An Evaluation of Projected Versus Actual Ridership on Los Angeles’ Metro Rail Lines
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AN EVALUATION OF PROJECTED VERSUS ACTUAL RIDERSHIP ON LOS ANGELES’ METRO RAIL LINES A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master In Urban and Regional Planning By Lyle D. Janicek 2019 SIGNATURE PAGE THESIS: AN EVALUATION OF PROJECTED VERSUS ACTUAL RIDERSHIP ON LOS ANGELES’ METRO RAIL LINES AUTHOR: Lyle D. Janicek DATE SUBMITTED: Spring 2019 Dept. of Urban and Regional Planning Dr. Richard W. Willson Thesis Committee Chair Urban and Regional Planning Dr. Dohyung Kim Urban and Regional Planning Dr. Gwen Urey Urban and Regional Planning ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the support of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. I am especially indebted to Dr. Rick Willson, Dr. Dohyung Kim, and Dr. Gwen Urey of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, who have been supportive of my career goals and who worked actively to provide me with educational opportunities to pursue those goals. I am grateful to all of those with whom I have had the pleasure to work during this and other related projects with my time at Cal Poly Pomona. Each of the members of my Thesis Committee has provided me extensive personal and professional guidance and taught me a great deal about both scientific research and life in general. Nobody has been more supportive to me in the pursuit of this project than the members of my family. I would like to thank my parents Larry and Laurie Janicek, whose love and guidance are with me in whatever I pursue. They are the ultimate role models. Most importantly, I wish to thank my loving and supportive partner, Connor Francis, and who provided unending inspiration and care. To my sisters Loni and Lanelle and their families, thank you for reminding me to always smile, even when times are tough. Thank you to Lexi, Cavan, and Brayden for actively keeping me young. To Oakley and Temma for ensuring I navigated out of the house throughout the writing process. And lastly, I’d like to thank Douglas and Al for being gems that provided glimmers of inspiration. iii ABSTRACT The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, also known as Metro, has ambitious goals to expand the rail transit network throughout the county. Corridor studies and Environmental Impact Reports assess and recommend the best alternatives for rail developments using ridership as a primary factor in judging overall performance. This study compares current and historical ridership data with projections provided in environmental impact reports for all fourteen segments of the light and heavy rail network. It compares the ridership with projections set forth in the pre- construction stages of development to assesses whether each segment is over or under performing. The objective of this research is to understand the current rail performance of Metro and provide insight as to how Metro can more accurately predict rail ridership. The findings are that more than half rail segments, especially heavy rail, missed their ridership projections. This research investigates factors that influence the ridership of Metro Lines, including population and job density, route alignment, and the use of federal funding. The project also compares Metro light and heavy rail with the performance of other regional rail networks. Rail ridership between 2014 and 2018 is also presented to focus attention on the recent past. The study seeks to understand Metro rail system ridership performance as it moves into a new era of expansion. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT….........................................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................... 7 Forecasting Rail Ridership................................................................................. 7 Optimism in Ridership Forecasting................................................................. 14 Ridership as a Measurement of Performance................................................ 16 Funding Rail Expansion ................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 3: STUDY AREA PROFILES................................................................................. 23 Los Angeles Public Transit, A Brief History ..................................................... 24 Blue Line Initial Segment ................................................................................ 26 Blue Line Long Beach Loop ............................................................................. 27 Blue Line to Financial District.......................................................................... 28 Red and Purple Line: MOS-1 ........................................................................... 30 Green Line....................................................................................................... 31 Purple Line: MOS-2A....................................................................................... 33 Red Line: MOS-2B ........................................................................................... 34 Red Line: MOS-3.............................................................................................. 36 Gold Line: Initial Segment............................................................................... 38 Gold Line: Eastside Extension ......................................................................... 39 Expo Line: Initial Segment............................................................................... 41 Expo Line: Culver City Extension..................................................................... 44 Gold Line: Foothill Extension .......................................................................... 45 Expo Line: Santa Monica Extension ................................................................ 46 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 50 v Actual Rail Ridership Data............................................................................... 50 Projected Rail Ridership Data ......................................................................... 52 Projected vs. Actual Ridership Comparison.................................................... 53 Projected Ridership Scenarios ........................................................................ 53 Ridership and Density Regression................................................................... 54 What Does it All Mean? .................................................................................. 55 Limitations ……………………………………………………………………………………….…………56 CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS OF FORECAST AND ACTUAL RIDERSHIP ..................................... 57 Projected vs. Actual Ridership Comparison.................................................... 57 Projected Ridership Scenarios ........................................................................ 63 Ridership and Density Regression................................................................... 68 What Does it All Mean? .................................................................................. 71 CHAPTER 6: POLICY DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION...................................................... 78 REFERENCES...................................................................................................................... 82 APPENDIX A – Average Weekday Ridership by Segment and Year .................................. 94 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3. 1 Breakdown of Metro's rail network, average weekday boardings. ..............................24 Table 3. 2 Red Line Project updates from the Federal Transit Authority (Federal Transit Administration, 1998, pg. 3) .............................................................................................38 Table 3.3 Metro Forecasted Projection Data.................................................................................48 Table 5. 1 Segment Performance by Horizon Year ........................................................................59 Table 5. 2 Segment Performance for Fiscal year 2018 with no post-horizon year growth. ..........61 Table 5. 3 Segment Performance Table with County Population Growth Projections..................63 Table 5. 4 Segment Performance Table with 1% Growth Projections...........................................66 Table 5. 5 Segment Performance Table with 2% Growth ..............................................................67 Table 5. 6 Population Density Regression Output .........................................................................69 Table 5. 7 Population Density Regression Output .........................................................................70 Table 5. 8 Combined Density Regression Output ..........................................................................71 vii