MAG Regional Fast Facts - Transportation

Light Rail Transit

The initial 20-mile segment opened in December 2008. An additional 37 miles of extensions are planned to be built through local funding (10 miles) and Proposition 400 (27 miles)

In April 2012, METRO recorded approximately 47,400 boardings a day on the light rail system. Each two-car train can carry 400 passengers

Trains currently run every 12 minutes all day. Stations are about one-half mile apart. Light rail trains travel at the posted speed limit. It takes about an hour to travel the entire 20-mile route

Light Rail The 20-mile system runs from 19th Avenue and Montebello Avenue in central Phoenix, through downtown Phoenix and through Tempe to Mesa, ending at Sycamore and Main Street. Planned future extensions include:

Central Mesa Extension: A 3.1-mile extension from Main and Sycamore streets to Main St. and Mesa Dr.
Glendale Extension: A 5-mile extension from 19th Ave. to downtown Glendale.
Northeast Phoenix Extension: A 12-mile extension planned to link central Phoenix with the Paradise Valley Mall area.
Northwest Extension: A 3.2-mile extension from 19th Ave. and Montebello to 19th Ave. and Dunlap (Phase I), and later extend west to 25th Ave. and north to Mountain View Rd. (Phase II).
Phoenix West Extension: An 11-mile extension from downtown Phoenix along I-10 to 79th Ave.
Tempe Streetcar: A 2.6-mile modern streetcar from Rio Salado Pkwy. to Southern Ave. along Mill Ave.

Bus Transit

Metro Bus Ridership (total boardings) in FY 2012 was 71 million (bus and LRT)

Bus ridership has increased 53% since 2000

There are a total of 375 active vanpools in the program today

In fiscal year 2012, users in the ShareTheRide program made 326,518 round trip entries in their commute trackers. These entries account for 11,694,270 miles of shared vehicle travel, saving nearly 7 million pounds of greenhouse gases

The Regional Transportation Plan includes:

Funding for service on 21 Express routes, 27 local/supergrid routes, and one rural route.
Regional transit capital projects, including:
- 24 park-and-ride lots for bus and light rail.
- 9 transit centers for bus and light rail.
- 538 improved bus stops, including pullouts and shelters.
- Two new and two expanded regional bus operations and maintenance facilities.
- 1,487 fixed route buses to expand service and replace retired fleet.
- 26 buses for rural transit.
- 546 paratransit vehicles.
- 1,305 vanpool vehicles.
- Improved transit technologies, such as automatic vehicle location, upgraded radio system, real time and next bus information, and new fare collection systems.
Regionwide restructuring of commuter express bus service on freeways to utilize new park and rides, and an increase in arterial bus rapid transit services.

Regional Transportation Plan

RTP Cover The MAG Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) serves as the policy framework that directs major transportation investments in the region and represents the Valley's transportation blueprint for the next 20 years and beyond.

Initially adopted in 2003, the RTP was most recently updated in July 2010 and extends through fiscal year 2031. The RTP was developed and is maintained through the MAG Transportation Policy Committee (TPC), a public/private partnership charged with finding solutions to the region's transportation challenges. The TPC makes recommendations to the Regional Council.

Regional funding distribution amounting to $30 billion for the Regional Transportation Plan includes:

57% Freeways and Highways
- $17.1 billion highway construction
- $565 million highway operations (litter pickup, noise mitigation, freeway operations)
30% Regional Transit
- $1.6 billion bus capital
- $3.1 billion bus operations and maintenance
- $4.1 billion rail capital
11% Street Improvements
- $3.2 billion
2% Other (air quality measures, bike and pedestrian programs, etc.)
- $454 million

Freeway/Streets

There are approximately 267 miles of freeway comprising our regional freeway system.

137 miles are freeways built under Proposition 300—a half-cent sales tax for transportation passed by voters in 1985.
78 miles of new freeways and 253 miles of improvements to existing highway facilities are included in the freeway plan, which is funded, in part, by the half-cent sales tax passed by the voters in 2004.
Major progress has been made on the freeway plan since funding started in 2005:
- 27 miles of new freeways are under construction or completed.
- 107 miles of new HOV lanes on existing freeways have been completed.
- 40 miles of new general purpose lanes on existing freeways and highways have been completed.
- 19 projects to install new freeway interchanges with arterial streets or improve existing locations have been completed or are under construction.

There are nearly 3,000 miles of arterial streets in the region.

Current estimates show that the daily VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) for our region is approximately 80 million vehicle miles traveled per day (freeways and arterials). By 2015, daily VMT is projected to grow to about 126 million and by 2030, approximately 140 million.

According to the Texas Transportation Institute, the Phoenix urban area ranked 14th in the nation for annual hours of delay per traveler. Arizona drivers each spend about 44 hours a year stuck in traffic.

Daily Person Trips by Mode of Year 2010