Halloween Free Ride Days Generate Increased Ridership

The Halloween Free Ride Days promotion, a two-day event running Oct. 30-31, helped to generate over 1,100 rides for Capital Area Transit (CAT).

“I think we can call the Halloween Free Ride Days another success,” said Transit Director Robin Werre. “Not only did we continue to serve and thank everyone who utilizes our services each day and week, we were also able to introduce our services to a wider audience, and give those individuals and groups a chance to try out public transit.”

The average ridership for the four Thursdays and Fridays leading up to the event was 880 rides.

The majority of the 12 routes traveling throughout Bismarck and Mandan showed their highest ridership days during the Free Ride Days. In particular, the A routes running in east Bismarck, and the E routes, running between Kirkwood Mall and Gateway Fashion Mall, saw the highest increases with 40-ride upticks (31 percent increase for the A routes, 17 percent increase on the E routes) from the next closest day in October.

The Free Ride Days also made for an ideal time for organizations in Bismarck and Mandan to conduct trainings for many their clients. As part of the CAT’s mobility management, staff is available to speak to groups about services provided through the fixed route system, as well as the paratransit service provided through Bis-Man Transit.

This was the seventh year the CAT has conducted the Free Ride Days for Halloween. CAT drivers helped celebrate the event by handing out candy to riders on both days. Plans are already in place for the 2015 installment of the Free Ride Days. With the upcoming Halloween landing on a Saturday, the fare-free event will likely be held on Oct. 30, and Oct. 31.