Lately, though, ridership totals have not kept pace with PennDOT s expectations. In January, the state Department of Transportation was close to terminating funding for the bus because the number of riders per hour was less than the goal of 12. Coy intervened and convinced PennDOT to extend funding for at least another year, while the community and Capital Area Transit look for ways to boost ridership. CAT, the university and chamber of commerce have come up with some ideas. Schedules have been redesigned for easier reading.
Incentive programs reward riders for the number times they take the bus.
Anyone who rides 10 times a month receives a chamber gift certificate or a discount at the University Store. Bookmarks with information about Raider Regional Transit are available at local libraries. Informational posters, a weekly drawing, newspaper advertisements and a link from the university s web page also have been developed to promote the bus service. The university and the chamber have worked hard to come up with some creative ideas for increasing ridership. But, there are good ideas out there that we haven t thought of yet.