2007-04-23

More people traveling with UL

More people in Uppsala county traveling with UL than before After adding up the number of first quarter passengers, UL has observed that the total number of passengers is on the rise. In particular, there are many more Upptåget passengers; on weekdays, approximately 10,000 trips are made by train. For buses, the number of passengers is the same compared with the first quarter of 2006.
Sales of temporary cards have also risen sharply.

"Now, after just over six months with new Upptåget, UL confirms that the investment in significantly increased commuter transit was the exactly right decision, "said UL's CEO Klas Wahlberg.

More than 250,000 trips were taken with Upptåget during the month of March. Because more people traveling during weekdays than weekends, this means about 10,000 trips are made every weekday with Upptåget.
For the entire first quarter of 2007, the number Upptåg trips amounted to more than 700,000.

Passenger statistics for UL's regional buses indicate that the number of trips make in the first quarter is equal to the corresponding period in 2006. Overall, there has been a marked increase in travel with UL since Upptåget was extended northward of Tierp and southward of Uppsala.
One such example is service between Uppsala and Arlanda, where overall travel has increased, although travel by bus has dropped off somewhat.

"Travel by public transit to and from Arlanda is on the rise, and a total of about 20,000 more trips were made with UL transit between Uppsala and Arlanda during March of this year compared to March 2006. This means that public transit is likely taking on market share in the entire traffic picture on the route Uppsala - Arlanda," said Klas Wåhlberg.

Sales statistics for 15 - and 30-day temporary cards show that it is the longer trips that are on the rise, with about 40 percent more multi-zone cards being sold in the first quarter of this year. Single-zone cards (for travel within one municipality) increased by 28 percent.
Another type of card that is also on the rise is the 20-trip card, which showed an increase of 54 percent. These cards represent a smaller proportion than temporary cards. Sales of youth cards also continue to increase, with 50 percent more cards sold, than in the first quarter of 2006.

"The type of ticket that is increasing the least is the single tickets, with a 3.8 percent increase, which is fully in route with our strategy to reduce cash handling on board the buses," said Klas Wåhlberg.

For questions regarding this press release, please contact Sture Jonsson at 018-14 14 50 or 070-212 03 85