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Chair reports record transit ridership and details service expansions
Summary
At the meeting, the chair reported a record 15,190 rides in October and described service expansions — school transport, a YMCA partnership, a New Freedom volunteer program (about 1,200 rides), an app with 4,500 installs, and a low no-show rate — as evidence of growing demand.
The meeting chair detailed recent growth in the local transit system, saying the system recorded a single-month high of 15,190 rides in October and has been ‘‘really strong’’ in other months such as April (14,258) and June (12,744).
Why it matters: Officials said the service expansion supports daily travel to work, school and medical appointments, and that investments in technology and partnerships are helping meet demand without sharply increasing fares.
The chair said school transport remains a major portion of trips, noting the system carries roughly 300 students per school day when classes are in session. He described a partnership with the YMCA that allows about 70 middle-school students per day to use YMCA facilities at no charge and receive transit to and from those programs.
New programs and technology: The chair reported an office funded under a New Freedom grant that provides transportation for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities — the program now records about 1,200 rides — and a volunteer driver program with roughly 15 volunteers. The transit app has been downloaded about 4,500 times in the past two years and the web-booking option and integrated voice response system handled nearly 12,000 calls over the last year, the chair said.
On operations, the chair contrasted the system’s no-show rate with national figures, noting the worst local month at 2.48 percent compared with a national average above 6 percent.
The chair characterized the pattern as strong ridership growth and said that, despite filling buses when they are run, the system still does not fully meet community demand.
