Photo by Brian Mosely

Unreliable service, consistent track work and fare increases have led to a 4.9 percent in Metro ridership in the first quarter of the fiscal year, reports the Examiner.

A Metro internal report found that ridership dropped 2.5 percent on weekdays, 6.4 percent on Saturdays, 5.7 percent on Sundays, and 8.9 percent from midnight to 3 a.m. on weekends. The drops were most acute on the Blue Line (4.1 percent), followed by the Orange and Yellow lines (3.3 percent) and Red Line (2.2 percent). The Green Line—which has seen the most growth over the last few years—saw the lowest decrease in ridership, at 0.5 percent.

Beyond ongoing track work as part of a five-year capital campaign, a July increase in fares and a consequent decrease in federal transit benefits seems to have contributed to fewer people riding the rails. This, of course, could create something of a downward spiral for the transit agency: the last round of fare increases was premised on Metro’s need to continue address long-deferred maintenance, but if fewer people are riding the rails, then the agency will be taking in less revenue than expected.

Ridership certainly matters—an original fare increase proposal was changed in April after Metro planners said that they expected the number of riders to exceed original projections.