Capital Metro says it has seen record MetroRail ridership numbers so far during the South By Southwest Music and Media Conference.
As of March 12, there had been more than 5,000 boardings on the MetroRail during almost every day of SXSW, according to Capital Metro spokeswoman Francine Pares. Those numbers outpace ridership in 2011 and 2012, she said.
Pares said she expects ridership numbers to increase March 15–16, as MetroRail will be running until midnight and begin running at 10 a.m. on March 16.
"Capital Metro has been experiencing impressive ridership gains for months now, as people discover the value, convenience and safety of riding transit," said Capital Metro President and CEO Linda Watson. "Those benefits are never more apparent than during a big event like SXSW. We are focused on providing a good service and maximizing our limited resources to keep people moving throughout the remainder of the event."
Other Capital Metro stats:
- Between March 8–12, there were approximately 20,000 trips taken on the MetroRail, which is about 7,000 more than there were during the same timeframe for SXSW 2012.
- Compared to 2012, ticket sales at MetroRail stations are up 37 percent.
- Capital Metro's SXSW transit info webpage has received more than 12,000 unique page views, a figure that officials project will double by the end of the festival.
Correction: The original version of the article incorrectly stated the date some Capital Metro data was collected.
