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More People Taking RTD Light Rail

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Flickr: Creative Commons

More people are traveling by light rail across the metro area. That’s according to a new report by the American Public Transportation Association.  But while light rail ridership is up, fewer people are taking the bus.

More than 20 million people took light rail last year, up 4 and a half percent from 2010.  Scott Reed with RTD says the improving economy is fueling ridership as more people start to take light rail to downtown Denver to shop and attend sporting events.

“We also see a direct correlation between our ridership and how many people are commuting to and from work. All in all we see this as a pretty positive statistic.”

Bus ridership has dropped somewhat, with about a 2 percent decrease in 2011. Still, more than 61 million riders took the bus last year. Reed says the small decrease in numbers is likely due to recent route adjustments and suspensions.

FasTracks western light rail expansion inGoldenis nearly 80 percent complete. Reed says when that line opens in a little over a year and a half, ridership will once again see a bump.

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