Community Corner
Bus Ridership Continues Upward Climb
RTA boardings up 65 percent compared to last year
In the wake of the pandemic, more people are returning to bus travel in Riverside County.
Ridership for the past four months has seen a steady increase amid sky-high gas prices and a special promotion that allowed youth and college students to ride for free and other customers to ride for just a quarter.
While ridership numbers are still below what they were before the pandemic, the gap is closing quickly.
The most recent ridership numbers for April show Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) buses carrying 426,000 boardings, an increase of 65 percent compared to a year ago. Ridership in March was up 70 percent while February and January were both up roughly 50 percent from the previous year.
The trend is encouraging, given the fact that ridership was down as much as 70 percent during the pandemic. Nowadays, ridership is down about 40 percent from pre-pandemic levels.
The Riverside Transit Agency provides public transportation for western Riverside County, operating 33 local fixed routes, four commuter express routes and Dial-A-Ride service. RTA’s service area spans 2,500 square miles, among the largest in the nation. For bus route and schedule information contact RTA at (951) 565-5002 or go to RiversideTransit.com.
