After Sunday’s announcement from the state Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that ridership on Metro-North’s New Haven commuter rail line reached record highs in 2014, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said this week he was pleased with the findings.
“This is great news,” Finch said. “In our state’s largest city, we’re investing in public transit options and transit-oriented development, creating thousands of jobs and apartments within walking distance of Metro-North trains. It’s a major reason why our city is experiencing population growth for the first time in decades.”
The MTA and state DOT announced on Sunday that nearly 40 million passenger trips were taken on Metro-North’s New Haven Line in 2014, an almost 2 percent increase from the previous year. Bridgeport’s station lies roughly halfway between Stamford and New Haven-State Street, the line’s terminus.
Finch, who also serves as the co-chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Task Force, said he hoped a second train station could be built to not only spur growth in the city but also to further increase ridership and reduce carbon emissions.
“By building a second train station ”“ as well as hundreds of apartments within walking distance ”“ more Bridgeporters will be beating back climate change via public change,” Finch said. “None of this would be possible without readily available access to Metro-North.”
