TheRide Announces Record Ridership and Survey Results Riders Report Increased Usage in Recent Onboard Survey

The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority has announced a 5 percent increase in ridership for the 2016 - 2017 fiscal year. The increase demonstrates the continued demand for public transit services in the greater Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area.

Total ridership for the 2016 - 2017 fiscal year was 6,879,996, compared to the previous year’s ridership of 6,572,012. This encompasses riders on all services including fixed-routes, services for seniors and people with disabilities, Express Routes, and airport services. Fixed-route service had the biggest gain in ridership at 5 percent with Demand Response services for seniors and people with disabilities growing by 3 percent.

The increase is significant, since the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recently reported ridership decreases of 4.16 percent through the third quarter of 2017 for transit systems of comparable size to TheRide.

In a recent onboard survey conducted in the Fall of 2017, 45 percent of TheRide’s passengers indicated they are using services more than one year ago. Other key facts from the survey include:

• Twenty-nine percent of riders are using services after 8 p.m. more than last year.
• Thirty-one percent of riders are using services more on weekends than last year.
• Twenty-six percent of riders are new to the service.
• Forty-seven percent have been riding for one to five years.
• Twenty-seven percent have been riding for six or more years.

Riders also praised TheRide in the onboard survey by responding favorably to:

• Driver courtesy – 95 percent
• Quality of service information – 92 percent
• Cleanliness of buses – 93 percent
• Safety from bus accidents – 96 percent
• Level of personal security when using services – 95 percent
• Conditions at bus stops - 93 percent

Approximately 3,000 riders participated in the survey in early Fall 2017.

A summary of the survey findings, along with more fiscal year 2017 statistics are included in the Citizen Report, available at TheRideCitizenReport.org. 

“Public transit is very important to this community. TheRide is dedicated to meeting that need by making it as easy as possible for our riders to get where they need to go,” said Matt Carpenter, chief executive officer, TheRide. “We are thrilled to see these latest numbers which tell us the community is responding to and using our services. There is clearly a need for continued support and investment.”

Thanks to the voters in the cities of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Ypsilanti Township, TheRide implemented a number of improvements as part of the 2014 Public Transportation Improvement Millage. These improvements have allowed more access to neighborhoods and job centers while expanding service for seniors and people with disabilities. Since August 2014, TheRide has implemented more convenient and direct service throughout the greater Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area including later hours on weekdays and weekends on most routes.