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STA sees bus ridership jump

Mike Prager
Staff writer
September 19, 2008

STA riders wait for their bus at the corner of Riverside and Post during the evening commute Tuesday. (DAN PELLE The Spokesman) Audio: CEO of STA talks about changes in ridership Get the Flash Player to see this audio player. What one bus rider has noticed about ridership Get the Flash Player to see this audio player. Documents: 2008 Operating budget | 2009 Preliminary budget | Ridership, 2004-2008 | Sales tax revenue | System map

Bus ridership in Spokane is taking off.

Riders are reporting full buses, some with standing room only on many of the busiest routes, including the increasingly popular expresses serving the North Side and Spokane Valley.

“Leaving downtown to Hillyard, it’s packed,” said Justine Fry, a high school student commuter.

The numbers back it up.

Boardings this year are up 18 percent through July.

The jump comes after ridership growth in 2006 and 2007. By year’s end, the overall increase since 2005 is likely to reach 40 percent.

Fuel costs are a big reason more people are riding.

“There are a lot of people that are talking about and taking the bus because gas is too high,” said Vickie Russell, a rider who lives on the North Side.

Spokane Transit Authority officials point out that the average increase nationally in transit ridership is about 5 percent, so it’s apparent other reasons are playing into commuters’ decisions to go by bus.

A reorganization dating back nearly six years that involved a lot of public input formed the basis for STA’s new popularity, resulting in greater rider convenience and customer service, STA officials said.

The reorganization also boosted public confidence, they said, leading voters to approve a temporary sales tax increase in 2004 and renewed that 0.3-cent increase as a permanent tax in May. Those outreach efforts have gained momentum in recent years, said Susan Meyer, chief executive officer for Spokane Transit Authority.

“We have worked really hard over the last couple of years to make the system desirable to folks who have never used it before, primarily commuters,” she said.

New express routes, wireless Web connections, an online trip planner, improved public relations, “smart card” debit cards and new pass programs are persuading more people to jump on the buses for the first time, she said.

One of those people is Darrell Reeves, the chief financial officer at Greater Spokane Inc., who started commuting by express bus from Liberty Lake’s park-and-ride lot to the downtown Plaza in late June. His employer pays for his $33 monthly pass while he saves between $300 and $400 a month on gas and parking, not counting wear and tear on his pickup, which gets 19 miles per gallon.

“When I get on the bus in the morning, it’s like a big party,” Reeves said about the friendliness of his fellow riders.

Co-worker Nancy Vanni, whose neighbor originally introduced her to the convenience of STA when she moved to Spokane two years ago, commutes on the North Monroe route. “I love it,” she said.

Spokane City Councilman Al French, an STA board member, said he likes the way bus drivers are helping people find their way around the system. “The bus drivers are friendly, courteous,” he said.

The changes at STA have their roots in a financial crisis brought on when state voters in 1999 slashed the motor vehicle excise tax, which removed one of the agency’s major funding sources at the time. Faced with potential cuts, STA asked voters to increase the local sales tax for transit in 2002 but lost at the polls.

That’s when French, who served as board chairman in 2003, and others went to work redesigning the system with public input.

For his efforts, French was named board member of the year recently by the American Public Transportation Association. STA also has won a “success in ridership” award from the Federal Transit Administration.

But success can also have its challenges. STA supervisors are juggling buses to make sure that busy routes don’t get too crowded. They frequently dispatch extra buses when passenger loads reach capacity. They don’t want many riders standing for long periods, or they might stop riding. So far, STA hasn’t had to increase route frequency.

High fuel costs along with an economic slowdown are having an effect on the STA budget. Expenses are up, while revenue – most of which is derived from sales taxes – is down. A citizen advisory committee is considering the possibility of fare increases in coming months.

But the old image of STA operating with nearly empty buses has virtually disappeared, French said.

Riders like Russell and Fry said some routes are full almost all the time.

“The Division bus is always busy. It’s always got a lot of people on it,” Russell said.

Fry said the Division route is packed weekends, probably because it serves major shopping destinations.

Mike Prager can be reached at (509) 459-5454 or mikep@spokesman.com.

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