Transit Ridership Increases in Anchorage After Decade of Decline

Anchorage Public Transportation officials recently released a "2019 System Report Card" that noted ridership increases every month in 2019 over 2018, with ridership growing 5.7%. It's the biggest increase for People Mover ridership in a decade. KTUU Channel 2 reporter Kristen Durand reports:

Planning Manager Bart Rudolph says one of the focal changes that impacted ridership was a shift from covering a larger span of the city, to focusing on serving areas where ridership is more concentrated-- with more frequent bus service. "So we put a lot of service where the most people are living and working in the most dense parts of town where buses are coming every 15 minutes," said Rudolph. "You don't need a schedule to catch a bus that comes every 15 minutes, and it really opens up your opportunities on where you can go, what jobs you can access, when you have that flexibility.  

According to Rudolph, 2019 saw about 200,000 more rides than 2018. He says weekend ridership particularly saw a steep increase."