TARTA ridership has not dipped, despite lower gas prices.

“We had a large increase in 2008 because of gas prices and what we have found is when gas prices came back down, a lot of riders who tried TARTA stayed with TARTA,” said General Manager James Gee. “They liked the service. They recognized that it was safe and convenient, and they were able to save a lot of money by using TARTA.”

In April 2008, the ridership total was 1.45 million, compared to 1.46 million this April.

“Since the gas prices went up, ridership has increased definitely a whole lot,” said TARTA bus driver Paul Waites. “Even though gas prices leveled down, ridership has still gone up.”

Waites said riders he has talked to were forced to ride the bus when gas prices were too high, but realized TARTA was cheap and convenient so they continued to ride.

“With the economy, it was still saving money. That’s why ridership didn’t go down as gas went down,” he said.

Waites said he believes TARTA ridership will continue to increase.

“Judging by how unstable the economy is, ridership might increase a little with layoffs and job closings,” he said. “TARTA is one of the most convenient ways to ride a bus, price-wise, if you don’t have a job and don’t have a vehicle.”

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Community, Transportation.
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