Justice
Why Amtrak Keeps Breaking Ridership Records and Will Continue To Do So
The rail operator's recent success should end the debate over its privatization.
Last week, Amtrak announced its highest annual ridership … ever [PDF]. America's passenger rail provider carried 31.2 million people in fiscal 2012, which ended with September. That's a 3.5 percent increase over 2011 and led to ticket revenues of roughly $2 billion. Since the year 2000, ridership is now up 49 percent:
Amtrak's broken ridership records are beginning to sound like a broken record. As the above chart shows, the 2012 mark was the ninth annual record in ten years. September's numbers marked a twelfth consecutive monthly record. July of 2012 was the single best month in Amtrak's 41-year history.