Unprecedented number of travelers for Thanksgiving, transportation official says

Gasoline prices are dropping, which has been a relief to motorists when they pull in to fill their tanks.

But the falling prices haven’t slowed train ridership, Tamie McGowen, state Department of Transportation assistant deputy director, said.

During Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel periods of the year, Californians rode trains in unprecedented numbers, she said.

“Traditionally, declining gas prices have had a negative impact on ridership,” she said. “Not this year.”

By Thanksgiving gasoline prices had fallen to slightly more than $3 a gallon, about 15 percent lower than they were at the same time in 2013, McGowen said. But ridership and revenue were up this year on all Amtrak California routes.

“November ridership and revenue reports for Amtrak California are in and boast impressive gains,” she said.

The Pacific Surfliner, the second busiest intercity rail corridor in the country, set records for the highest ridership and revenue in more than a decade, McGowen said.

The November peak day for the Pacific Surfliner was a ridership of 13,395 the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, up from the 12,474 recorded that day in 2013. Another high-ridership day was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when 11,464 took the train this year, up from last year’s 11,311 in 2013.

Ridership that week on the Pacific Surfliner ranged from 8,941 to 9,748 on other days, and each day showed an increase from the same dates in the previous year, McGowen said.

The San Joaquin travels from both Sacramento and San Francisco to Bakersfield, the fifth busiest corridor in the nation; it had the second-highest ridership and revenue in more than a decade, she said.

Peak days for the San Joaquin route were the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, when 7,445 took the train, and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when 7,087 rode the rails. In 2013, the same dates saw ridership of 6,914 and 6,762, respectively.

The rest of the week saw ridership between 4,371 and 5,006 this year, compared to 3,655 to 4,894 in 2013, McGowen said.

“Intercity passenger rail is an important component of a sustainable, multimodal transportation system for today and the future,” Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty said. “More and more Californians are increasingly seeing train travel as a smart option.”

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