The ridership numbers are in for May and Ozark Regional Transit (ORT) continues to be the growing choice of commuters in NW Arkansas.
Ridership for the month of May 2014, with 21 days of service, was 21,166 or an average of 1,008 passengers per day. The number of passengers, choosing ORT in May of 2013 were 18,577, over a 22 day month or an average per day count of 844.
Two additional routes, multiple new serviced areas and ORT’s free fare week for the end of the school year, are a few contributing factors that should be considered for these numbers when comparing to 2013.
A third new route was implemented on June 2nd and brings five additional communities into the fold of the ORT bus network. In addition, ORT will take part in the national campaign, “Dump the Pump” day and will offer free fares the week of June 16 – 20.
In its most recent free fare week, ORT carried 4,605 passengers in 4 days, or 1,151 passengers per day. We expect even larger numbers for the June free-fare-week, and going forward, system-wide, as passengers continue to find the bus as their best option for their travel destinations.
