By Cathy Spaulding
With a ridership increase of more than 20 percent for the past two months, Muskogee Transit officials plan to get larger buses.
“Some of our routes are big enough for larger buses,” said Muskogee Transit Director Faith Evans. “They’re not going to be as big as DART (in Dallas) or Tulsa Transit buses. But, we need larger buses, especially our northwest and southwest routes. We had to adjust our routes, switch the trolley to the northwest route to handle more people.”
Evans said she anticipates replacing some of the agency’s 14-passenger buses with 24-passenger buses with stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
“We have ordered them, and we’re praying to get them by December,” she said. “We’ve been promised to get some by next July.”
Evans said stimulus money allows Muskogee Transit to replace vehicles that are older than five years or have high mileage on the odometer. However, she said, bus companies “have a lot of orders because of the stimulus.”
“We may get one bus by December or two or three by July 2010,” she said.
Riders who took the northwest route from Arrowhead Mall late Friday morning seemed to appreciate the ride.
“This is my primary mode of transportation. This is a great deal, I ride it every day,” said James Alberty, who had a couple of shopping bags on the seat beside him.
“It’s just a lot simpler, cheaper and easier way to get around town,” Muskogee resident Cliff Trussell said.
He said he gets on the bus at her girlfriend’s house on Broadway and rides to the mall or to Wal-Mart.
“It’s a lot simpler on people who are on fixed income,” he said.
Evans, who became director last April, said that, over the past three months, the system has averaged a 20 percent increase over the past year.
“In April, it was 26 percent,” she said.
She attributed much of the increase to the agency’s efforts to promote the services, including two free-transit days in May and one earlier this month. She said daily ridership went up even without those days.
Economic conditions also could be a factor in increased ridership, she said, praising her staff and drivers, as well.
“This ridership increase is a tribute to the staff and drivers who have continued to serve Muskogee County citizens through our transition,” she said.
The system has three trolleys and 29 other buses.
Reach Cathy Spaulding at 684-2928 or cspaulding@muskogeephoenix.com.
