First month paid ridership of light rail in Phoenix

Is high. See "Light-rail ridership exceeds expectation" from the Arizona Republic. From the article:

About 30,600 people rode trains on weekdays, Metro's board of directors learned from CEO Rick Simonetta on Wednesday. That average was 17.8 percent greater than Metro's monthly target, during its first year, of 26,000.

Weekend numbers were even better: On Saturdays, ridership was more than 31,300, compared with Metro's goal of 20,800; the average passenger count on Sundays and holidays was 23,800 -- more than double the target of 11,270...

• It's common to see large school, church or elderly groups ride the trains on excursions. Simonetta called it the "discovery and novelty effect." After the newness rubs off, it is unclear how many casual riders will make light rail part of their routine.

• Metro's first weeks of operation were during the Valley's busiest time and lowest temperatures. In the summer, snowbirds will have returned north, school will be out and temperatures will hover above 100 degrees. Metro expects a seasonal drop in riders but doesn't know how sharp the drop will be.

I think that, especially during these times of greater awareness of the cost of having multiple cars, this is a trend that will continue--if fixed rail transit systems are routed correctly, linking residential areas and activity centers, without dropping rail lines and stations into freeways and other places not located where people are or where they want to go.

It's the rare bus system in the U.S., that generates higher numbers than projected, especially so soon into the launch of the system.