Triangle Transit carrying more and more passengers

Here is the release that formed the basis for a short item yesterday on WUNC:

" JULY 2008 RIDERSHIP TOPS 100,000 � SETS NEW RECORD


Research Triangle Park, N.C. (August 11, 2008) � Ridership on Triangle Transit hit a neww record in July.

During July 2008, Triangle Transit’s bus and shuttle service recorded ridership of 108,284. It marks the first month of ridership over 100,000 and helped to boost the month’s ridership 50.2% over July 2007. Ridership one year ago was 72,103.

“We’re pleased to see that public transit is making a difference,” said Triangle Transit Board Chairman Sig Hutchinson. “With fuel prices continuing to fluctuate, more and more people are choosing to help their budgets and give transit a try. Our service improvements, including the recent addition of service in Wake Forest, are having a positive impact.”

This is the fourth straight month of ridership gains. Ridership in April rose 20.5% over April 2007 with 83,926 riders. May’s ridership topped 85,652 for a gain of 14.5% over May last year. During June 2008, Triangle Transit’s bus and shuttle service recorded ridership of 97,172, an increase of 30.2% over June 2007’s ridership of 74,622.

A person in the Triangle can save more than $8,000 per year annually by taking public transportation, according to a new analysis of gas prices in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). According to APTA’s “Monthly Transit Savings Report” a person can save an average of $670 dollars per month based on a gas price of $3.856 as reported by AAA on Friday, August 8.

Triangle Transit connects people and places in a way that is reliable, safe, and easy. Bus service is available to Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Garner, Hillsborough, RDU International Airport, The Research Triangle Park, Raleigh and Wake Forest. In addition to vanpools, ridematching and paratransit services, Triangle Transit provides resources for commuters and hosts GoTriangle.org, the convenient on‑line resource for public transportation information in the Triangle.

For more information, visit www.triangletransit.org or call (919) 485-RIDE."