Roam Public Transit is experiencing record-breaking ridership this summer, as routes have seen significant increases in people using transit as compared to last year.

Ridership on the Banff local service, specifically Routes 1, 2 and 4, have seen a massive increase of more than 50 per cent from June 2017 to June 2018. This equates to a record of 110,813 riders for June 2018 compared to 72,956 riders in June of 2017, which breaks Roam’s previous record of 101,284 set in August 2017. This increase equals an additional 1,262 riders per day.

The increase in ridership can be attributed to the addition of a new bus on Route 1, which gives it 20-minute frequency all day, and the addition of a new bus on Route 2, which allows for 30-minute frequency during peak times. These buses hit the road on May 18, when summer service began. Another factor is Route 4 has been operating daily since June 15, but in previous years only ran on weekends.

“This is a huge achievement to celebrate. It’s also a testament to the research that shows frequency is the reason people use transit,” says Martin Bean, CAO of the Bow Valley Regional Transit Services Commission. “We built on the success of last summer by adding more robust and frequent service in 2018 and we are absolutely proud of the incredible results we’ve seen so far.”

Those aren’t the only routes with increases from June 2017 though. Regional Banff-Canmore Route 3 is up over 20 per cent and Canmore local Route 5 is up over 30 per cent.

Want to ride Roam yourself? You can find information on transit routes, schedules, and fares for Banff, Canmore, and Lake Minnewanka on our website!