Public Transportation Hits Second Highest Record in 2012

The number of Americans using public transportation to work rose dramatically as more people return to work as hiring by companies spikes.

With the employment rate seeing a rise for the second week in U.S., more people have returned to work, resulting in a dramatic rise in the use of public transportation. The number rose to the second-highest level on record last year, according to an annual survey released by the leading U.S. transit association on Monday.

American Public Transportation Association President Michael Melaniphy said the rise in ridership would have been much higher than reported had not Superstorm Sandy stranded people and shut down transit along the East Coast.

In 2012, U.S. transit ridership rose by 1.49 percent, with passengers taking 10.52 million trips on trains, buses and commuter rail. This is the highest since 2008. The increase may be attributed to rise in fuel prices.

"In the last 18 months or so, we've seen prices be very volatile," he said. "When you think about the impact of that on your budget, when you can't count on your transportation costs being consistent day over day, week over week, that's really hard on the budget."

According to Melaniphy, 60 percent of all transit trips were by people traveling to and from work.

"We expect we're going to continue to have good ridership," Melaniphy said. "More than 80% of transit systems have cut services, raised fares or considered it. Think about what ridership numbers would look like if they didn't have to cut back.

"We're seeing record transit ridership on systems all over the country, in the Midwest, the East, the South, the North and the West," he said.