TARTA/TARPS Sees Ridership Increase
Muzzle the Guzzle Ad Campaign Calls Attention to Savings By Riding TARTA
Toledo, Ohio – Adult and senior citizen ridership on Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority buses was up during 2011’s first quarter because of skyrocketing gas pump prices, according to a review of passenger trips during the period by TARTA.
During the same three-month period, the Authority’s Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service (TARPS) continued to be one of the nation’s top-five fastest growing services for the mobility challenged and Ohio’s fastest growing paratransit service. TARPS passenger trips in 2011’s first quarter totaled 61,435, up more than 23 percent from 49,892 passenger trips in 2010’s comparable period.
TARPS is one of several services provided by TARTA, including regularly scheduled service along specific routes, seven days a week; Call-A-Ride, door-to-door service in six suburban communities; and shuttle service to Toledo Mud Hen and Walleye professional sporting events. Both TARPS and Call-A-Ride are call-in-advance services to arrange pickup times.
“The 17 percent increase in passenger trips by adults and senior citizens was the direct result of increased pump prices,” TARTA’s General Manager James K. Gee said. “We’ve seen figures that show a gallon of regular gas in the Toledo market has gone from $2.41 a gallon in February 2010 to a recent high of $3.89 on April 13, an increase of $1.48 per gallon over 14 months.
“Additionally, contract service provided to Toledo school children during the first quarter was down 67 percent from last year. TARTA has had a long-standing contract with Toledo Public Schools to provide student service,” Gee said. “And, TPS’s new boundary alignment, announced earlier this year, will not change transportation guidelines enacted this past September.”
As a result of those guidelines, TPS no longer pays TARTA to transport elementary students who live two miles or less from their school nor does it pay to transport high school students.
TARTA’s first quarter 2011 adult and senior citizens usage was up by 94,635 trips, or 17 percent, amounting to 664,049 passenger trips in 2011’s first quarter compared to 569,414 trips in the same period in 2010. TARTA’s non-TARPS passenger trips were 805,607, down 17 percent from 969,940 trips in the same period a year earlier, including the loss of 258,546 student trips.
During April, TARTA is unveiling a new advertising campaign to increase ridership even more by convincing drivers that, instead of pumping money into their gas tanks, they should ride TARTA and save money. Developed by Hart Associates of Maumee, the campaign strongly urges people to take control by “capping” their consumption and “muzzling” their gas guzzlers.
“The idea,” Gee said, “is to convince people they can take control and use TARTA’s services to cut down on costly vehicle usage.”
Print advertising features close-ups of various individuals who have “capped” their consumption in a novel way. Radio commercials, bus boards, outdoor boards and signage at Westfield Franklin Park will be a part of the campaign, which runs through August. (To view images from the campaign, visit www.tarta.com)
Also during the first quarter, TARPS recorded yet another record month for passenger usage in March, when monthly ridership exceeded 20,000 for the second time. March’s TARPS passenger trips amounted to 23,481, breaking the record of 20,450 set in January. Last year marked the 14th consecutive year TARPS ridership has increased.
Adult riders increased the number of passenger trips paid for by for passes by more than 38 percent during 2011’s first quarter. Cash trips by adults also were up 13 percent, and trips paid by tokens increased by nearly 14 percent for adults.
At this time, Gee does not anticipate any major service cuts. “We made major service cuts twice in 2008 and another round of sweeping changes at the end of 2009,” Gee said. “Currently, TARTA’s level of service is positioned to weather the economic conditions.”
Gee said TARTA’s cost for diesel, which it now buys weekly, is up. He points out most of the Authority’s fleet runs on biodiesel fuel, which is less expensive than regular diesel and results in lower maintenance costs.
The price of a gallon of regular gas in the Toledo area during 2011’s first quarter has gone from a low of $2.98 on February 14 to a high of $3.89 on April 13, an increase of $0.91 per gallon in approximately two months.
By comparison, the average price for regular gas in Ohio fluctuated during 2010 from a low of $2.41 per gallon of regular gas in mid-February to a high of $3.18 per gallon of regular gas on December 29. Gas prices for both years are based on data from OhioGasPrices.com.
About TARPS
The Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service is a comparable, complementary paratransit service for riders covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was established in 1989 and is operated by TARTA. TARPS is a schedule-in-advance service using special vehicles designed solely for riders with special needs. It provides service throughout the TARTA service area in Lucas and Wood counties.
About TARTA
The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority was formed in 1971 and is a political subdivision under Ohio law, similar to a park district or a school district. TARTA carries nearly 4 million passengers annually and provides interconnected, regional service to seven communities in Lucas County – Toledo, Maumee, Waterville, Ottawa Hills, Sylvania and Spencer and Sylvania townships ‑ and two Wood County communities – Perrysburg and Rossford.
