HYANNIS – At a recent meeting hosted by the Cape Cod Joint Transportation Committee, Cape Cod Regional transit Authority, officials gave an update on the transit authority weathering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
CCRTA Deputy Administrator Noah Berger said that despite challenges imposed by the pandemic on other regional transit authorities, the Cape has not been hit quite as hard.
“As it turns out, based on pre-pandemic ridership, we were the only RTA in the state to actually meet our ridership targets this past fiscal year,” said Berger.
The CCRTA also recently launched two new initiatives in September, including the Smart DART app for their Dial-A-Ride Transportation program and an expansion of bus services to Buzzards Bay.
Since the roll-out of the Smart DART app, it has seen 1,500 riders, said Berger.
Berger also said that since the expansion of the Buzzard’s Bay Connector, Bourne has seen significant ridership compared to other areas and was one of the few routes to even surpass ridership when compared to last year.
The Connector increased bus service frequency from seven to 18 times a day.
Looking forward, Berger said that the Authority plans to continue to encourage fixed route transportation and invest in new sustainable technology as it becomes available and efficient.
“We don’t want the cost of fare collection technology to be higher than the revenue that comes in and that’s something we’re particularly mindful of,” said Berger.
The Fare Policy Statement mandated by the state commits the CCRTA to review and identify goals for how fares will look in the future, however Berger said that for simplicity the Authority will likely keep them to whole dollar increments.
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