Buses Aren’t Trains
Amtrak’s latest 3C Corridor plans run through Central Ohio from North to South. The planned line is set to begin out of Cleveland; pass through Crestline and Delaware before arriving in Columbus. Running out of Ohio’s capital, the route turns to the west toward Springfield. Passing through Dayton and Sharonville; before arriving at its southern terminus at Cincinnati Union Station. Amtrak unveiled plans for this and three other of their routes coming to Ohio. However, I already covered the new route plans, so by all means go back a few blog posts and check it out. This data, however, covers the area that is largely missed in the plans.
Specifically, three Ohio cities miss out on what could be the first wave of state passenger rail connections. Akron, Ohio’s metro population is a sizable 702,219 and the city once has a decent metro tram network, interurban connections, and multiple connections to regional rail service. Not even 80 years ago, multiple routes served by Baltimore & Ohio, Erie, and Pennsylvania Railroads ran through Akron Union Station (1946). However, by 1946 suburban line services to Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls had ceased, with Akron downtown tram services discontinued the year after. So it was that the Akron Transportation Co. switched routes to buses. In fact, Akron’s last regional passenger rail service ended service in 2005 as Amtrak’s Three Rivers exited town.
Below is the ridership dataset for Akron; who uses a bus-based metro system, METRO. Akron’s bus system is decently robust by midwest standards; covering 35 routes. Spanning Summit County services and regional bus routes to Cleveland. Akron is compared here with similarly populated Kofu in Yamanashi, Japan; who uses a train-based metro system. This includes five stations in the Kofu area. It is within those five station in which we can see the incredible efficiency of passenger rail service. Kofu almost doubles Akron’s transit ridership, while not only having a similar population, but also less population density and overall routes.
Baltimore and Ohio "Trailer Jet" Akron, OH 1966
Akron, OH // city pop. 190,469
METRO Annual Ridership (2022) ~ 3,473,534
35 Routes in Summit County and Cleveland
Daily Ridership: 14,400 (Q3 2023)
The Super Azusa Train, Kofu Station, Yamanashi, JP 2010
Kofu, Yamanashi, JP // city pop. 190,000
Chūō Main Line & Minobu Line connections
Kōfu Station ~ 15,090 daily riders (2017)
Kanente Station ~ 64 daily riders (2016)
Zenkōji Station ~ 414 daily riders (2016)
Minami-Kōfu Station ~ 540 daily riders (2016)
Kai-Sumiyoshi Station ~ 498 daily riders (2016)
Comparison *ridership averages*
Akron, Ohio / city pop. 190,469 (3,075/mi2)
Daily: 14,400 riders (2023)
Annual: 3,473534 riders (2022)
Kofu, Yamanashi, JP / city pop. 190,000 (2,300/mi2)
Daily: 16,606 riders (2017)
Annual: 6,061,190 riders (2017)
A comparison like this shows there is a greater cap for efficiency when you build your city around passenger rail. For further comparison, according to AXIOS Cleveland, “The 3C+D line, as envisioned by Amtrak, is estimated to carry 400,000-500,000 passenger annually.” Three daily round trips with a total travel time amounting to 5.5 hours would carry a projected 1,000-2,000 riders per day.
Akron’s neighbor to the south, Canton, tells a similar story. Both in history and data. The Great Depression set off a wave of tram service discontinuation beginning with the Canton suburb of Massillon in 1929. Canton downtown service ended under Canton Traction Co. in 1931. Finally, nearby Alliance made the switch to buses in 1939. Pennsylvania Railroad, and later Amtrak, ran passenger service through Canton until 1990. Today, SARTA runs a rather bloated and sprawled 32 routes in Stark County. Below I compared Canton’s bus-centric metro with Dazaifu’s rail-based in Fukuoka, Japan. Dazaifu’s two stations make up the spur route that is the Dazaifu Line. Here we see again the efficiency of using trains as a tool for transit. Furthermore, this time we see Dazaifu has three times the population density.
Penn Railroad Station, Canton, OH 1915
Canton, OH // city pop. 70,872; metro pop. 401,574
SARTA Annual Ridership (2022) ~ 1,221,400
32 Routes in Stark County
Daily Ridership: 5,800 (Q3 2023)
Dazaifu Railway Station, Fukuoka, JP
Dazaifu, Fukuoka, JP // city pop. 72,231
Dazaifu Line connections
Dazaifu Station ~ 12,091 daily riders (2016)
Nishitetsu Gojō Station ~ 6,260 daily riders (2016)
Comparison *ridership averages*
Canton, Ohio / city pop. 70,872 (2,689/mi2)
Daily: 5,800 riders (2023)
Annual: 1,221,400 riders (2022)
Dazaifu, Fukuoka, JP / city pop. 72,231 (6,300/mi2)
Daily: 18,351 riders (2016)
Annual: 6,698,115 riders (2016)
This amount of density increases the ease of passenger rail accounting for six times the ridership that Canton does. Connectivity to the region is an important aspect to consider as well. Both Akron and Canton have the historic infrastructure to easily integrate a centralized regional passenger rail. Like Akron, Canton also had a sizable metro rail system; including the Stark Electric Railway interurban line that served the region before The Great Depression.
Finally, Youngstown, Ohio hosts a metro population of 430,591 and once hosted a metro rail system no less important than the ones in Canton, Akron, or even Cleveland. The looming, uncertain time of the late 20s and early 30’s caused the closure of local lines to Niles in 1927 and Warren in 1932. Finally, in 1940 tram service is discontinued under the Youngstown Municipal Railway Co. Just like Canton and Akron; Youngstown also relies on a bus-centric metro system. Running 27 routes; the WRTA transport 1.3 million passenger annually. Unfortunately, car-oriented sprawl made room for the ceasing of the Baltimore & Ohio rail service back in 1971. For a short time between 1995 and 2005; Amtrak brought service back to Youngstown along their Three Rivers route between Chicago and New York. Since 2005, the closest passenger rail stop is 42 miles away in Alliance on Amtrak’s Capital Limited route.
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, Youngstown, OH. late 1910s
Youngstown, OH // city pop. 60,068
WRTA Annual Ridership (2022) ~ 1,318,600
27 Routes in Mahoning County
Daily Ridership: 6,200 (Q3 2023)
JR East Series E217 EMU, Zushi Station Kanagawa, JP 2018
Zushi, Kanagawa, JP // city pop. 57,060
Keikyū Zushi Line, Yokosuka Line, & Tōkaidō Line connections
Zushi-Hayama Station ~ 22,990 daily riders (2011)
Jimmuji Station ~ 6,240 daily riders (2008)
Zushi Station ~ 28,798 daily riders (2019)
Higashi-Zushi ~ 4,944 daily riders (2019)
Comparison *ridership averages*
Youngstown, Ohio // city pop. 60,068 (1,770/mi2)
Daily: 6,200 riders (2023)
Annual: 1,318,600 riders (2022)
Zushi, Kanagawa, JP // city pop. 57,060 (8,700/mi2)
Daily: 62,972 riders (2015)
Annual: 22,984,780 riders (2015)
In absolute contrast, southwest of Yokohama is Zushi in Kanazawa, Japan. A city that features only one national road, but two major passenger rail lines serving four stations. JR East’s Yokosuka Line serves Zushi and Hagashi-Zushi Stations. The Keikyū Zushi Line serves both Jimmuji and Zushi-Hayama Stations, as well. Again, with such efficient connections to the larger cities in the northeast, as well as Sagami Bay to the southwest; Zushi outperforms Youngstown in ridership 10 times over on average every single day and by 20 times annually. Showing the combined effects of efficiency by density and connectivity. Something I personally believe the state of Ohio’s geography could not only allow, but also promote.
With the implementation of Ohio’s new rail investments; Ohio passenger rail dreams must realize that the system will not be profitable if the rail transit is not accessible. If it’s easier to drive, most people will drive. However, if it’s more difficult to find accessibility within an urban environment, more people will drive. Consequently, we must build communities by building accessibility. If built correctly, passenger rail can promote accessibility with efficient commerce. However, if built without accessibility and utility in mind any transit plan can sink and bankrupt any city.
On that note, we take a look at the final overall comparisons of the six cities. A correlation can be made between ridership and density, of course. Also, it seems when given the chance the geography of your mass transit lines can pick up some of the slack where population density is not strong. As long as said line is accessible, of course.
Overall Comparisons *ridership averages*
Zushi, Kanagawa, JP / city pop. 57,060 (8,700/mi2)
Daily: 62,972 riders (2015)
Annual: 22,984,780 riders (2015)
Dazaifu, Fukuoka, JP / city pop. 72,231 (6,300/mi2)
Daily: 18,351 riders (2016)
Annual: 6,698,115 riders (2016)
Kofu, Yamanashi, JP / city pop. 190,000 (2,300/mi2)
Daily: 16,606 riders (2017)
Annual: 6,061,190 riders (2017)
Akron, Ohio / city pop. 190,469 (3,075/mi2)
Daily: 14,400 riders (2023)
Annual: 3,473534 riders (2022)
Youngstown, Ohio / city pop. 60,068 (1,770/mi2)
Daily: 6,200 riders (2023)
Annual: 1,318,600 riders (2022)
Canton, Ohio / city pop. 70,872 (2,689/mi2)
Daily: 5,800 riders (2023)
Annual: 1,221,400 riders (2022)
Sources //
https://akronrrclub.wordpress.com/tag/bo-passenger-trains/page/2/
https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/12/07/passenger-rail-trains-expansion-amtrak-ohio
https://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/3CD-Corridor-Fact-Sheet-05-17-Final.pdf
