Transit Ridership Up

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 03:57 AM

Prince George, B.C.- Transit ridership in Prnce George was up by more than 12% in November, and the new "U-Pass" for University of Northern B.C. is being credited with some of that increase.

"The U-Pass is a piece of this success, but not the whole reason why ridership is up 12.6% compared to November of 2007" says Daniel Pearce , Traffic Analyst with the City of Prince George.

"We are providing 3600 hours of service and three buses have been added" says Pearce.

Over 2700 UNBC students were issued a U‐PASS for the Fall Semester at UNBC. The Winter Semester added approximately another 450 graduate students to the U‐PASS, creating a total of over 3100 students. The Graduate Student program voted 87% in favour of the U‐Pass last fall.‐PASS has succeeded at UNBC with the average passholder riding an average of 13.9 times per month.

•

72% of riders are either satisfied or very satisfied with the bus service

•

81% of riders report riding 4 or more days a week

The reason for taking the bus are as follows: (

1. Post Secondary

2. Work

3. Other

4. Shopping

5. High School, and

6. Medical/Dental

Pearce says the next step is to try and work out a similar pass opportunity for the students at the College of New Caledonia.

in order of magnitude):

Designed to encourage more students to use transit, the U

A survey conducted in September 2008 showed that:

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Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 03:57 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: metalman on January 14 2009 7:09 AM

Is there an editor in the house?
metalman.

Posted by: jarodl on January 14 2009 8:19 AM

I would be willing to proof-read stories before publication. Seriously. For a price, of course.

Posted by: DPJ on January 14 2009 10:39 AM

Good news for the buses. What are the plans for further expansion? Hopefully more frequencies on the hourly routes.

Posted by: Loki on January 14 2009 12:26 PM

rider ship is up because we can no longer afford to drive our cars, especially in the summer when the petro companies gauge the sh!t out of us during the summer holiday season.

Question: How can one increase the frequency of an hourly service? Hourly implies once per hour.

Posted by: Becca on January 14 2009 12:44 PM

I for one am one of the U pass students form UNBC and find the forced payment of this pass awful. I live in a neighbourhood where the bus travels past 4 times a day at the worst times. I would have to live at the University if I were to use the pass because returning to my home after classes would not be an option. I will not use the pass, yet Ihave to pay for it. This is not to mention that swim pass. I prefer not to swim in a vat of spit and urine. But again I have to pay for this even though I do not use it. This U pass should be an option not manditory!

Posted by: Jigga on January 14 2009 1:32 PM

Well, I dont have kids...so I don't want to pay any taxes that go into the school system, because I don't use it.

Does that statement make sense? No!

Taxes and programs such as U-Pass are used for the greater good. It's the way the world works. I pay for the U-Pass and have yet to use it once. I don't like to pay it, but I accept it because it benefits such a large number of people at the University. It is a worthwhile program.

Posted by: meisner on January 14 2009 4:46 PM

All the proof reading in the world will not fix a glitch in the system. When we see a problem we try and correct it as soon as possible. We would need to be on the computer 24/7, we can�t afford the time. As for proof reading Jarodl, �Seriously� is not a sentence, it should be �Seriously, for a price of course.�
We make mistakes, no one is perfect and ( apparently) Jarodl, neither are you. Metalman be careful what you wish for, I may begin proof reading you.
We try our best.
Before you seek the job, brush up.

Posted by: meisner on January 14 2009 4:48 PM

We have tried to repair the story several times and it won't hold the formatting. Sorry....

Posted by: billm on January 14 2009 5:00 PM

I understand the writing; I also understand things don�t always come out the way you want them to.
If you don�t like the way the story is written, why don�t you just wait a couple of days and then you can read it in the local papers.
I have no problem reading 250..carry on.

Posted by: DPJ on January 14 2009 10:57 PM

I will "clarify" the statement I made about "Hopefully more frequencies on the hourly routes." for Loki sake. I am meaning in increasing frequencies from hourly (every 60 minutes) to maby half hour (every 30 minutes). Also making the #47 an all day service will be another nice improvement.