University shuttle ridership is up by almost a third this year, according to DOTS records.
From the beginning of this fiscal year, which began in July, to Sept. 9, the Department of Transportation Services counted more than quarter million rides, compared to roughly 196,000 for the same period in 2006.
Transportation Services Director David Allen said much of the increased ridership can be attributed to a “two-pronged” attack his department launched this year to more closely tailor bus routes to students’ needs.
The first goal was to help students get from surrounding areas to the campus during weekdays, a task made more urgent by the housing shortage, which has forced more students to live off the campus. Toward that end DOTS added the Bowie Park and Ride, which serves students living in the eastern parts of Prince George’s County, about 14 miles from the campus.
The second goal was to help on-campus students easily travel to local shopping areas on evenings and weekends. To do that, DOTS established the Route One Corridor route, which takes students as far north as the Ikea shopping center and as far south as Franklin’s, a bar and restaurant in Hyattsville.
However, a look at the data show the new routes DOTS added this year were not the biggest contributors to the boost in ridership.
Some of the bus routes that experienced the greatest increase from last year were the Seven Springs Apartment route, whichsaw ridership jump about 75 percent, and the Burtonsville Park and Ride, which more than doubled ridership. Seeming to notice the dramatic increases for the first time in an interview in his office, Allen called the numbers “ridiculous.”
It is also difficult to attribute the dramatic increase in September to the new routes given statistics from 2005. Records indicate that ridership around this date in September 2006 was significantly lower than ridership around the same time in September 2005, which might make this year’s statistics seem artificially inflated in comparison.
DOTS made some changes to existing routes during the past year, as well. The Greenbelt route was divided into Greenbelt North and Greenbelt South, and the Beltway Plaza route went from weekday service to Sunday-only. During a recent week, the two new Greenbelt routes combined for more ridership than the single route had during the same week last year.
The Powder Mill Village and University Town Center routes, both of which provide shopping opportunities for students, increased almost 40 percent each.
The Laurel Park and Ride, however, dropped in ridership by about 14 percent, which Allen said he could not explain. The daytime route to the University View also lost riders compared to last year, but only by about 3 percent; Allen said he was more confused by this drop because the line has always been popular among the 1,000-plus students who live there.
The College Park Metro line, which is by far the most popular route, remained steady in ridership, exhibiting a 4 percent increase in total ridership this fiscal year over the year to date in 2006. The line carried 12,177 passengers during the week after Labor Day this year.
Shuttle-UM ridership was significantly higher at the end of the spring semester than it had been the previous spring, but in the beginning of July this year’s numbers plunged below 2006’s.
ecksteindbk@gmail.com
