More people are using Valley Metro’s light rail system to get to work, classes and leisure activities in 2010 than they did last year, even with budget cutbacks that caused service reductions in late July.

The Phoenix area is facing the biggest drop in bus ridership in a decade due to service cutbacks, increased ridership on alternatives such as light rail and a lack of money for marketing services to attract new customers, according to public transportation officials across the Valley.

Decades ago, the passenger train making its way through Phoenix to destinations across the state was a part of the landscape, hearkening to the days when trains carved the growth of towns and cities throughout the Southwest.