Copyright 2000 Journal Sentinel Inc.
Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel
March 13, 2000 Monday FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 3B
LENGTH: 800 words
HEADLINE:
Transit lines report increase in bus ridership;
Rising
gasoline prices suspected for higher numbers in Milwaukee area
BYLINE: LARRY SANDLER of the Journal Sentinel staff
BODY:
Suburban bus ridership is on the rise, and at
least one transit official thinks rising gas prices are
responsible.
As the price of gasoline soared above
$1.50 a gallon at many stations, February ridership increased
9% on the Wisconsin Coach Lines buses that link Waukesha and Milwaukee counties
and 6% on Waukesha Metro Transit, compared with February of last year, bus
system officials reported.
At the fledgling Washington County Commuter
Express, ridership shot up 20% from January to February on the Downtown Express
route, which runs from downtown West Bend to downtown Milwaukee, said Michelle
Wagner, Washington County Transit Management Association project coordinator.
And monthly ridership has increased 39% from December to February on
Ozaukee Express buses, said John Doherty, operations manager. Waukesha Metro
Transit Director Bob Johnson said he was certain higher gas prices were the
reason for his system's ridership increase.
"As the fuel price
increases, people do make the switch from driving a personal automobile to mass
transit, at least to some extent," Johnson said. " This has always been the case
when fuel prices are really high, that our ridership has surged."
Passenger Cheryl Flanders has noticed her Wisconsin Coach Lines bus from
Oconomowoc to Milwaukee has been more crowded lately.
" I think some of
it is definitely the gas prices," said Flanders, of Watertown. "I've heard
people say they would be foolish to drive."
However, Flanders and 18
other riders interviewed at two E. Wisconsin Ave. bus stops Friday evening said
gas prices didn't influence their decision to take the bus. Most said they were
regular riders who found riding buses more convenient than driving.
Still, other bus system officials said Johnson could be right.
"It definitely could be a factor," said Tom Dieckelman, Wisconsin Coach
Lines general manager. "It makes complete sense to take the bus" when gas prices
are high.
Wagner and Doherty agreed gas prices could be influencing
ridership on routes that serve traditional commuters, those who live in the
suburbs and work downtown.
However, both the Ozaukee County and
Washington County bus systems serve many reverse commuters, who live in
Milwaukee and work in the suburbs. Few, if any, of those passengers have cars,
and gas prices would not affect ridership on routes that serve them, Wagner and
Doherty said.
The trend was not consistent across the area. February
ridership was up less than 2% on the Wisconsin Coach Lines buses that link
Racine and Kenosha counties to Milwaukee, Dieckelman said. And Racine transit
planner Mike Glasheen said he expected Belle Urban System ridership to be flat
for February.
February figures were not available yet for Wisconsin's
two largest bus systems, the Milwaukee County Transit System and Madison Metro
Transit.
Tom Kujawa, managing director of the Milwaukee County system,
said he didn't think gas prices were having any impact on ridership. Julie
Maryott-Walsh, spokeswoman for the Madison bus system, declined to speculate on
what February ridership figures might show.
The transit systems reported
mixed results for 1999, with the Milwaukee County system celebrating its fifth
straight annual increase and Ozaukee Express posting a 14% drop. Both cited
local economic conditions.
Milwaukee County bus ridership rose by less
than 1%, from 53.48 million rides in 1998 to 53.89 million in 1999. Still, it
was only the second time since the county took over the bus system in 1975 that
ridership had increased for five consecutive years. Kujawa credited service
expansions to carry more people to jobs in a healthy economy.
Ozaukee
Express ridership, meanwhile, plummeted from 96,522 in 1998 to 83, 102 last
year. That reflected some major plant shutdowns that resulted in service
cutbacks, said Doherty and Sharon Gilman, Ozaukee County transit services
director. The bus system now is trying to market itself more to county
residents, not just reverse commuters, Gilman said.
Ridership also was
up 1%, to 1.48 million, on the Belle Urban System; down 3%, to 713,296, on
Waukesha Metro; up 4%, to 321,470, on Coach Lines' Waukesha County routes; and
down 2%, to 69,653, on Coach Lines' Racine-Kenosha routes.
The drop in
Waukesha Metro ridership reflected the end of special service that was added
during 1997 and 1998 while I-94 was being repaved, Johnson said. Dieckelman
credited the Coach Lines increase to a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student
bus pass program.
Washington County Commuter Express started service in
April last year. It carried 24,325 riders during 1999, and the numbers have been
growing each month, Wagner said.
"We're pleased" that ridership "
continues to increase," Wagner said. "They haven't had transit here before."
LOAD-DATE: May 16, 2000 
