capacity, high-speed RT line prior to reaching Yonge St, the numbers would go down. Of what good to York is a GO train that only operates 4 trips an hour during peak and isn't fare integrated? Once the headways can be reduced down to only 5 minutes or better, running 20 trips per hour, 16-20 hours per day, and is included as part of your prepaid YRT bus fare, then the service becomes far more appealing to residents.

As is, the majority of routes have no incentive to terminate at RHC, but it does not take a subway station on-site to change that sentiment, only political will to electrify a preexisting mass transit corridor for well under a billion dollars compared to the $5-6 billion it'll take to extend the subway northwards. Your's is a straw man defense of subway expansion, if I ever heard one.

 

[Fresh Start]

Hey why not build a multi-storey car park? This would save land for other uses as opposed to a parking lot, and is cheaper and more practical in most cases than maintaining separate facilities; and it'd also protect customers and their cars from bad weather conditions.

 

[Second_in_pie]

Oh dear. Finch Stn's numbers are being artificially propped up by the number of bus routes from York Region which terminate there. If the routes were rerouted elsewhere or intercepted by another high-capacity, high-speed RT line prior to reaching Yonge St, the numbers would go down. Of what good to York is a GO train that only operates 4 trips an hour during peak and isn't fare integrated? Once the headways can be reduced down to only 5 minutes or better, running 20 trips per hour, 16-20 hours per day, and is included as part of your prepaid YRT bus fare, then the service becomes far more appealing to residents.

As is, the majority of routes have no incentive to terminate at RHC, but it does not take a subway station on-site to change that sentiment, only political will to electrify a preexisting mass transit corridor for well under a billion dollars compared to the $5-6 billion it'll take to extend the subway northwards. Your's is a straw man defense of subway expansion, if I ever heard one.

Ok, ok. Totally hypothetical what if here, but what if the Yonge line didn't go up to NYCC? What if the Yonge line stopped at Eglinton, and we were getting an Eglinton LRT and had a Sheppard subway (don't ask, just follow.)
Then would you say "oh please, Eglinton's numbers are being artificially propped up by the number of bus routes terminating at it. We should just electrify the RH Go line, which would provide a connection from NY to downtown." ?

 

[doady]

As is, the majority of routes have no incentive to terminate at RHC, but it does not take a subway station on-site to change that sentiment, only political will to electrify a preexisting mass transit corridor for well under a billion dollars compared to the $5-6 billion it'll take to extend the subway northwards. Your's is a straw man defense of subway expansion, if I ever heard one.

Who suggested that the majority of routes terminate at RHC? Your argument is a straw man argument against subway expansion, if I ever heard one.

At least RHC is within an Urban Growth Centre, unlike Hurontario/Elia.