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Days Of PCPT Buses With No Riders A Memory

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: June 7, 2008

PORT RICHEY -- They used to have a joke at the Pasco County Public Transportation offices.

"Maybe we should paint faces on the windows so people will think the buses are full," Adelaida "Adie" Reyes, the county's community services director, said, referring to PCPT's fixed-route bus system.

The Pasco transportation manager, Mike Carroll, smiled at the recollection. He and Reyes can now look back at that former piece of in-house gallows humor and smile. These days, PCPT buses now logs more than 1 million riders a year.

That's quite a milestone for a transit service that introduced its first fixed route service in 1996 and only went to five-day-a-week service in 2000. Certainly, increased service has led to increased riders.

As Pasco County has grown in recent years, so has its bus service – more buses on more routes running more often in both the west and east side of the county. Adding Saturday service in March 2007 helped get ridership over the million mark over the ensuing year, to be sure.

Figures don't lie, but they require interpretation, Carroll said. And there are reasons beyond a steady year-to-year increase in total riders that suggests PCPT bus service is on a roll that will continue for the foreseeable future.

In March, PCPT doubled its fare from 50 cents to $1, with a comparable increase in the prices for daily and monthly passes, which, respectively, are now $2.50 and $25. Usually when there is a rate hike, there is a predictable initial drop in riders, Carroll said. That didn't happen this time around.

"We're actually pleasantly surprised," Carroll said.

Even with the rate hike, there was only a slight dip in the number of riders. On every PCPT route there were as many as riders in March 2008 as in March 2007, on some routes even more.

This is the latest indication that PCPT has found its way into the fabric of the community. It used to be the bus lines saw significant ups and downs in business based on the seasons. In the past few years, those fluctuations have leveled off, as using the bus has become a regular part of more people's lives, from people getting to work to seniors and young people for whom driving isn't an option.

For many, however, riding the bus carries a negative connotation. This is a car culture, and riding the bus has been associated with being on the lower rungs of the economic ladder.

"I think that perception is changing," Carroll said. "And there have been a lot of reasons for that. I think there are a lot of good reasons and I think those reasons are now beginning to look more favorable to the average person."

For a long time, public transportation has had its environmental arguments. Not only does it save on the emissions of those who are on board, but the more people using mass transit, the fewer cars on the road, which cuts down on traffic jams, which cuts down emissions even more.

Of course lately, even if saving the planet isn't a priority for some people, there is a more tangible, immediate concern.

"At this particular time, it's the price of fuel," Carroll said.

Everyone's personal budget has a tipping point, he said, at which they have to start looking at alternatives to the amount of their incomes being poured into their gas tanks. And with the price of gas going up almost daily recently, more people are reaching that point every day, and the bus is looking like a more acceptable option.

From a PCPT standpoint, this could have a positive snowball effect, Reyes and Carroll suggested. There is no better way to publicize the advantages of taking the bus than word of mouth. And even for people who don't know anyone who uses the bus, simple observation can be an endorsement in itself.

"The more people you see using it, the more attractive it becomes to you as a nonuser," Carroll said. "Hey, those people are using it; maybe it's a good deal."

For more information about PCPT routes, rates and hours of service call 727-834-3322 or visit www.ridepcpt.com.

Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or at klowry@suncoastnews.com. Klint Lowry can be reached at 727-815-1067 or at klowry@suncoastnews.com.

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