JOHNSTOWN —
With record February snowfalls snarling traffic, closing businesses and canceling events, CamTran leaders were expecting ridership numbers to drop.
They were pleasantly surprised to learn the passenger counts were actually up in February – for the fourth consecutive month.
“That’s a trend,” Marketing Director Jill Nadorlik said Friday at a Cambria County Transit Authority meeting.
Authority member Michael Noel pointed to recent initiatives and monitoring efforts launched by CamTran’s new labor-management ridership committee.
“We are doing something right,” Noel said, pointing to the increase. “This cooperative effort is proving to be working well.”
CamTran leaders have been concerned by declining ridership for the past few years.
Promotions have helped bring new riders, Noel said, but technology initiatives have helped turn them into regular riders.
He credited Nadorlik’s introduction of CamText instant messaging for detours and delays, as well as CamTran’s new online Internet route mapping that allows riders to track buses in real time.
Several promotions to encourage new riders are in the works, Nadorlik said. In observance of Earth Day, April 22, CamTran will offer free rides and give new riders a chance to get a free one-week pass.
“Earth Day is appropriate because it has been shown that mass transit helps reduce carbon compound in the atmosphere,” Nadorlik said.
“It has a positive environmental effect if more people use it instead of driving.”
The ridership committee is also toying with the idea of offering a free month of bus rides, and has consultants re-evaluating the rural CamTran Plus fare structure, Executive Director Rose Lucey-Noll said.
Authority member Ed Cernic Jr. said he supports a free ride promotion.
“I have said that for years,” Cernic said. “You have to get them on the bus to show them how convenient it is.”
Rural fares are somewhat higher than urban bus rides, Noel said, explaining that the current structure was set up on a mileage basis. Like virtually all transit systems, however, CamTran’s revenues primarily come from state and federal tax dollars. Lower fares might be advantageous, he said.
“Like any business, you have a sale when things aren’t going well,” Noel said. “You don’t raise your prices.”
Local News
CamTran ridership is on rise
Passenger counts up for 4 straight months
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