Special Report—On the Front Line: Ridership on Houston Metro down only—only—55 percent during COVID-19 pandemic

Ridership on Houston Metro is down just 55 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Houston Metro

Thanks to the Texas Medical Center, the city of Houston has a large population of healthcare workers. Perhaps that is why ridership is down just 55 percent on Houston Metro buses and trains. Whatever the reason, Tom Lambert believes the COVID-19 pandemic has proven the essentialness of transit when it comes to the essential workers and the community.

“In my mind it reinforces the critical nature in essential service that transit provides to a community,” Lambert told RT&S. “This is getting folks to those medical facilities and those employees that support that healthcare facility or those who need that service.

“What it has clearly reinforced is transit is essential to communities and how we adapt those services to keep that essential service operating in times of crisis is extremely important.”

Houston Metro’s rail line is now running on a Saturday schedule, but on April 3 Lambert said there were still 123,000 boardings on buses and on rail. The agency noticed some issues regarding social distancing on some of its trains so it is now using shuttle bus services to take passengers to and from the Texas Medical Center, which accounts for a third of Metro’s daily ridership.

Ten percent of Houston Metro’s revenue comes from fares, and the agency also relies on a sales tax. In November, voters approved a $3.5 billion bond measure for Metro Next Moving Forward. The total plan will cost $7.5 billion and will include a new 16-mile rail line that will connect both the Green and Purple lines to Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport. Some contract lettings have been delayed due to COVID-19.

“We will retool that as we get through this phase of the crisis we are dealing with and then we will tee up with the board on when we will go out and advertise future contracts,” said Lambert.

Houston Metro brought extra cleaning companies to provide additional cleaning on trains and at train stations during the pandemic, and the transit agency has been executing some creative campaigns to maintain social distancing. Signs that read “Don’t Sit Here” have been placed on seats to remind the public to keep a safe distance from one another. Posters on social distancing also have been put on train platforms.

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