Though the Fort St. John buses may not be standing room only, ridership is on the rise.

As the buses become more popular, they are also becoming more profitable. The number of passengers is increasing, along with the revenue from their fares, but the cost of operating the service has remained steady.

“The ridership has definitely increased and it’s getting better and still increasing, so we’re happy with the progress that has been made over the past couple of years,” said Victor Shopland, Director of Infrastructure and Capital Works.

In total, Fort St. John transit reported a 51.2 per cent increase in revenue in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. This increase in revenue is attributed to both a 29.9 per cent increase in ridership and the installation of GFI electronic fare boxes that have reduced the incidents of fare evasion and enhanced security.

“We’ve still got a ways to go, but there is a definite improvement. You used to always see buses running around with nobody in them, but now having someone on them is almost always the case,” said Shopland.

When asked why Fort St. John has experienced a significant increase in ridership, he attributed the success of the program to recent changes made to routes and better promotion of the service.

“The big thing is that we changed the routes and we put the transfer station back down at the Cultural Centre. All the buses now meet together at the same time in half hour routes that are more convenient,” said Shopland.

He pointed out that having the buses all come together at one location creates consistency so people know exactly where and when they can always get on the bus. He said it also makes transferring easier.

“We also changed the routes so the most populous parts of town can get through to the mall and WalMart easily, which wasn’t happening before,” said Shopland.

The city has also worked hard at raising the profile of the transit system through advertising and events like Music That Moves You, an event that happens during the holiday season and the High on Ice Festival.

“After the regular hours, there are local musicians that put on little concerts on the buses. They get on a different route each time and do a mobile concert, and the buses are always filled when they do that,” said Shopland.

Music That Moves You returns this holiday season on Tuesday, December 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. on the southside route.

Local musicians will be playing on buses running along that route, and residents are encouraged to hop on and off buses throughout the evening to experience the holiday music in a fun and unique setting. Free hot chocolate and cookies will be provided at the North Peace Cultural Centre while you wait for a bus.

City Council also recently approved free transit on Remembrance Day and election day in order to encourage people to use the bus system and to ensure that people with transportation difficulties could attend the events.

Shopland said that the third HandyDart bus that was added in the last few years has also been of big benefit to the community.

“There was a relatively recent expansion to get the third HandyDart in place, and already they’re starting to find that even that one is getting fairly filled up so we could be looking at an addition of another HandyDart bus now,” said Shopland.

The report also showed that while total operating costs per hour rose 2.1 per cent, it was offset by a 21.6 per cent decrease in the total cost per ride. The Fort St. John Transit System came in a total of 3.6 per cent below budget.

To stimulate that upward trend, Shopland said they are looking at future planning.

“We’re starting to look at what needs to happen because we’re growing and with the new hospital, we need to get service out there. So we’re looking at expanding out in to the Panorama and Western Winds area, and we’re looking at how we can do that right now,” said Shopland.

Shopland hopes that this report helps encourage more ridership and change the perception that transit within the city is not being utilized.

“In the past, it definitely was struggling, but in the last two years we’ve made great improvements,” said Shopland. “In this last year we’ve had the highest increase in ridership in BC Transit.”