TAMPA — After record-high gas prices last year caused a surge, bus ridership has dropped as a result of higher unemployment and lower fuel costs.
Last year, buses operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority carried more than 12 million passengers — an all-time high — but that number fell to 11.6 million this year, a 3.4 percent decrease, spokeswoman Kathy Karalekas said.
It is the first time since 2002 that ridership has decreased, according to an agency ridership report.
The report cites high unemployment as the main reason for lost ridership. A survey of passengers showed that almost half of HART's patrons take the bus to get to work.
Fuel costs also have had an impact.
Last year's spike in ridership came as gas prices reached $4 a gallon. "We had people hanging out the windows," Karalekas said, calling that year "a bit of an anomaly."
Karalekas said HART isn't worried by the decline.
Compared to 2007 numbers, she said ridership is up about 4.4 percent.
The report concludes that HART has reason to be "cautiously optimistic" about demand for bus service in the coming year. The decline appears to have bottomed out, and there are new service improvements on some lines that should provide growth, the report notes.
And "fuel prices are once more on the rise," Karalekas said.
News
