About 63,000 people rode Regional Transit System buses Aug. 22, shattering numbers from 2011 to set a ridership record.
This week, they broke the record again.
RTS Marketing and Communications Supervisor Chip Skinner said 64,835 passengers rode the Gainesville buses on Wednesday, which surpassed last week’s record by 1,441 people.
The record-setting data will get reported to state and federal agencies that determine RTS funding.
Per capita, RTS is the No. 1 transit agency in the state.
Last year, they made more than 10 million passenger trips, Skinner said.
Skinner said Wednesdays are the heaviest ridership days because that’s the day most UF and Santa Fe classes are held.
Ruth Steiner, associate professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, said the new record is “a testament to a well-designed transit system.”
Steiner also praised the bus schedule.
She said many passengers don’t even have to plan their trips because buses come so often.
“Historically, the second Wednesday of each Fall semester is our highest ridership of any day,” Skinner said. “We really are attributing this to the down economy — more people are trying to save money by using transit.”
UF and Santa Fe College students comprise about 75 percent of the overall ridership, Skinner said, and RTS has a fleet of 105 buses and 42 weekday routes.
He said that as students learn their schedules, the crowds will even out.
People riding buses means less congestion around campus and better air quality, Steiner said.
It’s good from a green perspective,” Steiner said. “The more students we get on the buses, the nicer it is for everyone in the community.
“I can tell you there’s less traffic coming to campus now than there was 15 to 20 years ago, because more students are on the buses,” Steiner said.
Contact Julia Glum at jglum@alligator.org.
Full buses were common on campus this week. A record-breaking 64,835 passengers rode buses Wednesday.
