By Howard Greninger
TERRE HAUTE — For the first time in five years, ridership did not grow on the Terre Haute Transit Utility, a decrease officials say is a direct result of a down economy and necessary changes in bus routes.
Yet, despite a dip in ridership, overall revenues are up, largely due to an increase in block ticket sales and higher fees for an Americans With Disabilities Act on-demand service.
Ridership has risen each of the past five years, peaking in 2008 at 338,360 trips, according to survey findings by West Central Indiana Economic Development District (WCIEDD). Ridership dipped to 299,949 trips in 2009.
“The decrease in ridership was in part due to the economy, and we had to adjust two routes and close one due to budget constraints,” said Brad Miller, transportation director for the city of Terre Haute.
Revenue for the bus system has increased annually for the past six years. Revenue was $102,664 in 2004. In 2009, it rose to $188,597.
“We had a banner year in 2009 in terms of selling blocks of tickets to organizations like Head Start,” Miller said. “Instead of buying 14 tickets good for 14 rides, they bought 25 tickets for the same number of rides, which helped increase revenue.”
One other factor, said Pat Macke, transportation planner for transit for WCIEDD, was an increase in the ticket price in 2009 for Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) on-demand service. That cost is $1.75 per one-way ride, up from $1.50 a ride. The transit system had 16,100 ADA rides in 2009.
The bus system in November 2008 raised its one-way ticket price to $1.25 from $1, and a 14-ride ticket to $15 from $12. A monthly ticket also was increased to $35 from $30.
The bus system has another “first” with the purchase of seven new buses, to be in operation this year, Miller said. The buses were bought with federal stimulus money.
The city now has two new hybrid buses that operate on both electricity and gasoline. The hybrids are being outfitted with city bus decals. In addition, the city will have three new diesel-powered and two gasoline-powered buses.
“We’ve never had gasoline-powered buses before,” Miller said, adding that the bus system will compare lower gasoline prices with lower long-term maintenance costs on diesel engines. “We want to see if there really is any savings” to be gained by either type of bus, Miller said.
Also new for 2010 are hours of operation.
Macke said the bus system this year adopted new hours, operating from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, instead of until 2 a.m. on at least three days. Miller said buses “were running nearly empty from midnight to 2 a.m., so we are now stopping at 11 p.m. to reduce wear and tear on the buses.”
About 8 percent of riders use the night routes, Macke said, but this year WCIEDD plans to aggressively market those routes to gain more riders. Routes that go to Honey Creek Mall, and a South Seventh Street route that goes to Walmart South’s supercenter, are the system’s most popular, accounting for 19 and 20 percent, respectively, in ridership.
People age 26 to 59 account for the largest age segment of riders on the system, while riders age 19 to 25 account for the next-largest.
“It used to be that a larger portion of riders were senior citizens, but now a larger portion are people under 60,” said Pat Macke, transportation planner for transit for WCIEDD.
Seniors age 60 and older account for the third-largest ridership, while the 14 to 18 age group comprises the smallest segment.
An increase in the number of riders under 26, Macke said, is a result of a contract with Indiana State University. The university in the fall of 2007 implemented a $15 per semester fee for students, allowing students, faculty and staff to ride the bus for unlimited trips. The fee was implemented after a campus-wide vote by students. The university pays the transit utility $110,000, which is matched with federal transit funds.
Those funds allowed the Terre Haute system to expand to Saturday bus service and evening service.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com
