More residents using bus service

By ROGER ADKINS, radkins@newsandsentinel.com
PARKERSBURG — The price of gasoline seems to be prompting more area residents to use the bus service, according to the Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority.

The Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority operates the Easy Rider bus service in Parkersburg and Vienna. Joe Lockhart, transit manager, said ridership is up by a significant number of passengers.

“With the price of gasoline at nearly $4 a gallon, people in Parkersburg and Vienna are looking for less expensive transportation, as indicated by the rising number of passengers on Easy Rider buses,” Lockhart said.

The average ridership count is up by 43 passengers a day for the month of April, he said. In March, Easy Rider provided 905 rides a day. In April, the average was up to 948 a day, he said.

“Drivers reported having new passengers they have not seen before. The largest classification of riders is people going to work, particularly in service jobs such as restaurants and stores,” he said.

Lockhart said people often ask him if the price of gasoline has affected ridership.

“I’ve been asked over the last couple of months if gas prices have affected ridership, and because ridership goes up and down, I’ve been reluctant to say it has. But we’ve now had a steady increase for over three months. Just from March to April, there was an increase of nearly 5 percent,” he said.

Lockhart said he doesn’t know what else might be causing this jump in ridership.

“It has to be related to what’s happening with gasoline prices. I just thought it was interesting,” he said.

Although the MOVTA is enjoying the boost in ridership, it is unfortunate that gasoline costs have driven people to take major steps toward alternative transportation.

“Not that we wish that burden on the public, but we’re glad that public transit is the alternative they seem to be trying. It will expose mass transit to people who haven’t used it before. We would hope they choose to stay with us,” Lockhart said.

The cost of fuel has a definite effect on the cost of operating the bus service, Lockhart said. The MOVTA has taken steps to lower costs, including the use of biodiesel, but it is still costly to provide service, he said.

“It definitely affects us on a cost basis. We pay the increase in fuel, except we are tax-exempt since we are a government-funded agency,” he said.