Intercity Transit ridership plunges during pandemic, down nearly 70 percent in July
Intercity Transit ridership on its fixed-route buses was nearly 70 percent lower in July than in July 2019, the IT Authority learned Wednesday.
Fixed-route boardings in July fell to 99,725 from 319,418 in July 2019.
General manager Ann Freeman-Manzanares shared those numbers with the Authority, but said they “weren’t surprising to anyone” because of the COVID-19 pandemic and how many people are now working from home.
Dial-a-lift ridership was off 55 percent over the same period, down to 5,616 boardings in July from more than 12,000 a year ago, she said.
Meanwhile, IT’s advanced reservation trip service in July booked more than 2,400 trips, although there was nothing to compare it to because that service was created in response to the pandemic, Freeman-Manzanares said.
Other bus news
Intercity Transit is also rolling out a new marketing campaign it calls “respect the ride,” which will remind riders via signs and recorded messages about appropriate behaviors when riding the bus.
Operations director Emily Bergkamp said a marketing team member sought input from a bus operator committee about issues they repeatedly encounter.
The signs and messages will remind riders to use family-friendly language, keep music, voice and phone conversations low, save seats in front for those who need them, and to not fill seats with personal items.
There also are two more: to “have a destination” and no sleeping. Bergkamp said, “We have a lot of continuous riding that’s taking seats away from others.”
She said they don’t want passengers to fall asleep because they can get hurt if the bus makes a sudden movement. It has happened before, she said. One time a passenger fell from their seat and broke some ribs when the bus moved.
“It’s 100 percent about safety,” Bergkamp said.
But there also was “excellent news” shared at Wednesday’s meeting: Freeman-Manzanares said IT has received an $11.3 million Federal Transit Administration grant to renovate and modernize its bus maintenance facility.
She said IT was the highest awardee in the state and one of the highest in the country.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
