Who's riding Metro? How do we keep them on board? by Ben Ross, Action Committee for Transit Metrorail is gaining new riders. While suburb-to-downtown commuting represents the largest segment of riders and is growing, our independent analysis, using numbers collected by Metro's farecard machines, shows that there has been an explosion in rail travel to suburban jobs. Over the past five years, morning rush-hour trips into downtown (including the Crystal City-Rosslyn corridor) increased by 13 percent. In the same period, commuting to destinations outside the urban core (defined as D.C. and part of Alexandria) rose by a spectacular 34 percent. A look at where commuters get on Metro shows that reverse commuting, especially from less affluent neighborhoods, is the biggest growth area. AM Metro boardings are up by a third since 1995 at Anacostia, Addison Road, Minnesota Avenue and Navy Yard. Our elected representatives deserve much of the credit for this increase. Bus service has improved; in 1998 Metrobus began to grow after years of shrinkage. And policies that lavishly subsidize the automobile have become a little more even-handed. Maryland now offers a tax credit to employers who help pay transit fares. To keep Metro on this upward curve, we need to locate jobs and housing close to Metro. Ridership has shot upward where zoning rules have allowed smart growth -- lively, walkable mixed-use neighborhoods around transit stations. Downtown Bethesda demonstrates the popularity of this concept, and commuting by Metro to jobs there has climbed 38 percent. But smart growth alone can't do the job, because Metro wasn't designed for suburb-to-suburb commutes. New rail lines are needed in three key corridors: from Bethesda through Silver Spring and College Park to New Carrollton, from West Falls Church to Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport, and across the new Wilson Bridge. The explosion in rail travel to suburban jobs shows that commuters seek an alternative to sprawl and traffic jams. We must give that opportunity to more of them. Action Committee for Transit is a Montgomery County organization of transit riders and can be reached at easi@worldnet.att.net. Ben Ross is author of the article entitled, "Suburbs, Status & Sprawl," appearing in the winter, 2001 issue of Dissent on newsstands.