Line 72 vs MAX Green Line
Bus ridership before and after the MAX opening
Northbound Line 72 passenger loads in Fall 2008 vs loads on the 72 and the parallel MAX Green Line in Fall 2009. While the 72 did see a drop in ridership, the ridership on the combination of the 72 and MAX is much higher than just the ridership on the 72 before MAX. And as shown in the other charts, 2008 was an extraordinary year with the highest ridership ever on the 72. Given the economy and other factors, such as fuel prices, ridership on the 72 may have dropped some even without a parallel MAX line opening.
Overall, on weekdays in Fall 2009, 4,065 boarded the Green Line northbound at the new stations along I-205 and 4,449 got off there southbound, for a total weekday ridership in that segment of 8,514.
ALSO
Note: All of the charts show northbound Line 72 passenger loads and in all the big change in the middle (just past NE 82nd & Multnomah) occurs right at the MAX station.
- Comparison of loads in Fall 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Note the relatively lower drop-off in loads at the MAX station in 2009.
- Comparing loads between just the 5 stops before and after the MAX station. Note how less people got off at the MAX station in 2009 than in any previous year and how the before/after difference is much smaller in 2009.
- Change in ridership when comparing previous years to 2009 ("How much lower was 2009 ridership compared to previous years?"). Note the differences before the MAX station compared to after in this and the following charts. It is believed that ridership drops because of general factors (such as the economy) should affect the entire line.
- The preceding chart but using percentages.
- How much higher previous years ridership was compared to 2009.
- Change in ridership over the years but compared to 2008.
- The preceding chart but using percentages.
Time-wise, Line 72 trips leaving Clackamas Town Center from 4:25-5:01 PM are scheduled to take 40 minutes to reach the MAX station at 82nd Ave. Adding the 3 minutes it takes MAX to travel from there to Gateway TC and up to up to 5 minutes to transfer (or if the bus arrives late) results in up to a 48-minute travel time from Clackamas to Gateway using Line 72. At just 16 minutes the Green Line is three times faster.