CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati streetcar has passed another yearly ridership record with months left in 2023 to go.
City data shows 849,161 trips through September, which tops the 846,622 trips for all of 2022.
“In general, people are more used to the system,” said Lori Burchett, deputy director of Streetcar Services.
Burchett said the city is seeing more new riders, as well as boosts from major events like the Taylor Swift concert and Bengals games.
“Mostly, I use it for going to Kroger,” said Alice Caplinger, who rides a few times each week. “Or just on Sundays going to The Banks.”
Caplinger appreciates the convenience, as well as the free fare.
Ridership numbers are still lower than initial estimates predicted in a 2007 feasibility study. Burchett said the pandemic, that researchers could not have predicted, is part of the reason for that.
Burchett said the city is focused on improving rider experience moving forward, planning for possible upgrades to streetcar technology and displays where riders can view information.
The streetcar currently runs on a 3.6-mile loop between downtown and Over-the-Rhine.
WCPO asked Cincinnati councilman Mark Jeffreys where talks stand over possible expansion.
“I think there's a lot of interest in what an expansion could look like,” he said. “But again, we have to do it in a thoughtful way.”
Jeffreys said the city has been in talks with Kansas City, which is currently expanding its streetcar system. Right now, Jeffreys said Cincinnati is focused on learning more about what expansion could possibly look like.
“The first is really understanding what the public's perception truly is of the streetcar,” he said, noting that Kansas City had surveyed riders and non-riders.
If the idea were to move forward, Jeffreys said the second step would include evaluating where expansion would go.
“In Kansas City, they have anchor points,” he said. “So it's universities or tourist centers. So in our case, is it Union Terminal? Is it to Northern Kentucky to the aquarium or other places? Where do we go? Where does it make sense to connect people to destinations where they want to go?”
Jeffreys said the city would also have to figure out the financial model for funding it and the feasibility of the project.
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