Gas prices send travelers to Amtrak

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Amtrak has seen a windfall from ballooning gas prices that are sending increasing numbers of Northeast travelers from cars to trains.

The government-owned company served 6,333,027 riders in the Northeast corridor between October and April, 11.2 percent more than during the same months the year before, Amtrak spokeswoman Tracy Connell said. Nationally, the company had a 10.6 percent ridership increase during that period.

“We’re attributing about half of that to gas prices — that’s what our surveys show,” Connell said.

Gas prices continue to break records each day, with the average price for regular gasoline hitting $3.98  Sunday in the Washington metro area, up from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA.

The numbers have local transit officials scrambling to prepare for the possibility that swarms of commuters will switch from driving to public transportation, overwhelming already crowded systems. Metro has had ridership increases every month this year despite a fare hike in January — a phenomenon planners partially attribute to budget-breaking gas prices.

Commuter rail service Virginia Railway Express had a 12 percent increase in riders in April, and officials are also attributing that to the price of gas.

Although Amtrak’s October-to-April increase in ridership was particularly dramatic, the company has seen moderate ridership growth over the past five years.

“It may have something to do with airline delays and security hassles, but we don’t really have data on that,” Connell said. In the Northeast corridor, ridership jumped 6.4 percent in 2004, dropped 1.6 percent in 2005, increased 1.2 percent in 2006 and leapt 5.2 percent in 2007.

tluntz@dcexaminer.com

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