The number of people taking advantage of the free bus services offered by the Marion City Transportation Department is increasing.
Marion Transit Manager John Lawson said 26,250 rode the city bus in March, which is an increase from the 24,578 people who rode it in March 2010. The numbers in January and February also were up compared to 2010.
“The rising cost of gas, insurance and everything else is the reason our ridership has increased so much,” he said.
On average, 1,100 people ride the bus each day.
Because of the increase in ridership, city officials are discussing expanding the hours. Currently, the bus runs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Lawson said officials are talking about expanding the hours to 7 p.m. and possibly implementing a Saturday morning route.
The only difficulty in running a larger route is making sure the route runs on time, Lawson said.
“It’s much more difficult to run a route on time now,” he said.
Bus drivers know people depend on the bus a great deal, so they know it’s critical to be on time. But with the increase in ridership, the buses have been running a little behind schedule.
Lawson said an increase in ridership is good for the city, though. The department receives 70 percent of its funding from the federal government and 10 percent from the state. The city pays for the rest. State and federal funding is based on the how many miles the buses travel, the cost to maintain a bus and how many people ride the bus, he said. Therefore, the more people who ride the bus, the more money the state and federal government provide.
The ridership doubled in August 2008 when the transportation became free, and Lawson said the federal government gave the city an additional $80,000.
There aren’t any plans to charge a fee for the bus service.
“The mayor is committed, knowing where gas prices are, to keep it as a free ride as long as he can to help with the crunch,” Lawson said.
While some people might not be riding the bus to and from their destinations, several say the rising price of gas has affected them.
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