NY: UCAT ridership surged past 500,000 in 2024

Ridership on Ulster County Area Transit buses in 2024 ballooned past 500,000 well above the number of rides given a year earlier, according to statistics with the bus service, commonly known as UCAT.

Since free rides began in October 2022, UCAT ridership has soared each year by the thousands.

In 2024, UCAT statistics show that 540,974 rides were given, or 104,948 more than in 2023, for a 24.1% increase. In 1923, the number of rides given was 436,026.

The two years were the first full ones since the no-fare rides were put in place.

In all of 2022, the ridership number was 296,257. The 2024 number is 244,717, or 82.6%, higher than the 2022 figure.

For 2024, the highest monthly ridership number — 53,914 — was reported in October. The lowest was in January, with 35,797.

“We continue to see more and more of our residents utilizing our free public transit service, which is great to see,” Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said in an email. “Not many rural counties have a public bus system like we do, and our residents are fortunate to have a way to get around at no cost, especially in this time when the costs of housing and other necessities are so high.”

Metzger added that UCAT is beneficial to senior citizens.

“It’s a great service to our residents, including for seniors who no longer drive, and it’s great for the environment, reducing harmful emissions and easing road congestion,” Metzger said. “I look forward to continuing our work to enhance UCAT bus service and grow ridership.”

U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, D- Gardiner, who represents the 18th Congressional District, was county executive at the time the free rides were implemented. The free rides began Oct. 1, 2022.

“As County Executive, I was proud to introduce fare-free rides to UCAT, and it’s incredible to see how ridership has skyrocketed since the change,” Ryan said in an email Friday. “It’s a win for our wallets, it’s a win for accessible transportation, and it’s a win for Ulster County. I’ll continue working with anyone and everyone to lower costs for Hudson Valley families.”

The loss in bus fare revenue is being made up through the county’s surplus fund balance funded by taxpayers, which makes the effort a county-subsidized one.

According to the bus fare elimination resolution, the state and federal governments fund 75% of UCAT’s operation.

In the past, Metzger has said that the surge in ridership is good business for UCAT.

“Increasing ridership is great for UCAT’s bottom line, since state funding for public transportation is tied to the number of passengers, but more importantly, it is great for our people and for our economy,” Metzger has said. “Providing affordable access to bus service expands education and employment opportunities for those without personal transportation, fosters independence for seniors who no longer drive, and contributes to our ongoing efforts to reduce harmful emissions and alleviate road congestion.”

Meanwhile, the New York state Power Authority announced Friday, Jan. 24, that work on a rooftop solar array had begun at the UCAT facility.

“The New York Power Authority is installing the array and will soon be building fast chargers on the ground for the county’s electric buses,” the authority said in a statement.

In September 2020, Ryan announced that a $100,000 grant secured by Metzger when she was a state senator would be used to build the solar array in an effort to power up electric buses.

“A 480-panel rooftop solar system that can provide a peak production of 204KW-DC, 180KW-AC is being constructed atop the Kingston depot so that the facility can produce part of the energy needed to recharge the electric buses (on-site),” the power authority said.

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