A fare hike instituted this week for the Wood River Valley's commuter bus service might not lower the number of riders. In fact, the numbers are expected to increase.
Jason Miller, executive director of the Mountain Rides transportation authority, said the number of people using the bus will likely continue to increase, citing the rise in gas prices as well as traffic congestion as contributing factors.
Since KART and Wood River Rideshare merged to become Mountain Rides, the organization has used computers installed on the buses to track the number of riders.
In May 2008, the Down Valley Commuter Bus reported carrying 9,628 passengers. In May 2007, the buses reported carrying only 4,622. The numbers mark a 106 percent increase.
"We have seen a tremendous growth in ridership," Miller said. "We really need more service than we currently have out there. With the summer and kids using the services, as well as gas prices rising, more commuters are using the buses."
To accommodate the growing numbers, Miller hopes that Mountain Rides can find the money to expand the service.
The increase in ticket prices was merely to cover the cost of gasoline, however, and it is not enough to increase the number of buses or the number of stops the Down Valley Commuter Bus makes.
In fact, the ticket fare covers only 20 to 25 percent of the cost of running Mountain Rides, while the other 75 percent comes from federal and local government funding.
At the moment, Mountain Rides has received as much money as it can from the federal government.
"There are not a lot of new federal funds," Miller said. "And the money coming from the Federal Transit Administration is pretty fixed. We are really getting as much as we can at this point."
A lack of more federal funding means that Mountain Rides will have to turn to the county and its municipalities for financial help. Miller and his board members are currently in the process of determining how best to approach each city for funding.
Since every one of the municipalities is a partner of Mountain Rides, except for Carey, Miller expects to make some headway.
"Each municipality has to figure out how it is going to budget for Mountain Rides and where that money will go," Miller said.
To facilitate this, Miller hopes employers, bus riders and potential bus riders will talk with their local officials to tell them what they need and what they want.
"It's one thing for me to tell the city officials," Miller said. "It's another for the commuters and employers to talk, to say that gas is hurting us and we need an affordable way for employees to get to and from work."
