St. Bernard Transit hit a new milestone in November exceeding last year’s ridership with a month left in 2017. In 2016, 80,597 passengers rode St. Bernard Transit buses, which was an increase of 3% from the 2015 ridership. At the close of November 2017, 85,461 passengers utilized the parish bus service- an increase of 14%. “Our goal going into 2017 was to increase ridership by 5%, which would have resulted in just over 4,000 passengers riding the bus,” said St. Bernard Transit Manager Michael Bayham. “We’ve already exceeded that threshold and there is another month before the end of the year.”
Along the way towards besting last year’s passenger total, the Transit Department had also set new monthly ridership records over the past three months.
“March 2017 was the first time we had reached the 8,000 passenger benchmark since I’ve been here. We exceeded the March passenger total in August and then passed that monthly record in September. This past October we came close to breaking the 9,000 passenger mark with 8,887 riders, which is our new monthly record,” said Bayham. “The parish bus system is an essential component in our community,” said St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis. “We are very pleased that so many St. Bernard residents are using transit vehicles to patronize our local businesses, get to their jobs, and visit their physicians.” “The increase in ridership reflects both the dedication of our transit staff and the important service they provide the people in our community,” said McInnis. “My administration is committed to not just reaching the annual goals our departments set but exceeding them as well.”
St. Bernard Transit operates buses on weekdays and most holidays, from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For information about the bus route, schedule, and fares log on to www.sbpg.net/transit or call the Transit Office at (504) 277-1907.
