CAP Fiscal Year 1999 Annual Report -
July 1, 1998 Through June 30, 1999

During the 1990’s Arlington County’s Commuter Assistance Program has grown into one of the most innovative TDM (transportation demand management) programs in the country. Since the early 1990’s CAP’s budget has grown, using Federal and State transportation grants, tenfold to just over $2 million annually. As CAP looks forward to each New Year, it is important to review the recent past and monitor progress so that adjustments can be made to maximize its usefulness to commuters. The following report tracks performance of the Commuter Assistance Program for the just completed Fiscal Year of 1999.

The Commuter Store™

Record Numbers of Customers Served. During Fiscal Year 1999 the Commuter Stores™ served a record 216, 177 customers or 26% more than the 171,947 customers served during FY98 and 38% more than the 156,201 served during FY97. Customers served were up at all three outlets. Crystal City served 108,594 customers for a 41% increase, Ballston served 49,037 for a 6% increase and Rosslyn served 57,716 customers for a 20% increase.

85% of the customers were served over-the-counter in the retail outlets with the balance being phone inquiries (13%) and Internet email inquiries (2%). The Crystal City Store saw its phone calls increase by nearly 50% because of promotion of the new centralized 228-RIDE phone number that began appearing in CAP advertising in November.

Record Numbers of Fares Sold. During FY99 the stores sold a record $3,605,769 in tickets, tokens and passes (fares) an increase of 22% versus $2,958,733 sold in FY98 and 25% more than the $2,891,490 sold in FY97. Sales increased at all three outlets. Crystal City sold $2,191,010 in fares for a 21% increase, Ballston sold $68,8315 for a 2% increase and Rosslyn sold $728,445 for a 38% increase. Ninety-seven percent of the fares sold were either WMATA, VRE or MARC fares as follows:

• Metrobus and Metrorail sales, which accounted for 44% of total sales, were $1,582,665 or a 14% increase versus the $1,378,000 sold in FY98.
• Virginia Railway Express sales, accounting for 32% of total sales, were $1,136,850 or a 16% increase over $975,000 sold in FY98.
• MTA’s MARC commuter rail sales, which accounted for 21% of total sales, were $766,874 or a 59% increase over the $482,000 sold in FY98.
• Internet sales via CommuterPage.com®’s Commuter Direct™ service were $447,602 or 12.4% of total sales volume. As Crystal City staff is responsible for fulfillment of Commuter Direct sales, they are included in that store’s sales figures. (See CommuterPage.com® and Commuter Direct™ for further details.)

The Commuter Store™ Marketing Campaign. A targeted campaign was developed to promote The Commuter Stores™ to as wide a variety of potential customers as possible. This campaign was strategically developed to extend the stores’ visibility around their retail environment and surrounding communities. The campaign included fun and colorful series of five different questions and answers such as:

• “Tired of robbing your kid’s piggy bank for exact bus fare? – We’ve got bus passes, tokens and a whole lot more.”
• “Is your daily commuter a daily grind? – Come on in, we’ve got lots of ways to improve it.”

A new slogan – “Easy commutes begin here.” – was also adopted for both The Commuter Store™ and CommuterPage.com® and appears with every use of the logo. The campaign incorporated display posters in each of the three malls and inside the stores and carried the same theme throughout all advertising.

In June of 1998 The Commuter Store in Ballston moved to a new rent-free off-the-beaten-path location on the second floor of Ballston Common Mall. Previously the store was on the 1st level. To generate customer traffic and location awareness in the newly relocated store a campaign was specifically developed that included Table Tents and Tray Liners in the Mall’s food court. The Ballston campaign was supported with advertising in the local Arlington section of the Washington Post and in the Arlington Journal. The Tray Liners and newspaper advertisements included a sweepstakes drawing for one $500 Ballston Common Mall Shopping Spree and two $250 prizes. In addition, a dual-purpose information piece was distributed throughout the Ballston Common Mall and Ballston Metrorail Station that had information about the new location and the Sweepstakes. To enter persons had to drop-off the entries at the new store location. The drawing was held on December 4, to coincide with the Christmas shopping season. The campaign was deemed successful by virtue of the fact that despite the new less prominent location on the second floor, the Store served more customers and sold more fares than in FY98.

Additional advertisements using the same theme appeared in Rosslyn Renaissance, Ballston Partnership Clarendon Alliance and Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization and other neighborhood newsletters. In addition The Commuter Stores™ sponsored some local retail and restaurant guides. On-board bus interior cards also carried through the theme of the campaign promoting both the Commuter Store and Commuterpage.com and were installed on the entire Virginia, District and Maryland Metrobus fleet.

The overall campaign was deemed a success due to the all-time record increase of customers (+26%) and fare sales (+22%) at all three stores.

New Point-of-Sale Machines. New touch-screen point-of-sale (POS) machines were introduced on May 1 at the Crystal City Store replacing the cash registers. This new PC-based system utilizes an off-the-shelf retail sales system customized for the Store’s use. The POS system integrates both the sales and inventory functions, thereby streamlining financial control and reporting functions. This is especially beneficial as the inventory functions were previously done by hand in a very time consuming manner. The system is easy to upgrade with new products and fares and includes the ability to swipe credit cards thereby reducing the need for additional processing equipment. Commuter Information Specialists (clerks) report that the system allows them to process each customer transaction more quickly and efficiently. The system will be put in place at the Rosslyn and Ballston Stores in the Fall of 1999.

Stores Introduce One Consolidated Information Number – 228-RIDE. In November, CAP introduced one common advertised phone number for The Commuter Stores™ as 703-228-RIDE. The 228 prefix is a County extension. Previously, advertising listed separate numbers for each store. The calls were forwarded to the Crystal City Store, where the most senior staff was in place. Phone calls were up 32% in FY99 and Crystal City handled 55% of the total volume of 28,345 calls.

Planning Begins For New Back-End Fulfillment Operation For Stores. The above service level numbers illustrate the strain staff was beginning to feel handling the ever increasing requests for information and fare media sales. Since the Rosslyn Store’s opening in FY 1995 customers served has almost tripled and sales have almost doubled using about the same amount of staff. As it became increasingly difficult for staff to handle both over-the-counter traffic and phone and Internet requests, plans were made for moving all back-end operations (phone, fax and Internet requests) to a self-contained unit. This division of labor would allow retail staff to pay full attention to the in-store customer and allow other staff to spend an adequate amount of time with persons on the phone and correspond on the Internet.

In March 1999 Arlington Transit opened its STAR paratransit service to the public. A state-of-the-art “Transit Information Center or TIC” opened in space next store to The Commuter Store™ in Rosslyn to handle call intake and dispatching for the STAR service. To enhance efficiencies for both the STAR and The Commuter Store™ programs, plans were made for transferring responsibility for answering the Store’s 228-RIDE phone number, CommuterPage.com® questions and Commuter Direct™ Internet sales to the TIC also. During the 4th quarter of FY99 TIC staff handled STAR duties exclusively and began training on Commuter Store™ activities. Formal transfer of back-end Commuter Store™ activity will occur by the end of the first quarter in FY 2000.

Arlington Transportation Partner’s Employer Services

New Contractor. On July 1, 1998 beginning with the new fiscal year 1999, CAP hired a private firm as its new Employer Services contractor. The new firm operates as part of the Commuter Assistance Program team under the moniker Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP). Arlington Transportation Partners took over the Employer Services functions previously provided by the Ballston-Rosslyn Area Transportation Association and Jefferson Davis Corridor TMA under contracts that ended June 30, 1998. Both the BATA and JDC TMA Boards dissolved at the end of FY98. Arlington Transportation Partners took over the office space previously occupied by BATA and JDC TMA and kept some staff.

Nearly One In Three Arlington Workers Is Employed By Participating TDM Friendly Company. Twenty-nine percent (29%) or nearly 1/3 of the people working in Arlington at the end of FY 1999 worked for companies that were clients of Arlington Transportation Partners. To be precise, 239 companies with 57,546 employees were clients of ATP out of a total Arlington “At-Place Employment” of 198,400. This represents an 80% increase over the 127 companies with 32,000 employees that were part of the network one year ago. In one year, the network’s size was nearly doubled by ATP over what had taken a period of over four years to build.

Metrochek. Metrochek continues to be the focus of ATP’s selling efforts. The number of Metrochek accounts rose 35% in FY99 to 214 companies representing 25,562 employees. This compares to 157 participating companies representing 14,064 employees at the end of FY98. Although WMATA administers Metrochek, ATP has helped to increase the number of Arlington Metrochek clients through various means. ATP staff is very familiar with the program and promotes it whenever possible. Staff includes Metrochek materials in all sales packets and briefs interested and relocating employers about the program. ATP offers a 50% Metrochek Match Financial Incentive Program, which shares a company’s first year participation costs on a 50-50 basis. Twenty-nine companies are participating as a result of the Match Program. ATP helps promote Metrochek at WMATA events, such as Metrorail Station outreach and fairs. ATP co-sponsored two major employer events during which Metrochek was a prominent presentation topic.

Council of Governments Coordination. As a member of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s (MWCOG) Commuter Connections Employer Outreach Program, ATP participates in a reporting program developed to meet regional air quality guidelines. Credit is only provided for employers that have 100+ employees and is only provided for programs begun after January 1, 1997. Forty-five percent (45%) of the 239 companies in the ATP network have 100+ employees and fifty of the companies began their programs prior to January 1, 1997.

Classification is based upon levels of employer participation as follows:

• Level 1 (Bronze) Employers express some interest in commuter programs and distribute information to their employees.
• Level 2 (Silver) Employers actually market commuter benefits to employees.
• Level 3 (Gold) Employers offer incentives for Commuter Programs, such as Metrochek.
• Level 4 (Platinum) Employers offer more than one Level-Three program.

Based upon these Levels, thirty-seven percent (37%) of the 239 ATP network employers are classified as participating at Level-1, eleven percent (11%) at Level-2, fifty percent (50%) at Level-3 and two percent (2%) at Level-4.

The levels correspond to a the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Commuter Connections’ Employer Services criteria (Level-1 – meeting with a company; Level-2 – buy in, information distribution; Level-3 – Metrochek and other high level programs such as an ETC; Level-4 – shuttle and other capital expenses and more. While COG counts the fifteen (15) Level-1 programs, Arlington County only counts them as prospects, thus the 29 total companies in Levels 2 through 4. Of the 29 companies 9 of the companies had more than 100+ employees.

Special Events and Other Highlights.

• Clarendon Day Festival. On September 19 on behalf of CAP, ATP hosted a booth at the 1998 Clarendon Day, a community event attended by thousands of people.
• ART Bus Support. In October, ATP supported the debut of the ART bus fleet in Crystal City and distributed brochures during a one-day desk drop to 26,964 tenants and employees within the Charles E. Smith buildings in Crystal City.
• Employer Bicycle Seminar. On November 18 ATP worked with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association to host a Bicycle Commuting Workshop for employers. The workshop focused on ways for employers to assist their employees with bicycle commuting.
• Employer Metrochek Seminar. On December 9 ATP partnered with WMATA to host a Metrochek breakfast. The workshop informed employers about the new Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century tax code changes that enable employers to offer Metrochek to their employees through pre-tax payroll deduction. Twenty people representing 16 different employers attended. As of June 30, 4 of those 16 had instituted new Metrochek programs.
• Columbia Pike Blues Festival. On May 8 on behalf of CAP, ATP hosted a booth at the 1999 Columbia Pike Blues Festival, a free community event attended by approximately 1,000 Arlingtonians.
• Employer Mixing Bowl Construction Seminar. On June 9 ATP hosted a luncheon seminar for employers regarding the Springfield Interchange Improvement Project. Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation officials as well as WMATA and other officials presented information to Arlington employers. Over twenty people representing 18 different employers attended. Of the attendees, nine were already ATP clients and four more became new clients.
• Solutions Newsletter. In June ATP began the first of its regular employer follow-up mailings designed to keep clients interested and informed about local and regional commuter benefits programs and services. The mailing distributed to approximately 250 clients included the first edition of Solutions – ATP’s quarterly employer newsletter. Solutions is also available online on ATP’s portion of CommuterPage.com®.
• Database Management. ATP, working with Arlington County’s Department of Economic Development, local business partnerships, COG Commuter Connections and WMATA has revised, updated and expanded its exclusive database of Arlington employers. The primary goal has been to obtain the best contact information and the new streamlined database now contains over 615 listings.
• Zip Code Map Development. ATP coordinated with the Department of Public Works on the development and printing of employer zip code maps to augment its services. Using summary information for each employer, including a list of zip codes, employer specific regional maps are produced showing where all their employees live. This assists in planning employer specific commuter programs.

CommuterPage.com® and Commuter Direct™

During FY99 CommuterPage.com® continued as the most popular site on the County’s web site just behind the library, with over 5,000 hits to the top page monthly. Over 500 emails are answered each month. In addition, $1/2 million in fares were sold via Commuter Direct™ in FY99 accounting for 13% of the total sales volume of The Commuter Stores™.

While many transit properties have developed web sites, they are often no more than electronic brochures. CommuterPage.com® and CommuterDirect.com™ are actually integrated into CAP’s business and administrative processing making the sites truly interactive for customers and CAP staff alike.

Efficiency – or time saved. Literally every piece of information and service a person can walk in and get at one the County’s three retail locations of The Commuter Store™ (from bus schedules, maps and car/vanpool matches to sales of transit tickets and passes) is available online at CommuterPage.com®. This 24-hour access saves customers time by not having to physically go to the store or call an information number and provides the added convenience of not being constrained by our 8 am – 7 pm retail and phone service hours.

Economy – or money saved. CommuterPage.com® serves as many customers and sells as much in tickets and passes (now over $50,000 monthly) as one of our retail locations for about 1/3 of the expense of a storefront operation. For the just completed fiscal year, e-commerce accounted for 13% of total sales of over $3.5 million and accounted for 2/3rd’s of the 18% growth in sales over the previous year. The savings generated by serving customers via the Internet versus the retail outlets and over the phone will continue to accrue to the program as growth in the use of e-commerce continues. As most sales generate a five to ten percent commission, increasing sales via the Internet returns more money to support the overall operation of the program.

In addition to sales, Store personnel process over 500 individual requests per month for information that are generated by various email forms on the site. This includes schedules, maps, and rideshare list requests mailed to persons homes and answering commuting questions by email such as “I live in Woodbridge and work in Rosslyn. What are my commuting options?” Initially, expenses were minimized, as staff was already in place at the retail Stores doing this over-the-counter and by phone.

Most importantly, the Internet service not only saves CAP money but the entire region as CommuterDirect.com™ has become the online sales and delivery system for the VRE, OmniRide, DASH, and ART systems in Virginia and for MARC and Ride On in Maryland. While WMATA sells its own passes online too, it links to CommuterDirect.com for persons who want passes delivered every pass period or month or who want to use checking accounts, American Express and Metrocheks as payment – options not provided on the WMATA site.

Functionality – (ease of use) and improved citizen access. Commuter Direct™ is a specific example of the ease of use, convenience and access to service that citizens have on the Internet via CommuterPage.com®. Commuter Direct™’s customer interface and backend fulfillment operations are continually refined to provide an increasingly sophisticated level of convenience and service to persons that is reminiscent of big online retailers such as Amazon.com and eToys.com. Commuter Direct™ allows customers to pay by credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express), checking accounts AND the local transit fare subsidies Metrochek and TransitPlus. Account holders can track billing and shipping, view their account history, and decide to have “Automatic Renewal” so their pass is delivered every pass period. About half of the customers who try Commuter Direct.com™ set up an Automatic Renewal account.

Research Findings Show We Are On The Right Track. As a follow-up to an “Arlington Metrobus” direct mail promotion done to all Arlington households in January 1999 a statistically valid sample survey of the 11,000 users of the free ride coupon contained in the piece was conducted to ascertain the direct mail brochure’s impact on ridership trends. A surprising and unanticipated finding was that the second-most listed source of transit information for users was CommuterPage.com®. Thirty-eight percent (38%) of respondents listed the page as their primary source of transit information. Considering the relatively few years the page has been in existence and the extremely modest marketing investment required for the site, the agency told DPW this was an impressive number. They suggested that investment in improving the site further and expanding awareness of the site would be very worthwhile and cost effective based upon the findings.

Likewise the use of Commuter Direct™ has been growing quickly. Sales in Fiscal 1999 grew by over 150% over FY98. Most of the growth has occurred since the Christmas shopping season of 1998. Our theory is that as the public has become more comfortable with e-commerce (which saw incredible growth last Christmas) they correspondingly become more comfortable with using Commuter Direct™ and fortunately the service was positioned to take advantage of the public’s expectations for online service.

“Arlington Metrobus” Marketing

Beginning in FY97 CAP began receiving TEIF grant funding to develop a Transit Ridership Development Initiative (TRDI) project aimed at increasing Metrobus ridership in selected transit corridors. This experiment, recognized that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) did not have the resources to concentrate on marketing specific services in Arlington. Therefore, this effort was seen as a supplement to WMATA’s efforts, concentrated in one area. The South Arlington neighborhoods of Columbia Pike and Shirley Highway were targeted first. In January 1997 CAP contracted with Pulsar Advertising, Inc. to develop and implement the TRDI project.

During FY98 a prototype program focused on “control” routes (7 and 16 lines), chosen because of the opportunity they presented and the fact that prior marketing efforts concentrated on promoting Metrorail corridors. In January 1998, the first in a series of bus book Ride Guides featuring the 7 and 16 lines were distributed to Arlington households in the affected area. (For further information about how the promotion was developed, including the background research, please review FY98’s report). The balance of FY98 was spent on researching the results of the initial campaign.

Based upon the results of the initial campaign, the program was adjusted and expanded to a county-wide effort. An umbrella program was developed to reinforce the route-specific efforts (lines 7 and 16) by increasing overall awareness of the system. To do this, the following elements were implemented in FY99:

• A special promotional piece featuring an attractive sweepstake offer, free trial ride coupons, and an area system map distributed to every household in the County via Post Plus.
• A cable TV support effort, aimed at the same target audiences was introduced via Arlington’s cable system.
• A Metrobus driver support program was introduced to increase coupon returns.

In January 1999 100,000 Arlington households received a 13” x 11” “Ride Guide” that folded out to four times that size that featured a map of all the County’s bus lines, 4 Free Ride coupons and how-to-ride information. The promotion - “It’s not a snowmobile but it is the coolest way to get around Arlington” – featured a sweepstakes giveaway for a ski trip to Vail, Colorado. The map included information about Arlington neighborhoods and shopping destinations for each line.

The mailing was supplemented by cable TV commercials asking people to look for the mailer in their “home delivered Washington Post or mail” during the week of the mailing.

In June 1999 the campaign was repeated using the – “We can’t get you a career on Broadway, but we can get your foot in the door.” – sweepstakes promotion, giving away a trip to New York City. This promotion concentrated on explaining the new regional simplified fare structure introduced by WMATA.

Results of the FY99 Promotions - Market Research on the January, 1999 Mailing.

Free-ride/Sweepstakes coupons returned in response to a county-wide marriage mail program were used to develop a database of trial riders. This database was then utilized to call those who used the coupons to ride the bus. The survey methodology was designed to mirror an earlier survey conducted last year of Arlington Metrobus trial riders. Highlights of the findings follow.

First Time Riders. Fifteen percent of survey respondents stated they were first-time riders. This is virtually identical to the percentage of first-time riders responding to the 1998 survey. The most encouraging fact about this group is that when the telephone interviews were conducted nearly six months after they used the free-ride coupons, seventy percent were still riding Arlington Metrobus and seventy percent of these were frequent riders using the system four or more days per week.

First-time riders tended to meet the "Generation X" profile the campaign was aimed at tending to be:

• Somewhat younger than the existing rider
• More likely to be single
• More likely to be in white collar occupations
• More likely to use the service for recreational purposes and shopping (Over fifty percent said they used Metrobus for shopping)
• They were fifteen percent more likely to use the service for trips within Arlington County
• A surprising number (thirty percent) were aware of the existence of Arlington County's Commuter Page web-site, and of those, forty-four percent used it to obtain transit information compared with the thirty-five percent of existing riders who didn't have access to the web-site when they became riders. It should be noted that considering the short time the Commuter Page has been operational, the usage rate is impressive for both first time and existing riders. It seems to reflect the high computer literacy rate of Arlington County.
• First time riders were also more likely to retain the map and service guide distributedin the insert/direct mail campaign than existing riders. Nearly forty percent still had the guide in their possession six months after it was distributed, compared to the twenty-five percent of regular riders who had retained their guides.

Overall Findings.The overall findings of the research reflect positive trends for ridership in Arlington County as well as a basis for future program emphasis. It is encouraging to note that thirty-four percent of respondents said they were riding Metrobus more in 1999 than in 1998. This would appear to support the overall increase in the number of trips being taken on Arlington Metro's.

Information Systems. A key strategy in the TRDI marketing program was to provide as much clear information to the perspective rider as possible. This was based on an understanding that one barrier to increased ridership was the lack of clear transit information. The key is to provide clear, easily accessible information that is readily available about the system. Telling someone that riding the bus may be beneficial does not help if the potential user cannot obtain information quickly and easily.

In the case of Arlington County's Metrobus system, a wide variety of information options exist. We used this survey to determine how riders now obtain transit information.

Bus Stop Information. The most commonly identified source of transit information for Arlington County riders was the bus stop. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they most often obtain transit information at their bus stop. This seems to underscore the relative success of the "Ride Guide" system now in place along many of Arlington's Metrobus lines.

It also suggests that expanding the number of stops with this type of information would be worthwhile. Perhaps even expanding the amounts and types of information available at the stops would prove effective. Options include the addition of system maps for trip-planning capability, electronic interactive information systems and perhaps even real time information (a.k.a., "What time is the next bus "really" going to be here?").

It should be noted that while a respondent listed the bus stop as the location where he most frequently finds transit information, this does not indicate the bus stop is the only source of information. We know, for example, that the current information at the bus stop is limited to schedule and map information for the routes serving that stop. To effectively design the most convenient trip planning, a rider would have to use other sources of information such as telephone information, Commuter Stores or the Commuter Page.

CommuterPage. A surprising finding was that the second-most listed source of transit information was CAP's Commuter Page. Thirty-eight percent of respondents listed the page as their primary source of transit information. Considering the relatively few years the page has been in existence and the relatively modest marketing investment required for the site, it is an impressive number.

Respondents use Commuter Page to obtain a variety of transit information, including:

• 61% for schedule information
• 42% for fare information
• 50% for general transportation information

The high computer literacy rates of Arlington County residents (especially our target Generation X-er's) implies that investment in improving and expanding awareness of the Commuter Page is worthwhile. It would seem to provide a positive outlook for the potential of the companion Commuter Direct program.

Metro Information. Twenty-seven percent of respondents listed Metro's telephone information service as the way they most often obtain transit information. This is typical for the industry, because of the important human interaction for trip-planning purposes and first time riders. It should be noted, however, that this is a relatively expensive information source. Regular users should be provided with effective lower cost alternatives such as Commuter Page, bus stop information and easily available printed information.

Commuter Stores. The Commuter Store was listed by twenty-two percent of respondents as their primary source of transit information. The stores offer the unique combination of providing personalized trip planning and relatively low-cost printed information.

It should be noted that the use of these stores has steadily increased over the years with over fifty-six percent of riders indicating they have used the stores. In rank order, the stores they visit are:

• Ballston: 74%
• Crystal City: 24%
• Rosslyn: 14%

System Guide. Respondents were asked to rate the comprehensiveness of the direct-mail service guide mailed to them in January. On a scale of one to ten, with ten meaning "very clear," seventy-eight percent of respondents rated the map above an eight.

Six months after the map's distribution, thirty-seven percent of respondents still had it in their possession.

Arlington Metrobus Usage. Not surprisingly, most of those who ride Metrobus are commuters with sixty-one percent having ridden at least four out of the last seven? days. However, an interesting finding is that fifty-one percent of respondents used the bus for shopping trips and forty-eight percent used it for recreational trips. The numbers were even higher for first-time riders.

• 66% use Metrobus for work trips
• 51% for shopping
• 48% for recreation
• 9% for school

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they were traveling within Arlington County,and twenty-two percent, to the District of Columbia.

Following a nearly universal pattern, the survey revealed that ninety-four percent of respondents walk less than five blocks to their bus stop.

Auto Access. A large percentage of the Arlington Metrobus market are discretionary riders with sixty-four percent of their households having at least one car (considering most of the riders come from households of two or less people, this represents a high ratio of auto access). Twenty-three percent of rider households had two or more cars.

This number verifies that the majority of riders are not transit-dependent and cannot be taken for granted.

Ridership Patterns. During the first six months of 1999, ridership growth on the Arlington County Metrobus routes increased month to month at rates significantly greater than overall Metrobus lines except one period between March to April, when growth rates were virtually identical to the Arlington Metrobus (five percent versus the Metrobus System at four percent).
The difference between Arlington County's performance and the Metrobus system during the duration of the promotions resulted in a nineteen percent increase in ridership for Arlington County, versus 4% for the regional system when comparing January and June.

Year-to-Year. Arlington's Metrobus routes generally out-preformed the Metrobus system as a whole throughout the promotion period. In comparing ridership growth for each of the first six months of 1998 versus 1999 (see chart below), ridership growth in Arlington County (as percentages increase or decrease over 1998 ridership figures) out-performed the Metrobus system consistently on a monthly basis.

Percentage Increase (Decrease) in Ridership 1998 vs. 1999
	January	February	March	April	May	June
Arlington Metrobus	3%	7%	0%	4%	10%	8%
Metrobus System	2%	3%	-2%	2%	2%	1%

Revenue/Ridership Implications. The difference in ridership growth performance levels has significant revenue implications. Had ridership on the Arlington County Metrobus routes grown at the same rate as the overall Metrobus system, significantly less fare box revenue would have been generated. Totaling the monthly year-to-year differences in weekday ridership performance and multiplying them by average Metrobus fare indicates that the total revenue difference over the six month period is approximately $240,000.