The mystery is gone: People are, in fact, riding the slow First Hill Streetcar.

From the Seattle Transit Blog:

The past 30 days have seen roughly 75,000 boardings, or 50% higher than the March ORCA-based count. The large difference is likely best explained by a combination of genuine growth, U-Link induced transfers, and a seemingly high rate of non-ORCA use (both via fare evasion and paper ticket purchasing).

As Heidi noted, Seattle Department of Transportation officials said that there were 50,159 ORCA card taps in March, or about 1,600 taps a day. However, the streetcar still falls far behind its much cooler cousin, the light rail, when it comes to ridership. "[STB writer Zach] Shaner points out that while the light rail and the streetcar lines are not really comparable in scale or efficiency, those ORCA numbers mean 'Link carries in a day what the First Hill Streetcar carries in a month,'" Heidi wrote.

That may sound disheartening, but what is exciting is that people are taking advantage of public transportation instead of only clogging up our streets with cars.

And, important to note: You can ride the First Hill Streetcar for free on Thursdays this month. More details here.