Ridership

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RIDERSHIP BY THE MILLIONS

MORE THAN 90% OF THE 17 MILLION TEXANS LIVING IN THE TRAIN’S SERVICE AREA WOULD SAVE AT LEAST 1 HOUR BY RIDING THE TEXAS HIGH-SPEED TRAIN

Texans are ready to ride the high-speed train, according to a multimillion-dollar, comprehensive ridership study, conducted by L.E.K Consulting. This study has confirmed that Texas is ready for a market-driven, privately developed high-speed train line serving North Texas, the greater Brazos Valley and the Greater Houston Metro areas.

Study highlights:

  • More than 6 million passengers expected to ride the train annually by 2029 and more than 13 million by 2050
  • Train will save 60 to 90 minutes per trip between Houston and North Texas
  • The Houston-North Texas super economy is expected to grow by 1.5 percent per year to 2050, almost twice the U.S. national average.
  • An overwhelming majority of Texans (85 percent of those surveyed) who have traveled between Greater Houston and North Texas over the last 12 months say they would use the train in the right circumstances
  • The overwhelming majority of surveyed Texan Travelers (over 85%) said they would use the train in the right circumstances, with only 14% of survey respondents stating they would not consider any alternative but their personal vehicle.

Looking further into the study, 72% of frequent travelers, and 49% of non-travelers said they either probably or definitely would use the high-speed train on their next trip to North Texas or Houston if it were an option today!

Bringing together end-to-end journey time analysis, primary market research on perceptions of high-speed trains, and long-distance travel market size estimates, it is possible to develop estimates for future levels of demand for the high-speed train. Ultimately, the L.E.K study concludes that this project’s ridership is anticipated to ramp up to over 6 million passengers by 2029 and 13 million by 2050.  That’s 35% of the anticipated number of long-distance trips between North Texas and The Greater Houston Metro Area.

In a separate LEK study, “New Routes to Profitability in High-Speed Rail,” the company identifies many of the common elements shared by profitable high-speed train systems, including showing, for the first time, a clear correlation between HSR and road market share, based on journey time savings — the greater journey time savings by rail, the higher the market share. Other common characteristics shared by successful HSR routes include: connecting large cities, being the optimal distance apart to be competitive against road and air, and having commercial freedom to maximize profit rather than passenger volume. All great signs that Texas – more specifically North Texas-to-Houston – is the right place to plant the seeds for this new industry!

IT’S ABOUT TIME

THE TEXAS HIGH-SPEED TRAIN WILL REDUCE AVERAGE JOURNEY TIMES BY 60-90 MINUTES

A comprehensive analysis of every component of a trip between North Texas and Greater Houston high-speed train — including getting to and from the station, check-in, security and boarding—indicates an average time savings of 60-90 minutes as compared to today’s air and road travel options.

1

Minutes Faster Than by Car

1

Minutes Faster Than by Plane

IT’S ABOUT GROWTH

TRAVELER DEMAND IN TEXAS IS FAR OUTPACING THE SUPPLY FROM AIR OR ROAD OPTIONS.

16 million journeys are made between North Texas and Greater Houston each year, nearly half of which are trips to visit friends and family. The size of the travel market between Greater Houston and North Texas is expected to grow at 1.5% per year until 2050, almost twice the national average, resulting in a total population of just under 20 million journeys in 2022 and just over 34 million journeys in 2050.

Nearly 13 million people live within 1 hour of a proposed high-speed train station TODAY!

Travel within the corridor is projected to grow at +1.5% per year through 2050.

  • Millions of Journeys

72% of Recent Travelers*

  • Definitely Will Ride
  • Probably Will Ride

*People who have Traveled between the DFW and Houston Metro Areas in the past 12 months.

49% Of Non-Travelers*

  • Definitely Will Ride
  • Probably Will Ride

*People who have NOT traveled between the DFW and Houston Metro Areas in the past 12 months.

Ridership Forecasts

  • Millions of Riders

IT’S ABOUT CHOICE

TRAVELERS ARE DESPERATE FOR NEW TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

Today, more than 90% of journeys between the DFW and Houston Metro areas are made by road, where drive times can range anywhere from 3.5 to 5.5 hours, and – once congestion is factored in – may take significantly longer than anticipated. Along I-45 vehicle counts have increased at a rate of over 6% per year since 2012.

Approximately 1 million journeys are made by air each year with scheduled flight times ranging between 60 – 75 minutes. However, when all stages of the trip (check-in, bag drop, security, etc.) are accounted for, travel by air is not much faster than by road.

1%
of travelers chose to go by road since there is little or no time savings from flying.

WHICH IS WHY

1%
of travelers would consider The Texas train as a viable choice.

IT’S ABOUT TECHNOLOGY

TEXAS’ LARGE AND GROWING ECONOMY IS RAPIDLY EMBRACING NEW MOBILITY-AS-A-SERVICE TECHNOLOGIES

There’s evidence Texans and other Americans are already leaving their cars. We see this with the increase in adoption rates for “Mobility as a Service” (MaaS) technologies, including rideshare, bikeshare, e-scooters and beyond.

The Texas high-speed train will be part of this tech-enabled transportation network that puts you, the consumer, in charge of your journey, creating smart, integrated, on-demand mobility at your fingertips. MaaS offers travelers custom mobility solutions based on their travel needs, letting consumers tell providers what they want and where they want to go. It’s a shift from the traditional model of transportation entities dictating routes and schedules.

And, as ride-hailing options continue to expand, access to and from stations will become easier, even if you don’t have your own car. Texans’ use of ride-hailing services, such as Uber and Lyft, has been growing steadily. In fact, the proportion of travelers using ride-hailing to travel to and from airports in North Texas and Houston has doubled in only two years! Further, an even greater number of travelers that use ride-hailing services indicated that either they “definitely” or “probably would” travel by the high-speed train on their next journey.

IT’S ABOUT TEXAS

THE TEXAS HIGH-SPEED TRAIN WILL TRANSFORM TRAVEL FOR TEXANS

The high-speed train will provide Texans with a faster, safer, more convenient and reliable alternative to driving or flying. This research has illustrated that the high-speed train will not only save travelers time on their journeys, but Texans are already excited by the prospect of high-speed trains, and say they will make more journeys because of it. For all of these reasons, the high-speed train is set to transform travel in Texas and bring a new high-tech industry to the country and the Lone Star State.

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