The year’s only 18 days old, but Virginia Railway Express (VRE) already has set four single-day ridership records in 2010. The high-water marks include 18,915 riders on Jan. 12, 18,155 riders on Jan. 11, 18,629 riders on Jan. 6 and 18,315 riders on Jan. 5.

VRE attributes the records to improved on-time performance (which reached 90 percent in 2009), the addition of 61 new rail cars and two parking decks, and renewed locomotive maintenance efforts.

In 2009, VRE posted 3.9 million passenger trips, up slightly (82,601 trips) compared with 2008’s total.

Meanwhile, the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) closed out 2009 with less-than-stellar ridership figures. In December, the agency registered 7.6 million rail and bus trips, down 6.5 percent compared with December 2008 figures. Weekly trips decreased 6.5 percent to 1.7 million, weekday trips fell 6.9 percent to 284,900, weekend trips slipped 4.6 percent to 302,400 and rush-hour trips tumbled 12.5 percent to 89,200.

The weak economy and double-digit unemployment levels continued to impact travel, TriMet officials said in a prepared statement.

However, MAX light-rail ridership rose in all four categories as the recent Green Line expansion continued to pay dividends, TriMet said. Weekly trips increased 1.4 percent to 670,600, weekday trips went up 1.3 percent to 107,800, weekend trips rose 1.7 percent to 131,700 and rush-hour trips inched up 0.9 percent to 32,600.

California’s Capitol Corridor had a rough December, too. The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority reported 122,649 riders, down 5.8 percent compared with December 2008’s total. Pacific Surfliners ridership fell 3.6 percent to 188,831 and San Joaquins ridership slipped 2.5 percent to 82,934.