PARKERSBURG - Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority Board members met Thursday to discuss ridership, financials and the continued search for a garage or site to build on.
The sale of the current property on First Street has not be finalized, although there has been an interested buyer for several months, officials said.
According to the ridership report for the month of November, popularity of the Vienna routes has increased dramatically.
Article Photos
Photo by Mandi Cardosi
Board member Glenn Henson, left, and General Manager Tim Thomas discuss the ridership for the month of November.
The two routes to Vienna have more than 10,000 riders a month. Board member Glenn Henson mentioned the Broad Street routes as being the most popular in the past.
"Vienna routes are moving into the top," he said. "At one time the Broad Street route seemed to be the top one."
Ridership has increased 14.5 percent for November 2012 compared to November 2011.
General Manager Tim Thomas said transit authority officials are adding a new bus to accommodate the popularity of all routes and the increase in ridership.
A new bus will start in February.
Thomas said the search for property to house the maintenance garage is moving slowly.
"We got information that the Camden Avenue property may not be the site for us because of utilities," he said.
Thomas said the authority would need at least two acres of property to work with and ideally three acres. Many people have called to offer assistance in finding property, he said.
The transit authority cannot build in certain areas because of the environmental impact, Thomas said.
Twelve new buses were ordered last March; 10 of them are operational. Each new bus is handicapped accessible.
