Greenlink surpassed 1 million rides last year, according to data released today.
Ridership increased to 1,030,000, up 9.1 percent from 2013, Greenville Transit Authority officials said.
“Our ridership has grown steadily in the past few years as we’ve expanded fixed route service into Mauldin-Simpsonville, and developed public/private partnerships to provide transportation services such as the CU-ICAR/St. Francis Shuttle, the Clemson Connector and the Clemson Commuter,” Transit Director Mark Rickards said in a release.
He expects ridership to continue increasing due to extended hours on fixed routes and new circulators coming soon.
The release said rides rose 2.3 percent on the bus service’s 11 fixed routes, and credited the overall increase to expanded Clemson Commuter service on Saturdays and the addition of two downtown trolleys.
The routes with highest ridership in 2014 were Route 10/Augusta Road with an average of 11,069 rides per month, and Route 2/White Horse Road with an average of 10,887 rides per month.
The Augusta Road and Mauldin-Simpsonville routes recorded the highest percentage of increase at 12 percent.
The Dunean-Grove Road route increased by 11.6 percent.
In 2014, Greenlink introduced service enhancements that included complimentary wireless Internet service on all vehicles, and a bus locator service that allows passengers to view the real-time whereabouts of fixed-route buses either online or on a smartphone.
“All of these enhancements improve the public transit experience,” Rickards said. “These are critical steps in strengthening the Greenlink system and preparing us to better serve a diverse ridership.”
