The Metro has experienced a drop in ridership, and no one really knows why. While proposed reasons include federal job cuts, more bike commuters, and increased fares, Metro officials believe the main cause is due to a cut in federal transit benefits from $245 to $130. A majority of the ridership losses are from weekdays with the steepest decline in riders from "end-of-the-line stations" like Franconia-Springfield. Metro trips that are seven miles or more have experienced a 75 percent drop in ridership. Metro planning staff wrote in a blog post, "Ridership could be down for a variety of reasons, and we continue to mine the data for other patterns – from the economy to demographics to fares." [WaPo]
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