APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – People in the Fox Valley are taking the bus more than last year, according to recent ridership data. But the numbers still have not returned to their pre-pandemic levels.
While Valley Transit continues to navigate public transportation during the pandemic, ridership numbers for August offered some good news.
August 2020 ridership numbers were nearly half of what they were in 2019. But August 2021 showed over 5,000 more rides given than August 2020.
Ron McDonald, general manager for Valley Transit, tells FOX 11 numbers started trending up again six months ago.
“People were starting to get out and moving and things, and, you know, schools are back in session, and people are moving about a little bit.”
While September’s ridership numbers have not been released yet, McDonald says the cancellation of things like Octoberfest, does have an impact on its numbers.
“That’s quite frankly our biggest ridership of the year is Octoberfest, we provide park and ride services and such because there’s so many people coming to downtown.”
As for the future of maintaining ridership on Valley Transit, McDonald says thinking about how many people will be returning to office will have to be considered. McDonald says before COVID-19, over half of passengers were taking the bus to get to work.
“The employment one is the one we’re trying to figure out exactly what does that mean beyond COVID. How many jobs are going to be working from home from now on instead of returning to the brick and mortar business?”
Valley Transit says it has hired a consultant to help study the changes the pandemic has caused, such as demographics of riders, and how to better utilize their resources.
In late August, Valley Transit did reduce the number of buses running from two to one, during busier departure times. However, McDonald says that likely has not impacted the number of riders, rather just what time people are riding the bus.
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