High gas prices help fill the buses

While it's hardly standing room only, ridership figures are on the rise.

By DAVID DeCAMP, Times Staff Writer
Published November 26, 2007

As fuel prices sail well over $3 a gallon, more people are finding the bus system a convenient and frugal alternative.
	[Stephen J. Coddington | Times]

NEW PORT RICHEY - As gasoline prices have gone up, so has Pasco County bus ridership.

Daily ridership on buses during the first full week of November was up 17 percent over the comparable stretch of 2006, according to Pasco County Public Transportation.

Ridership also has increased steadily during this year. The daily ridership reached an average of 3,976 in November.

Each day, that's about 600 more riders than November 2006, and 300 more than July. And almost 400 more than March.

VictorianSt. John, 39, said she took the bus Wednesday to cut down on fuel bills - fillups for her van cost $56 these days. St. John, a Hudson resident, said the $1.50 fare for an all-day pass worked well for her shopping trip.

"It saves me money," St. John said as she waited for a bus at Gulf View Square.

In Florida, a gallon of gas cost an average of $3.15 last week, compared to $2.25 a year ago, according to the AAA Auto Club South.

Mike Carroll, Pasco's transportation chief, said rising gas prices probably have helped increase ridership. His counterparts in Pinellas County recently attributed increased ridership to higher fuel prices, too.

However, Carroll said it normally takes three to four weeks of high prices before fuel spikes translate into a lot more riders. AAA said gas prices have moderated, so it might be several weeks in December before price trends are clear.

Factors beyond gas prices affect bus riding.

The holidays spark more interest in riding. Pasco also has tried to drive up ridership on its mass transit buses, expecting to pass 1-million riders for the first time by 2008.

Most of the riders are in west Pasco, home to six of the nine bus routes. The other three are in east Pasco.

The housing growth in central Pasco, and construction of several malls, have planners considering where to add new routes there. Connectors are in the works between the west and east sides of the county.

But gas prices are not causing the streets to be deserted. Despite the fuel price spike, more Floridians were expected to travel by car for the Thanksgiving holiday than last year, according to AAA. And traffic continues to grow on county roads.

Pasco bus driver Scott Hilty, 60, said ridership on his route along U.S. 19 to the Gulf View mall has only increased a little - no one's crowding the seats, for sure. On average, 12 to 15 people are aboard, said Hilty, a driver for four years, while he was stopped for a pickup.

Asked if he's feeling a surge, he stared at stream of highway traffic in the distance.

"Just look at the roads," Hilty said.

David DeCamp can be reached at ddecamp@sptimes.com or 800 333-7505, ext. 6232.

[Last modified November 25, 2007, 21:13:48]