Last summer, Asheville started offering free bus trips in order to boost ridership on the Asheville Transit System. A city-staff report released yesterday gives a detailed assessment of how free fare fared in its goal of getting more Ashevilleans to go by bus.
Since the promotion ended, overall ATS ridership has increased by 19.4 percent over the same period last year, according to the report, and 8 percent of that can be attributed directly to the promotion. The added evening service route also played a major role in increasing ridership.
The report also outlines the major reasons passengers gave for taking the bus. Having no other means of transportation topped the list. Five percent said they wanted to avoid dealing with parking, and a meager 1 percent stated that they rode for environmental reasons.
Then there were the 7 percent who stated that they were “just riding.” This enigmatic response might be the most telling description of what it’s like to go by Asheville public transit — while the promotion and accompanying study reflect a desire and commitment on the part of the city to enhance public transit, the bus still comes just once an hour, still takes a while for any rider who has to transfer, and remains under-utilized by people who have cars (though there was a 4 percent increase in riders who have their own vehicles since the promotion, the report notes).
The city isn’t the only entity examining the performance of the bus system: Regular suggestions are also offered by this blogger, who’s obsessed with the city bus. The findings of the post-promotion report will be discussed during tonight’s City Council meeting.
— Rebecca Bowe, editorial assistant
The blogger, Brainshrub/Paul brings up the biggest obstacle to me riding the bus to work – that it works on the spoke-wheel principle. Despite the offering of free rides (and decreasing my environmental footprint) i live in West Asheville and need to go to Biltmore Village area. Both arrive and destination spots are easily within walking distance of bus stops, but i have to go to the main hub at the Asheville downtown to transfer, causing a 12-minute ride to escalate to 35 minutes or more.
Still, i’m glad that Asheville keeps trying and pushing in these directions!
the bus system in this town is, by far, the worst i have seen any where in the country. i’m sure there’s worse, but not in any of the towns and cities i’ve lived.
the spoke-wheel principle is probably the biggest problem.
the fact remains that the bus system is only going to be used by those who absolutely must, thos who have no other choice, because everyone else will probably just drive or walk or crawl and get there faster.
i know that, persoanlly, riding the bus from the bottom of montford to downtown takes longer than riding a bike, since you have to ride (the bus) down hillside and back up.
there is a reason why the bus in only full of lower-class, minority working stiffs and the like…
the city needs a few more busses, expanded hours, and, MOST IMMPORTANT, improved routes that are more practical and time-saving. not circuitist and annoying.