A MISERABLE football season for Rangers has contributed to a big fall in passengers using the Subway.
Transport bosses said a drop in the number of people heading to football games at Ibrox was a major factor in the network losing 120,000 passenger trips last year.
Fewer midweek matches were played and the club had at least one free Saturday after they were knocked out of European competition and the two domestic cups early in the season.
This week the Evening Times revealed that Subway operator Strathclyde Partnership for Transport plans to increase fares by up to 17% and blamed a drop in usage.
The most recent report on the performance and patronage for the Subway shows the two biggest monthly falls were in February and March.
The biggest loss was recorded in March when 220,000 fewer journeys were made compared to the previous year.
November and December 2011 saw numbers dip 50,000 and 130,000 respectively.
The report, by Eric Stewart sssistant chief executive of SPT, stated: "A decrease in football traffic to and from Ibrox may have played a factor in the drop in Subway patronage levels during the periods ending March 3 and March 23."
November and December would, in most seasons have seen either Champions League or Europa Cup matches at the stadium, bringing tens of thousands through Ibrox station for each match.
Early exits from both the Scottish and League cups also meant the chance of further Saturday games in February and March was lost.
Rangers played their final European match of the season last August when they lost on aggregate to Slovenian side, Maribor.
They were knocked out of the League Cup in September by Falkirk and the Scottish Cup in early February, by Dundee United.
With the newco Rangers now in the Irn-Bru Third Division and out of European football for at least three years, there seems little possibility of recouping the lost journeys.
SPT said the big winter losses outweighed considerable gains made in August and September, leaving a shortfall of 120,000 journeys over the year.
stewart.paterson@ eveningtimes.co.uk